• 1-Overcoming Adversity
• 2-Chapter 2
• 3-Chapter 3
• 4-Chapter 4
• 5-Chapter 5
• 6-Chapter 6
• 7-Chapter 7
• 8-Chapter 8
• 9-Chapter 9
• 10-Chapter 10
• 11-Chapter 11
• 12-Chapter 12
• 13-Lucky 13: Interlude, Family Honor
• 14-Interlude II - Secrets
• 15-Chapter 15
• 16-Chapter 16
• 17-Chapter 17
• 18-Chapter 18
• 19-Chapter 19
• 20-Chapter 20
• 21-update soon
• 22-Chapte`,

A/N: Mmm, I love Sess, but I liked what I did last chapter, and decided to do one for each main character. This will be focused on the girls: Kagome, Rin, Sango. Miroku and Inu will be next. I’ve been putting stars as dividers, but I fear that fan fiction is removing them, I’ll be using something else from now on if you guys aren’t seeing the scene dividers.

[Kagome]

Two months had passed in the blink of an eye for the young girl who’s life had completely changed after the events of one night. There were no words to accurately describe how she felt to find out she carried the soul of a reincarnated priestess, a warrior and hero from years ago housed within her own body, and that she even possessed some of the woman’s natural talent and power.

It was all too unbelievable, and if she had not witnessed the mysterious miko power she possessed, with her very own eyes, and witnessed the holy energy that severed Juuroumaru’s hand from his wrist, she would have thought Kaede was a crazy old coot and suggested her grandfather find a more sane and mentally stable friend. But, the old woman was far from crazy, and over the course of the two months, had taught Kagome many necessary to know things about her trade, especially those concerning purification magic, her purifying arrows, and general magic spells against evil.

It was a struggle at first, to slip into the completely different afternoon routine. Instead of spending every afternoon with her Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi, she often went directly home to find Kaede waiting for her so that they could begin their next lesson. The only exceptions were those days that Inuyasha and Miroku had football practice or games. During those afternoons, Kagome and Sango remained after school with the boys, getting a ride home in the car afterwards.

Kagome was always escorted home by Inuyasha. Many times, he had scented a peculiar demon, and it troubled him to think that he or Kagome were being followed. It troubled him even more to think that it was possible her home was being watched by the foul creaturhat hat wanted her jewel.

It was impossible for him to walk onto the shrine land as a demon, which meant it was necessary for Kagome to remove several of the warding along the path for Inuyasha to follow her, replacing them as she went. They had laughed at first when Kaede told them to take these extreme measures, that is, until the first time they slacked off on replacing the wards, the ground and earth began to tremble and quake beneath their feet. The dirt beneath them shook, and both were tossed through the air in a shower of grass and earth, a large demonic worm bursting up from the ground, sending chunks of rock and soil everywhere. Fortunately, it had not been the strongest of foes, and Inuyasha dispatched it quickly, making short work of it and making it into nothing more than bloody pieces with a few swipes of his powerful claws.

But after that, Kagome was always certain that every tag was perfectly in place again, refusing to break the holy circle that wound a perimeter around her family’s shrine. If Inuyasha hadn’t been there, they would have all been done for.

At night, Inuyasha was forced to leave, and she would escort him to the edge of the property and carefully put each tag in place again, ensuring no demons would slip in after his departure.

What worried her the most was that there were no signs of the last shard of the jewel. That one tiny chip of pink that made the surface of the gem imperfect was nowhere in sight. She could feel the jewel’s presence, and as a miko Kaede told her she would be able to feel the remaining shard. Try as she might, it was she was unsuccessful in locating it.

Kaede had high expectations in her, and put as much faith in Kagome as if she were the legendary Kikyou hef...f...although she was in a way. She was still not the same person, she was a reincarnation with no memory of a past life, no matter how amazing it was, and how powerful she had been. It all came down to one thing.

Kikyou died protecting the jewel, and Kagome would as well if she didn’t surpass her.

So it was not surprising that she had to be perfect with the bow and arrow. With Kaede, her knowledge seemed to double and quadruple with each meeting between new miko anntorntor. She excelled in her archery, improving more and more. Together, the two would go on weekend excursions into the forest, begging Inuyasha to stay behind (although he never listened and usually prowled behind them as if the older miko couldn’t sense him).

Those excursions were very important, because they delved deeper into it each visit, searching for the occasional demon that Kagome’s power could be tested upon. Sometimes, they were even lucky enough to encer eer evil spirits, none too strong for Kaede to handle.

