Flowers For My Daughter, Pt.2

Flowers for My Daughter (Part 2)
Inuyasha and Kagome rushed down the stairs to where the girls waited for them. "Well, we took care of the monster--it's all gone and it won't bother you any more!" Kagome said with what she hoped was convincing sunniness. She turned to Inuyasha and said much more quietly, "We've got to deal with this, but what should we do with the children?"

"They'll have to come with us," Inuyasha said. "It'll be dangerous, but leaving them here unprotected would be more dangerous."

Kagome nodded. She turned back to the girls, smiled and clapped her hands. She put on her cheeriest voice: "Well, let's go on a monster hunt--we wouldn't want another one to surprise you tonight, and the best way to get rid of them is to be brave and show them who's boss! Get your jacket, Kagome--it's going to be fun!"

Izayoi immediately jumped up and grabbed little Kagome's hand with excitement. "C'mon, Kagome--we're going to exterminate some youkai!" Little Kagome looked about as excited as Izayoi did on her way up to the bath, but she was willing to trust her friend, so she grabbed her jacket and joined them in the courtyard.

Inuyasha and Izayoi took the point, using their sensitive ears and noses, while Kagome stayed next to little Kagome, but even as she stood next to the child, she reached out with her miko's senses, seeking the source of the jyaki. Inuyasha found it first. He drew Tessaiga and gestured with it as he whispered hoarsely, "There. The shrine."

They crossed the courtyard, creeping silently and slowly, and cautiously entered the open portals of the great shrine. It was a tremendously old building, made almost entirely of wood, and it moaned and creaked softly in the cool night air. A sparse forest of tall rough-hewn posts rose out of the hardwood floor, supporting mighty cedar beams that spanned the open space of the shrine and supported the thick blue-gray slate tiles of the roof, which were cleverly interlocked such that the tiles themselves created the support for their upreaching arch. At the far end stood a raised platform that supported the altar, upon which could still be seen the remains of the day's ceremonial offerings. On either side of the platform, two enormous stone lanterns stood sentinel; and ringing its rear were ancient weapons: javelins, pikes, and halberds forged of some dark metal, from which embroidered banners were hung. It was too dark to see the patterns of the banners, but their silver and gold threads glistened dimly in the moonlight that streamed in through the great doors. Every sound echoed eerily, bouncing off the polished floor and rattling through the vast upwards curve of the roof.

Inuyasha and Kagome crept through the shrine, looking for any sign of the demon. Inuyasha ground his teeth and growled softly. "It's here. I know it's here. I can feel it."

Suddenly an ugly tentacle erupted through the shrine floor, sending an explosion of splinters in every direction. It wrapped itself around one of the tall support posts, and yanked viciously. The post snapped in half, and one of the ceiling beams to which it was attached came loose and fell, plummeting towards the two little girls.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed. Inuyasha bounded towards the girls, but Izayoi was faster. She leapt into the air directly at the descending beam, and with a shout of "Sankontessou!" her little razor-sharp claws sliced like golden lasers through the heavy wood, cutting it neatly in two and allowing it to fall harmlessly away from herself and her friend.

"Good girl!" shouted Kagome. But although Izayoi had stopped the beam, she couldn't block all the falling debris, and a large chunk of one of the slate roof tiles fell on little Kagome. She tried to shield herself with an upraised arm, but the tile was too heavy, and with a sharp cry of pain, she fell beneath it and didn't get up.

"Kagome!" Izayoi screamed. She dashed to her friend's side, lifted the stone, and hurled it away. In a moment she called to her mother, "She's alive--but I think she's hurt, Mommy, she's hurt bad."

Inuyasha arrived at her side seconds later, and examined the girl. "She'll live, but she's unconscious, and I think her arm's broken. Izayoi, stay with her." Izayoi nodded, kneeling next to little Kagome and stroking her friend's limp hand.

Inuyasha turned and shouted into the room, "Monster! What sort of coward tries to kill a little girl while he hides in the shadows? Show yourself!"