Kagome had been severely disappointed in herself during the first outing, where she had completely overlooked an evil presence looming above them in the trees, and would have sustained heavy damage if not for Kaede sensing the small animal demon.

“I couldn’t even sense him,” Kagome muttered.

“You will be able to in time, child. For now, you must simply be aware of the danger. You cannot hesitate in battle. Do you think the demon would wait if it had the chance to tear you into pieces?”

Of course not. Kagome shuddered visibly, then clutched her bow in a tighter grip. “I know…I’m ready to continue now.”

“Then we shall. Every life is special, even those of a demon, but when they turn against humans and mean to do us harm, we must do all we can to protect ourselves.” Then Kaede smiled at her, and whispered softly, though she had no doubt hanyou ears picked it up. “And your half demon friend knows that. He will not think differently of you if he sees you kill a demon.”

Kagome blushed, her cheeks turning bright red. Instead of responding, she only nodded her head firmly.

Often, when Kaede wasn’t there, Kagome practiced on her own in the yard,ermiermined to improve herself before her mentor’s next return. Gradually, her skill with the bow improved, although she still was unable to hit the mark at times. It was a frustrating and painful truth to know that if these monsters attacked her family shrine when Kaede or another stronger holy figure was not here, they would have only her and her insignificant amateur’s skill to protect them. Those holy tags would not last forever, eventually rain and weather would destroy them and their usefulness…and they would be sitting ducks until they were replaced. That brief window might be all a youkai needed to approach the unprotected shrine.

She couldn’t bear the thought of her family being slaughtered by demons because she slacked off, or because she wasn’t determined enough to overcome her handicaps. A miko should start young, and while she was young, she was not a child or at the young age that most miko began training at.

So she strived to better herself even without instruction.

And if some monster came for the shikon, she and her bow and arrows would be ready for it.

***

[Sango]

From her bedroom window, Sango watched her kid brother Kohaku sneak out of the house and down the darkening street. There was no doubt in her mind that he would be into trouble within the hour, and possibly brought home by a neighbor, if not a police officer which would create even more trouble for her family.

It was far too late in the evening for a young boy like him to be out on the streets in their neighborhood, yet he snuck out anyway to hang with his delinquent friends, the ones who got him into so much trouble in the first place. She didn’t need to be with him to know the things he did when in the company of those punks. At the age of fourteen, her brother was a smoker, a drinker, and a shoplifter.

As if mama didn’t give him enough money for him to not steal. The yen that their mother gave them was more than enough for both teens to be happy. They never wanted for anything, and their father worked hard every day to ensure that neither of his children never were in need. His long hours as a laborer were not paying off as they should, however, when his son took the money he gave him and ran wild in the streets of Tokyo, too greedy to realize what he had been given and the sacrifices his parents made.

Kohaku already had a beputeputation around the neighborhood and school. Any more trouble, and her parents just may not be able to get him out of jail again, and he would face prosecution not as a minor, but as an adult.

Sango worried and fretted over him every day, and to make matters worse, her cousin was in real and serious danger. Things she had only heard about in her father’s fairytales were beginning to come true. Demons and evil spirits, magical priestesses…it was just so unreal.

As a little girl, Sango found amusement at her father’s outlandish tales of sorcery, enchantment, and monsters. He would put her and Kohaku to bed every night with a new tale, never repeating the same one twice.

Oh how she longed to tell him the truth of where she often went after school, and how his stories were true, that they weren’t just some make believe bullshit or superstition handed down from generation to generation. However much it pained her to remain silent, she could not tell her father that two months ago, she had watched her best friend and cousin nearly lose her head to the sharp bladed legs of a demon insect, and that she had stopped the attack by throwing some monster’s lost appendage at it!

Papa would never believe any anyway. No adult could believe such a farfetched tale without seeing it for their own eyes, and it wouldn’t be right to reveal Inuyasha or Sesshoumaru’s identity…even if the latter was a egotistical swine and the former had a habit of being a jackass all too often, much like her own hentai boyfriend. The secrets of their identities was integral to their survival, the survival of the entire demon race as a matter of fact. Just how would the Japanese government handle such a thing? How would any civilized government in this modern age handle it? Would Japan, Europe, and the United States all band together with every other large nation, and attempt to stamp and wipe out all youkai? Would there be battling and war, magic and destruction as the most powerful of monsters joined forces to force back their would be oppressors and murderers? Would they even band together?