Through the hole in the floor came boiling a hideous foul-smelling ooze, which seemed to pour itself upwards into the shrine from somewhere below. It congealed into a huge, slimy, slithering lump, which held no fixed form, but whose shape constantly churned and bubbled. Dozens of tentacles of different lengths sprouted from its surface, each dripping a malevolent ichor that smoked and sizzled as it dropped onto the shrine's floor. In the center of the roiling mass a huge bubble formed, and the skin over it parted to reveal a single oily eye, which settled its gaze on Inuyasha. The creature's stench was nearly unbearable, and from somewhere within its core, a low, evil laugh belched forth.

Inuyasha drew the sleeve of his kimono across his face, trying to block the smell. "Naraku...?" he growled.

"Not Naraku, but of him," a low voice gurgled up from within the creature. "From his body he made me, and for his pleasure and in his service I live. For years I clawed at the banks of the stream of time, digging little by little to create a chink, an eddy, a current to draw me here." ("So that's how we got here," Kagome thought.)

The creature laughed again; each time it did, bubbles popped all over its surface, releasing an oily foul-smelling vapor. "And so my master Naraku sent me here, to kill the young miko before she came into her own, and take the Shikon no Tama that even now lies hidden within her body. I had no idea that my master's most hated foe--you, hanyou--would await me as well. My master will be pleased when I bring him the Shikon no Tama in the mouth of your severed head."

Inuyasha raised his sword menacingly. "I still have my head, monster, and as soon as I can find yours with my sword, I'll cut it off." He was about to charge the creature when he was startled by a scream from behind him, at the shrine's main door.

"Kagome! Kagome! What have you done to my daughter?"

It was Kagome's mother. She had just returned home, and hearing the ruckus in the shrine, had gone to investigate. She rushed towards her fallen daughter, and the monster extended a tentacle in her direction to catch her; but Inuyasha deftly severed it with a single slash from Tessaiga, and the amputated tentacle struck the ground heavily and writhed hideously.

The monster roared angrily. It began hurling debris that had fallen from the shrine roof at little Kagome and Izayoi, and whipped its other tentacles towards Inuyasha and Kagome.

With his sword in his right hand, Inuyasha slashed at the attacking tentacles, and with his left he grabbed Tessaiga's sheath from his waist, and skimmed it towards his daughter. "Izayoi! Protect Grandma and little Kagome!"

Izayoi deftly caught the sheath as she stood up, placing herself between the monster and little Kagome and her mother. She planted her feet firmly and raised the sheath before her with outstretched hands, and a glowing hemisphere of shimmering sapphire light formed around the three of them. The debris the monster threw at her bounced off the barrier harmlessly, and the tentacles that reached for her sparked and burned where they touched her shield.

Izayoi looked over her shoulder at Mama, who was cradling little Kagome and shivering in terror, trying to shield her child with her own body. "Don't worry, Grandma," Izayoi said, "I won't let anything happen to either of you." As she spoke, a large chunk of something heavy bounced off the barrier, which rang darkly and sparked violently. Izayoi bared her fangs and growled, and her eyes narrowed angrily, and Mama could feel the hairs on her arms standing on end as the air crackled with energy and the barrier stiffened.

"Grandma...?" she said softly, confused. "Who...who are you people?"

Mama turned from Izayoi to the commotion in the shrine, and the sight took her breath away. Inuyasha was a blur of white and red, his sword slashing at every horror that the creature extended at him. Kagome was moving almost too quickly to be seen, her hair and hakama flying as she whirled and spun, now loosing an arrow, which sparkled and exploded as it flew; now firing blasts of violet lightning from her bare hands; now deflecting the creature's attacks with her bow as though it were a quarter-staff; and at each foul touch of the beast's tentacles to her bow, there was a flash of electric fire and the smell of burning flesh.

Inuyasha shouted as he parried the beast's attacks, "Kagome, I'm sorry, but I can't fool around with this jerk any longer." A yellow vortex whirled around Tessaiga, and as Inuyasha shouted "Kaze no kizu!" he fired a tremendous blast at the creature.

Tessiga's mystic lightnings ripped along the shrine's floor directly at the creature and struck it dead center; but the creature's body rippled and shimmered into semi-transparency, and the blast traveled through and blew out the back wall of the shrine, leaving the beast completely unharmed.

"Huh? It didn't work?" Inuyasha was completely taken aback, so much so that he almost allowed one of the tentacles to reach him before he sliced it apart.

Kagome let fly a volley of three arrows in quick succession, directly at the creature's central bulk. Again, its body shimmered into transparency, and the arrows passed harmlessly through.

The creature belched forth its ugly laugh. "Your weapons are powerless against me. I can shift my body in time. When your attack comes, I have not yet arrived here and now at the shrine." It guffawed cruelly, and its body shimmered again, taunting them. "Your weapons cannot touch me. I cannot be harmed."

The creature laughed again, but its laughter was cut off abruptly as part of its body bulged forward grotesquely; then, something blazing with a brilliant blue radiance erupted forth. It was Papa's ancient halberd, the Demon-slayer: it was dark dead metal no longer, but glowing brightly, lit from within by a miasma of living fire. Papa had crept stealthily behind the beast while it was gloating with Inuyasha and Kagome, and he had driven home the ancient weapon straight and true, piercing the creature's awful heart. The tip of the blade, still shedding blinding sparks of blue and violet lightning, was jutting forth from the front of the monster, just under its hideous eye.

The creature screamed with rage and pain, and its surface boiled and rippled obscenely. "Insect! Worm! How dare you?" The beast’s tentacles whipped around, grabbing Papa, and it hurled him the length of the shrine, where he hit the wall with a sickening thud. He fell, and did not move.

"Papa!" Kagome screamed. She dropped her bow, and from her upraised right hand there exploded a purifying bolt of terrible power, crackling and searing the very air as it coursed towards the demon. The bolt struck the tip of the halberd protruding from the creature, and it flashed brilliantly as it danced down the blade and the shaft, flowing together with the halberd's own mystic force. There was a horrible sizzling sound, and smoke arose from the wound under the creature's eye, and the sickening smell of the beast cooking from within filled the room.

The beast vainly tried to shift itself to free itself from the halberd, but although it rippled and shimmered and grew transparent at the edges, its core remained solid. Kagome's bolt had charged the weapon with purifying energy, and the tentacles that reached to pull it out were burned to cinders at the moment they touched the weapon. Sensing the monster's weakness, Inuyasha fired another kaze no kizu straight at the creature's now-solid core. The blast raked ugly claw marks across the creature's surface, tearing great gouges in its flesh and scarring its eye.

The creature roared in rage and pain. Its tentacles whipped around one of the stone lanterns, and using it like a bat, the monster swatted Inuyasha brutally, sending him hurtling through the air and Tessaiga flying from his grasp. His body slammed into Kagome's, and the two of them tumbled together and slid across the floor. A wad of the creature's body flew out at the end of one of its tentacles, and it struck the two of them, gluing them where they landed.

"For that..." the creature growled furiously, "for that...the child will not die quickly or painlessly. I will slowly rend the flesh from her body, and relish the sweetness of her pain as I devour her...and I will boil your cub in her blood." The creature puffed and fumed for a few moments, emitting a thick brown smudge from its wounds, then it spoke again. "Your half-breed whelp cannot hold that barrier forever." It was true; the strain was showing in Izayoi's face, sweat was pouring down her furrowed brow, and the sparks that flew when the beast's tentacles probed the barrier were getting dimmer.

The monster laughed again, more cruelly this time. "I do not know which of you I will kill first, and to whom I will grant the exquisite pain of dying last. You, miko? Shall you see the man you love and your firstborn rent asunder before your eyes...or you, hanyou? Shall you see your woman and child die horribly, knowing that you were powerless to save them?"

Inuyasha and Kagome strained to free themselves, but to no avail. They looked desperately at one another, and each could read the questions in the other's eyes: is this, finally, where it ends, after all we've been through together? But then, a calm voice cut through the silence: "No one...is going to die...today."

It was Kagome's father; he was wounded, but he stood tall and proud. He had silently crossed the shrine floor using Tessaiga (which had transformed back to its smaller, rusted state) as a crutch. Blood ran down his legs and onto the floor, and the red trail that lay behind him told the awful story of the pain that his progress had cost him.

"I do not have the power of these two...but as long as there is breath in my body, I will protect my family."

When Papa said "protect," Tessaiga pulsed. Inuyasha felt it immediately, and his golden eyes widened in amazement; then, they narrowed in concentration. "Tessaiga..." he said softly, whispering to the sword.