Sango sighed and gazed down at her homework. Concentrating on equations and numbers was impossible when she and her friends were in a much more serious predicament. Their life-threatening situation with the jewel, and the monsters that could arrive at any mt att attempting to snatch it away, made school work seem trivial and unimportant. It was trivial and unimportant. What good would knowing her calculus homework do if a ugly monster was going to rip off her head.

Miroku would protect her. She knew that without a doubt, but it shamed her that he would have to look over her, watch her like some defenseless child. Everyone around her in their small group of friends had some use, some special ability that made them powerful in their own way. Kagome was able to burn a demon’s soul with a mere touch, Inuyasha had deadly claws and unnatural speed, Miroku had the inherited abilities of his family which thrived with his father’s teachings.

Poor, little Sango was just a girl that didn’t want to see her friends hurt. She had no extraordinary talents, no mystical power, no superhuman strength, and definitely possessed no holy abilities.

So what use was she to her friends? She was a cheerleader that could stand at the sidelines and watch them fight for their lives if and when these demons came for the gem. And if their own abilities weren’t enough…

It pained her to think of the possible outcome. Angry, hot tears formed at the corners of her eyes, and she balled a fist, slamming it against the wooden surface of her desk. It’s not fair! Why do I have to be the useless one? No tears fell, but the truth of her predicament and uselessness was enough to wrench a low sob from her throat.

“Sango?” a soft voice called from the doorway. The door, which Sango never closed to forbid the entrance of her family remained half open, enough to partially frame the slender form of her grandmother. “Are you alright, d?” d?”

“Fine,” she croaked out, shamed by how pained her own voice sounded. She cleared her throat, and dragged her knuckles over her eyes to wipe away any moisture that might have remained at their corners. “Fine, Obaasan. It’s nothing to worry about.”

The old woman said nothing at first, lingering in the half open doorway in silence. Just when Sango expected her to turn and leave, the elderly woman spoke up again. “May I come in, Sango?”

“Of course. You know you don’t need to ask, Obaasan.” Sango slid out of her chair, offering the seat to her grandmother.

The gray-haired woman sat, examining her granddaughter closely. While she was close to her parents, she had always had a stronger bond with her grandmother. The resemblance between them was distorted only by age. Where Sango‘s hair was black, the older woman‘s long hair was streaked with gray. The eyes, wizened and understanding, were the same color as her young granddaughter‘s. “What is troubling you, my dear? You’ve been upset and distant from the rest of us for the last two months. What could be happening to make you draw away from your family? You’re hardly here anymore.”

Sango swallowed, searching for a valid and believable story. “I just thought you, Mama, and Papa would appreciate a little quiet.”

Her grandmother showed no sign of accepting that lie. “Neither you nor Kohaku are noisy. The boy is troublesome, but he’s quiet while inside this house. So are you. Think of a better lie, Sango.”

“I just wanted to be with my friends. I want to enjoy my final year in senior high school.”

“Yes… the friends that you will not bring here for your parents or grandmother to meet. Are they bad children, Sango?”

The dark-haired girl shook her head quickly, bangs bobbing against her forehead. “No, not at all, Obaasan. Miroku is a priest’s son. Inuyasha can be a bit stubborn sometimes but he’s got his good points… and you know Kagome.”

“Yes… a good girl.” The old woman looked thoughtful, a smile on her wrinkled features, memories of days long past on her mind. “Is Miroku as lecherous as his grandfather?”

“You knew his grandfather?” Sango’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head.

“Many, many years ago. A real hentai. But tell me of this Inuyasha. Such an odd name…”

Sango drew in a breath, pressing her teeth against her lower lip. Why did Inuyasha’s parents have to name him such a dreadfully obvious name. It was as if they just wanted to yell out for anyone with half a brain, “Hanyou! He’s half dog youkai!”

“Inuyasha is Inuyasha. His father died and he was sent to live with his mother in Tokyo. He goes to our school…him and Kagome are a bit close now, everyone kind of thinks they’re dating but they won’t admit to anything.”

“I didn’t ask about he and Kagome, child. I asked about the boy himself…what does he look like?”

“About this tall,” Sango murmured, gesturing with a hand to show Inuyasha’s general height. “Hazel eyes and light blonde hair, kind of tan,” she blurted out, hoping that description would please the woman, despite its lack of detail.

“White hair and golden eyes, you mean?”

Sango froze, and her jaw might as well have stopped working. The amusement in her grandmother’s eyes brought her enough relief to calm down, relaxing the muscles of her face. Inuyasha’s appearance was no secret. His father had been well known, and many women had been in a jealous state of awe over his perfect silver tresses and gorgeous golden eyes. “That’s what I meant.”

“I’m sure you did, Sango. Wait here a moment, child… there is something I would like you to see.” The old woman rose from the chair and made her way from the room, returning several minutes later with a dusty old tome in her arms. Its appearance was so decrepit, moldy and torn that Sango was surprised it didn’t fall to pieces and disintegrate at the slightest touch of her Obaasan’s weathered fingers. “Your homework can wait until another time…I would like for you to read this from cover to cover…”

“Yes, Obaasan..but what is it?” she asked curiously, finding no text on either cover.

“Just read it, dear.” The old women walked from the room, gently returning the door to its half open position before the sound of her footsteps disappeared down the hallway.

Sango sat at the desk, and opened the book to began reading the ancient script and kanji that covered its old pages.

----------------------

She had been reading throughout the night, her homework forgotten and discarded. The book in front of her was a treasure trove of information, full of stories and tales that she had only heard mention of from the old lady Kaede that visited Kagome’s family shrine, or her father during their bedtime stories as children. It was a journal, and every word, sentence, and paragraph was filled with emotion, pain, and love.

And she would never have believed a single page of what she found inside these pages were it not for Inuyasha’s demon heritage revealed, Miroku’s holy powers, and the sacred jewel that Kagome possessed, because all of them were mentioned inside the ancient book.

Today was the last day of our battle and search for the vile beast that had brutally murdered the village of slayers from which I hail from. Together, I, Toga, Miroku, and Kikyou succeeded in destroying the monster that lusted after the sacred shikon jewel. But, our success was not without sadness. During the battle, Kikyou was gravely wounded, and the last of her power was poured into one holy arrow to purify what remained of the creature’s wretched soul. Her last words were that she wished to be cremated with the jewel, and we have given her that. Toga left us after the ceremony, and I doubt he will ever return. I cannot blame him. He loved her, and would have given his life for her. I know he blames himself for not getting there in time to take the blow that claimed her life.

Tomorrow, I will return to the village, and I will rebuild it. The monk will return to his own, probably to find some woman to bear his child…I will take Kikyou’s ashes with me and protect them until the end of my life. I will raise my descendents to do the same.

The references to the battle that Kaede had spoken of was too good to be true, and Sango was unable to lay down for rest. She read until the sun began to rise again, shining its rays through the window of her bedroom.

This book told of Miroku’s ancestor, and of the woman who her cousin Kagome was reincarnation of…that could only mean one other thing. The author of those pages was her own ancestor.

Sango needed to speak to her grandmother…now.

***

Rin

A cool autumn breeze tossed Rin’s bangs from her forehead, its winds fluttering the light material of her comfortable yukata. She had chosen to enjoy the beautiful weather of the afternoon, rather than sit inside the lonely and silent manor to grade her students’ essays. It was a decision she did not regret, even if the wind did occasional attempt to blow away a sheet of parchment.

Rin lifted her paper weight, slipping another essay from the pile before replacing it to prevent the loss of any student’s work. The usual pattern of grading began anew, reading it first for entertainment, then once more with generous use of her red pen. First with the circling spelling mistakes, marking absence of punctuation, then underlining grammatical mistakes in sentence structure.

Life in the manor was peaceful and calm, unlike the noisy apartment building she had occupied since she became independent and moved from her mother’s home. She had no fear of her purse being taken, and no worry of being accosted by some young punk looking for a loose date. It was safe here, safer than she imagined living with two demons could ever be.

Jaken was prone to his sour moods, and rants of her uselessness of course, but Sesshoumaru was more than used to anything the vile old toad could say. In fact, he was skilled at silencing Jaken with only a cold stare. She had picked up the habit of teasing Jaken whenever possible, especially when he angered his master and nearly about to earn Sesshoumaru’s wrath. One afternoon, Jaken had upset Sesshoumaru horribly by allowing his cloaking spell to completely fade away. It wouldn‘t have been so bad, had it been entirely accident, and if it hadn‘t been the third time the toad allowed it. Just when she was certain the toad would pay with his life, she found herself blurting out, “You dried up and old, green prune, don’t just stand there and continue to upset Sesshoumaru-sama, it’s a hot day. Go fetch a pitcher of cool water then go have your concealment renewed.”

Either Sesshoumaru was pleased with her words, or he was too surprised by her suddenly taking charge to care that she had intervened in the likely death or severe bruising that his servant would have received. Later that evening, she figured out just what had caused him to stare at her so intently when Jaken left to do as told.