Papa stood tall with his feet planted firmly, and he bravely raised the sword in his right hand; Tessaiga pulsed again. Inuyasha suddenly shouted out in a great voice, "Tessaiga!" and the sword just as suddenly came to life--it transformed, a ring of living golden flame flashing along the blade.

Papa didn't notice; his eyes were fixed on the creature. He lifted the great sword over his head easily, as though it had no weight at all; and Inuyasha again called to the sword, shouting, "Tessaiga! Kongousouha!" The sword pulsed again; crystalline shimmers ran from hilt to tip, and a blue vortex formed along the blade.

With Tessaiga held high, Papa stared directly into the monster's evil eye, and shouted with all his remaining strength, "The only one who will die here today...is you!"

He grasped the hilt with both hands and whipped the sword down, menacingly directing its tip directly at the creature; and that was all the encouragement that Tessaiga needed. A shower of diamond spears flew from the blade, striking the creature squarely where the halberd had pierced him, precisely in the spot where the creature was unable to shift itself out of harm's way. With a fusillade of deep and resounding thuds, the glittering kongouseki imbedded themselves deep in the creature's horrible vitals, and the monster screamed incoherently in agony.

Distracted by pain, the beast loosened its grip on Kagome and Inuyasha. With golden fire pouring from his claws, Inuyasha ripped through the fleshy glue that held them prisoner, and he quickly freed himself and Kagome. They rushed to Papa's side; completely spent, Papa had crumpled to his knees, Tessaiga falling from his grip. Kagome caught and supported her father, easing him gently to the floor, and in one smooth motion, Inuyasha somersaulted over both of them and snatched the sword, landing directly in front of the creature. With a tremendous shout of "Bakuryuuha!" he fired a devastating blast directly at the monster, point blank.

The whirlwind of the Bakuryuuha tore into the creature, and its screams of pain redoubled. It furiously dug its tentacles into the floor, holding on desperately against the raging fury of Inuyasha's attack. But although Inuyasha's strike had clearly done a great deal of damage, the creature showed no signs of dying, and Inuyasha feared that the beast would somehow survive his attack.

"The Bakuryuuha...not enough?" Inuyasha said under his breath. "What do I have left?" He was preparing himself to make a last desperate stand against the creature, tearing it apart with his bare hands if that was what was required, when he was stopped in his tracks by the terrible cry of a cold, chilling voice.

"You...you...you bastard." It was Kagome; she was standing over the crumpled form of her father, her beautiful white kimono stained red with his blood. Tears flowed in rivers down her cheeks, and her voice shook as she sobbed, but the ebon fires in her eyes burned pure and deadly with indomitable rage, and she drew her bow with the grim, steady hand of heaven's own vengeance. "You bastard...you killed my father!" she cried. The arrow's point glowed with a blinding violet-white flame, searing the very air. Her voice racked with anguish and grief, Kagome shrieked hoarsely, "DIE!" and loosed the arrow.

The arrow rent the air, flying straight to the center of the kongouseki protruding from the creature; the tentacles with which the monster vainly tried to block the arrow were instantly vaporized in the arrow's searing aura. The arrow struck deep into the center of the crystalline cluster, and the arrow’s power spread outwards, refracted and magnified by the diamond spears. In a flash, the Bakuryuuha ignited, its raging whirwind instantly transforming into a firestorm of incandescent plasma. The deafening howl of the Bakuryuuha's redoubled fury drowned out the creature's shrieks of pain; and with an explosion that shook the shrine to its foundations, the hideous beast shattered into a shower of sparks, which twinkled and faded as they floated slowly down to the shrine floor.

The creature was utterly destroyed; and for a moment, nothing remained but roaring silence, and the dim moonlight shining through the holes in the roof of the ancient shrine.

The stillness was broken by Papa's cough. Kagome knelt to support him, and Inuyasha rushed to his side. Izayoi released her barrier, collapsing to her knees with exhaustion, and Mama ran to join them as they knelt next to Papa.

"Well," Papa wheezed with some difficulty, "Grandpa will never be able to beat this story. He's going to be so jealous." He smiled and laughed gently, but it turned quickly to coughing.

Kagome carefully propped him up to ease his breathing. "Don't worry," she said reassuringly. "Help will be here soon. You'll be just fine...won't he, Inuyasha?" She looked hopefully up at Inuyasha, but his face was ashen and grim. He shook his head gently, very gently…and he looked down, unable to meet the horror in Kagome's eyes.