She had never called him Sesshoumaru-sama before. Hogosha-san perhaps. Sesshoumaru-san when he had pointed out he had a first name and loathed the use of a surname, only allowing it because it was necessity in the human civilization. But, she had called him Sesshoumaru-sama and he had liked it. She knew he did, or he would have barred her immediately from using it.

After the ‘dried up and old, green prune’ brought the pitcher of water and left, she had resumed her silent reading by the window to enjoy the last caress of the sun’s rays before it completely sank below the horizon. Weeks ago, Sesshoumaru’s silent stare of contemplation would have made her uneasy, but now, she felt comfortable in his presence. The demon lord wasn’t too difficult to read. She knew now that a slight narrowing of his eyes meant he was angry. She knew a hardening of his jaw meant he was ready to kill his servant. Complete impassivity and an entirely neutral expression meant he was trying to hide something, using quite a bit of will to keep his expression that blank. And rarely, from time to time, she had seen a hint of a smirk. He didn’t grin, or fully smile, but he allowed the corner of his lips to raise ever so slightly.

To Rin, it was the most beautiful expression in the world. But she worried dreadfully about the day she would be punted from this quiet paradise. He had given no indication of the time she would have to leave, and had only told her that once her murderer was drawn out, and he had killed the demon that nearly put he and his race in jeopardy, she could leave. It both worried and relieved her that no sign of that demon had surfaced yet. If the demon was lying in wait, hiding until the moment she would be vulnerable again, she and those around her were in danger. If it was gone, and Sesshoumaru surmised she was safe, she would be sent away to return to her dreadful little apartment.

Some time later, Rin completed the last of her work, throwing everything into her new and shiny, leather briefcase, courtesy of Jaken at Sesshoumaru’s behest that no one travel with him, or reside in his home that utilized any material or equipment of poor quality. She had come to expect a new selection of wardrobe awaiting her at the start of each week, and didn’t even think to mind that someone else was picking out what clothing suited her.

Jaken’s taste wasn’t too bad.

In fact, she had successfully confused and stumped Sesshoumaru when she appeared wearing the same outfit the third time in a month. “Do you dislike Jaken’s recent choice in garment?”

No!” she’d exclaimed quickly, to spare the small man an unjust punishment. “It’s just that I like this one so much that I feel most comfortable in it. I didn’t mean to trouble you to thinking I disliked anything else you’ve given me, sir.”

Sir. And that too had brought a small smile out of him. He liked his power, and enjoyed when people addressed him using those titles it appeared. That or he simply liked when she did…

Rin had yet to figure out which. His expressions were somewhat easy to read (when there was one) but she would never presume to know his thoughts. She only wanted to be as unobtrusive as possible, making no trouble so that her stay would be as long and as enjoyable as possible.

She smiled as she walked from the small garden, up the walkway and past the koi pond that she had taken over maintenance of. Jaken had threatened to cook them with something called the staff of heads one evening, so that he could eat them, claiming he had no time to continue the care of mere fish when they should have been food long ago. Rin had rushed to their defense of course, even if she didn’t know what the staff of heads was, it sounded…disturbing.

So Sesshoumaru gave her the fish, and she enjoyed them. Sure, it was no puppy, or kitten, but it was another thing in the quiet household to bring her pleasure, much like the koto in the music room had brought her joy. If only Sesshoumaru would allow her to keep it when her time came to leave.

Rin stopped in her bedchamber to lay the briefcase containing her graded work on the desk. It appeared that Sesshoumaru was gone for the moment. Once a day, near the darkening of the evening, he disappeared in search of his own food, claiming human food displeased him, and that Jaken had no time to prepare meals for both of them. She’d asked him just what a full bred demon ate…but he said nothing, and walked away. She just hoped it was nothing awful…like people. Ew, she thought. Sesshoumaru-sama would not eat a person. He can hardly stand the presence of mortals, so its doubtful he could enjoy their taste, Rin decided. He probably hunts some wild animal or something. If anything, its cooked food that might displease him. It’s possible he eats it raw… That thought was also a disturbing image, but it was better than the presumption that all demons ate humans.

Deciding to practice again that evening, Rin walked from her bedroom and down the hall, having come to know nearly every inch of the manor since her arrival two months ago. The door to the music room was firmly shut, as usual, and her fingers had only grazed the knob when she was startled by the sound of Sesshoumaru’s voice.

“Will you play in the study tonight?”

Rin nearly leapt into the closed screen, a hand clutched against her chest as she turned around to face the lord and master of the home. He was in his usual immaculate dress, wearing the formal and old-fashioned clothes of years gone past. He often chose to wear the old style of clothing when around the privacy of his own home, and she could hardly blame him. She felt far more comfortable in a formal kimono and obi than she did modern day clothing…but maybe that was because he liked it that way.

She would have never guessed he had gone to eat, and sometimes wondered if that was even what he left the manor to do. There wasn’t a spot of blood on him anywhere as far as she could see. Not even one strand on his fair-haired head was out of place. As usual, his impassive expression hid his thoughts as she searched his features for some hint of what brought his request. “I’m not that good,” Rin murmured.

“You are improving. I tire of the silence, it only seems to provoke Jaken’s senseless jabber.”

Then, her lord turned to walk to his evening destination, leaving the dumbfounded girl staring at his back. She was improving?! Had he listened to her that often to know whether or not she improved on the instrument, or had he said it merely for her confidence so that she would play…

Sesshoumaru wasn’t the type to simply lie for another’s sake of self-esteem. He also didn’t give unwarranted compliments…as far as she knew he gave no compliments to anyone.

Rin grinned so hard that her face could have split in two. She ran into the music room, lifting the long Japanese floor harp until it was carefully cradled in both arms, then proceeded into the study. She would play for him, and she would wring Jaken’s neck with her own hands if he even dared to interrupt her performance for the master.

***

[Inuyasha]

“I’m going out Mom!” Inuyasha called from the doorway of the apartment’s entrance, only a step away from leaving.

A pot clattered to the floor, followed by a loud, “What!?” Mariko rounded the corner from the kitchen, and set both hands on her hips, staring at her teenage son in disbelief. “You’re kidding, aren’t you?” she asked, eyeing him.

“What’s wrong with me going out?! I go out all the time. What’s the big deal?”

As if she needed to reply. His mother brought her hand up to his raven dark locks, and ran her fingers through them. “This is the big deal, Inuyasha. You’ve stayed in your room for the past four new moons, so why are you going out this particular night?”

The young hanyou glanced towards the door trying hard to avoid his mother’s scrutinous gaze. “Well…I wouldn’t say that…” he muttered.

“What! I know for a fact you’ve been here the past few new moons, I spent three of them with you!”

“Not last new moon…I kinda snuck out around midnight after you went to bed,” he admitted. No sooner had the confession come from his lips, did Mariko grab a hold of his human ear and yank him down to her height and level.

“And where have you been going, young man?” she demanded to know. If that boy was using his changed appearance to get into trouble…

“Ah! Mom!” he complained, unable to break free from the motherly death-grip. “Nowhere bad, geez! I go to the shrine!”

Mariko’s features softened. “You go to spend time with Kagome, you mean.”

“I guess you could call it that.” Inuyasha stood straight again when she released him. “Now can I go?”

“Stay out of trouble,” she warned.

“Yeah yeah yeah.”

----------------------------------

Inuyasha climbed high into one of the trees directly adjacent to the shrine. As a human, he had no extraordinary power, in fact, he was downright useless. If a demon strong enough to pass through those wards and talismans did arrive, he would be a sitting duck, only providing enough delay in his death for Kagome to possibly run to safety. Maybe.

The new moon was the only night that he could enter the shrine’s area, and pass beyond the perimeter of holy tags without discomfort or pain. Of course, he had not been able to bring himself to admit to Kagome that he laid in a tree outside of her family’s shrine for the entire night until the sun was ready to rise. Then, he quickly slipped off the property before his returning hanyou power brought him a surge of sacred pain.

He didn’t know what made him do this, or why he risked his own security to do it. He didn’t even understand why he felt drawn to this strange human girl with the extraordinary miko power. A girl with the capability of burning his soul from his body if she ever had the whim and chance.

Thankfully, she did not. She genuinely enjoyed his company, for reasons he also didn’t understand. By the nature of what she was, she should feel compelled to destroy him, or at least distrust him, but she never showed even an inkling of that. By demon nature and desire of self-preservation he should stay away from her, just in case she ever did decide he was best purified.

However, she continued to invite him to her home, and he continued to come there. Her family enjoyed him, even if her grandfather did occasionally order him to work to put his strength to good use.

He couldn’t quite put into words the way she made him feel. He cared about her. Deeply. He wanted to keep her safe, and felt possessive enough of her to stake out the tree in her yard during the new moon, the only time he could watch over her.

He had almost been forced to watch the girl he loved die in front of him.

Inuyasha growled and shook that thought from his head. It was a silly notion to think that he loved her already. He’d known her for what? Every bit of five months since his arrival to the school, and perhaps a little more than two months on a personal basis as friends. They had grown closer over the passing weeks, without the official title of boyfriend and girlfriend...but that Hobo idiot had finally stopped pursuing her in hopes of a date. So apparently, the words they were unable to call each other were already in the minds of everyone around them.

His thoughts were interrupted by Kagome’s appearance in the bedroom window of her room. She was retiring for bed, and beginning to undress. Red-faced, the hanyou turned temporarily human turned his cheek, despite the burning desire to look upon her bare flesh as she changed into her nightshirt. A few minutes later, he risked a glance to find her completely changed and brushing out her hair, totally oblivious of the peeping tom many yards away.

He guessed it couldn’t really be called peeping if he turned away at the right moments to spare her privacy.

The night wore on for Inuyasha, even after Kagome’s bedroom light clicked off and plunged the room into darkness. Another new moon spent in her tree, watching over the sleeping miko within. When the sun’s rays touched the horizon, causing the dark midnight of the sky to tint with gold and orange, Inuyasha leapt down and ran off the shrine’s property.

He never knew that a pair of sleepy eyes had been upon him as he ran away, their owner awakened to complete homework by an early alarm clock.

***

[Miroku]

Apparently, his father had taken notice of the many strange happenings around Tokyo lately. Things that had gone unseen by Miroku, were picked up by the sensitive monk’s reception that allowed them to feel evil presences, and great disturbances.

His father’s teachings told him that Tokyo was too large and bustling a city for the smaller ripples of demonic manifestation to be felt. There were really too few youkai remaining for the small presences to be felt. He had, however, admitted to feeling Sesshoumaru’s arrival.

Miroku was also surprised when his father admitted he had known for some time the identity of each demonic or hanyou presence in his school. Was he impressed with his father? That was an understatement. He only wished the old man had let him in on the family secret years ago, instead of waiting until disaster struck.

Time not spent at school, on the football field, or with his friends and Sango was spent in rigorous monk’s training. Sleeping an entire night was a rarity now that simply had to be dealt with and endured. His father wanted him to be completely attuned with the spirit world. He had to raise his sensitivity for demon spirits until he knew that he was in a room with one, not by simply recognizing the visual and physical signs of a youkai either. He had to write the kanji and holy symbols of each sacred scroll perfectly until there was no mistake about it, and it would sear the flesh of any demon or hanyou it touched. He had to twirl the staff with expert intuitiveness, and never miss a single block or it could mean the loss of his head if a demon sensed his monk power and wanted to take him out.

“It sure is dangerous to be a monk,” the boy murmured to his father, sweating and leaning heavily against his staff for support. “Since when did priests carrounround staffs? You never told me you knew how to use one of these.” Miroku pushed himself completely upright again, chest still heaving from the exhaustive work out. His father was….a slave driver. There was no simpler or nicer word to describe Miroku Sr.’s joy of putting his son to the test, pushing him to the limit.

“My grandfather taught me long before you were born. It is a skill that has been passed through our family for generations, along with this staff,” he replied, lightly tapping the bottom of the ancient appearing staff against the ground. “Itery ery old, and has been reconditioned several times to ensure it survives to be passed on to each successor of our family.”

“How old?” he asked, eyeing it. The thing probably belonged in a museum somewhere, yet it never broke, and his father was confident it never would.

“Old,” the man emphasized with a grin. “A normal staff should have crumbled by now, and if I told you how old it was, you would never believe me.”

“Try me. My best friend is a hanyou and his ‘girlfriend’ is a miko.” Those two just needed to screw. Miroku was positive a good fuck would make both of them happy, and then maybe they would stop this sneaking around, secretive bullshit, pretending they didn’t want serious commitment and a relationship. Of course, he could say the same thing about Sango. She had been rather uptight lately, to the point of hardly allowing him to touch her at all. Their personal intimacy level had gone down to nil.

His father stroked his chin in thought. He had been rather alarmed to discover youkai influence in the school building growing stronger, but he would not gather the other senior monks and priests of Japan that he still communicated with. Not if the demons were attempting to live peacefully with human society, as these apparently were trying to do. Miroku had tried valiantly to hide that fact from his father, until the monk revealed that he knew, and to what extent he knew the details. With that confession his father also admitted he would bring the demons to no harm, as long as they were showing some humanity as he put it, and not following their base instincts to kill and feed upon human flesh as some did. Besides, true dog demons rarely ate human…they preferred the flesh of other demons, which was a plus in Sesshoumaru’s favor. A hanyou wouldn’t even touch human meat. Their appetites followed a more human pattern.

The fact that his father had known all of this both amazed and scared Miroku. It was impressive that his father knew so much about a demon, down to their diet, level of aggression, and behavioral tendencies around others, but it was frightening that he too, would have to learn it all!

“Your ancestor, for which you were named, owned this staff five hundred years ago. Legend and scriptures passed through our family state that he was one of the four that destroyed ‘The Dark One’ that wished to corrupt the powerful shikon no tama.”

“By any chance…was he accompanied by a woman named Kikyou?” Miroku impulsively questioned, causing his father’s eyes to widen slightly. Something was beginning to add up, and the young man wasn’t certain if he liked it.

“That is enough talk for now, son. Our practice must begin once more.” The older man and his son stood, each holding their staff. Miroku Senior began to rain down a torrent of blows, ruthlessly striking his son’s shoulders and thighs with enough to cause a painful sting, but leave no lasting damage. “Come on, Miroku, you can do better than this!”

“You are too fast!” the younger protested.

“And you are as well!”

There was no trade off of blows to speak of. The younger received the majority, and found himself unable to even crack his father’s solid defense. He was backed nearly into the corner, the staff striking with such precision that he doubted he could ever reach his father’s level of skill with the weapon. “I can’t do this!”

His father spun and the long rod of the mystic’s staff tore Miroku’s feet out from beneath him. He landed on his back, staring up at the ceiling and breathing so heavily he thought his lungs would burst. “You can,” the elder stated firmly, despite having to look down at his floored child. “Up. We will try again. Put your heart into it. Don’t think of how skilled I am, think of how badly you want to survive.”

“But my life isn’t at stake.”

“If a demon recognizes you for what you are, it will be.”

--------------------------------

The night wore on, grueling practice after practice took place. Miroku could hardly stand, while his father, the older of them, seemed perfectly fine with exception to some sweat here and there. He had never known how in shape his father was. Not to say he wasn’t as well. There was simply a unique difference between practice for a sport, and exercise and training meant to save one’s life.

“Faster, Miroku. You must block every blow. Allow not one strike to slip through or it could mean your death. The claws of your hanyou friend are nothing compared to that of a full demon.”

“You’re too fast,” he wheezed out, rubbing his shoulder.

“Do not doubt in yourself. Mwithwith instinct. Do not only block, but move your body out of the path of danger.”

Miroku attempted just this, and tried to remove his body from the direction of his father’s skilled aim. However, in that movement, he briefly let his guard down, and succumbed to a furious string of attacks, thankfully weaker in strength than the usual practice strikes. He struggled to block off the rain of strikes, and the snap of his practice snap as his father’s staff broke through a weak point in the wood echoed. However, the attack continued, and Miroku was forced to grab a half of it in each hand.

Surprisingly, the sound of wood against wood was heard, rather than wood against meat. The steady click and thock of wood against wood became a rhythm uninterrupted by any undefended attack.

The entire flow of the practice changed, fluid movements mirrored one another, and the two halves of the staff successfully fended off the older monk’s attack. Several moments later, the staff was lowered. The younger of the two sparring partners collapsed on the ground heavily to rest.

“I told you not to doubt in yourself.”

Miroku glanced up at his father, and grinned. “That you did, Father.” That night, the young man retired to bed with a new confidence.

Miroku Senior stroked his chin, gazing thoughtfully at up at the heavens. Maybe, the scriptures are true, after all. Maybe…

Okay, so I ended up doing everyone this chapter, instead of dragging it out and splitting it. This next chapter might be a -little- delayed so that I can update my other stories, now that I’m getting back on track and need to get my pattern started again. I‘d been dedicating a lot of time to OA since its my easiest writing for some reason, and also one of my MOST enjoyable (I love Sess). I’ve been working on my art a bit too, and my website is changing folders, just a minor little change in address, so keep an eye on my modblog for a change in address.

Who can guess where I am going with the past references in this fic, by the hints in Sango’s part and the small hints in Miroku‘s? You get a cookie if you can?

Fluff coming up. I’m not telling or giving hints, you just have to read it to find out.

Oh, for you Sess and Rin fans, check out http:// s91757539.onlinehome.us/ Fanart/adult/ SessxRin.jpg and just remember to remove the spaces so orksorks right. My first hentai.