Papa reached up and took Kagome's hand. "Thank you," he said, "thank you for saving my wife and my daughter."

"Hush now," Kagome said soothingly. "Don't try to talk." With the sleeve of her kimono, she tenderly wiped his face clean of the grime of the battle, and she lightly smoothed his ruffled hair.

Papa's hand gently touched Kagome's cheek. "Kagome..." he said softly. "You are...my Kagome...aren't you?"

Tears welled up in Kagome's eyes, and she pressed his hand against her cheek. "Oh yes, Papa...yes, I am. Oh, Papa, I missed you so much!" She kissed his hand, and fell forward onto him, holding him as tightly as she dared, rocking him and sobbing.

"There, there, my girl. Don't cry." Papa stroked her hair as he spoke. "I'm so proud of you. You've done so well...and is that my granddaughter?" He looked towards Izayoi, still at the side of the unconscious child Kagome, still holding her friend's little hand; her dark eyes looked back at him, very large and very sad.

"Yes, Papa. That's my precious Izayoi." Kagome whispered through her tears, and wiped her eyes on her kimono. "I'm so glad that she could meet you," she said, smiling at her daughter.

"She's beautiful, sweetheart. She's brave like her mother and strong like her father. I'm so...so happy." Papa reached his hand towards Inuyasha, and Inuyasha took it in his. "Your sword is amazing...but the hand that holds it, and the heart that guides it, are more amazing still." Then Papa laid Kagome's hand in Inuyasha's. "Take care of my Kagome," he told Inuyasha.

For a moment Inuyasha couldn't speak; then he found his voice, and it was strong and clear. "I always have," he said, looking directly into Papa's eyes, "and I always will."

"I know you will," Papa said. "I'm proud of you too...son." Inuyasha blinked hard, then looked down. "Where's my wife?" Papa asked, looking weakly around for her.

"Right here, beloved." Mama knelt down next to Papa, and Inuyasha and Kagome withdrew respectfully to join Izayoi, who jumped up, hugged her mother very hard, and buried her face in her mother's kimono.

"I'm sorry...that I couldn't say goodbye to Souta...please tell him that I love him," said Papa, now breathing with some difficulty.

"Hush, love, you'll tell him yourself," Mama said gently, stroking his face.

Papa took her hands in his. "I'm afraid there won't be time for that...Oh, don't cry, my love," he said tenderly, "Look at our beautiful daughter, our brave son, and our darling granddaughter. You've done a wonderful job with them, my love. See? You didn't even need me." He chuckled briefly, then caressed her face. "My dear, my beloved...We shall not be parted for long, I promise you. If there is any way, I will find it...and we will be together, forever." He coughed again, then looked up at Mama. "Now kiss me goodnight, and let the last thing I see in this world be your sweet face."

Mama leaned down and kissed him lovingly. For a moment, she turned her face away; but when she turned back to look at Papa, there were tears on her cheeks but none in her eyes, and a beautiful smile lit her face. She stroked Papa's hair, and started humming a little tune. Kagome recognized it immediately as the lullaby that her father used to sing to her when she was little. She grabbed Inuyasha's kimono and buried her face in his chest to muffle her sobs, so that the sound of her weeping would not sully her father's last moments with Mama.

A wonderful smile grew on Papa's face, and he closed his eyes; and as he rested his head on Mama's lap, his face shone with utter peace and contentment. Mama kept humming and stroking Papa's hair until the sound of his labored breathing slowed and finally stilled. And when she saw that he was gone, her sweet song became a mournful low keening, and she held her husband's body tightly and wept bitterly; and Kagome and Izayoi knelt beside her, and their tears flowed together with hers.

And for a time, the ancient shrine echoed only with lamentations: the cries of hearts rent with unbearable sadness, and the choked, racking sobs of inconsolable grief.

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They said their farewells outside the shrine, in the courtyard. "I will never be able to thank you enough for saving me and my daughter," Mama said as she held her still unconscious child in her arms.

"It was Papa...it was Papa who saved us all," Kagome replied sadly. "But Mama, I don't remember any of this. I remember meeting a little girl with long white hair, long ago, but that's all—I don't remember where, or when, or how. All I remember about tonight is that I woke up in the hospital with my arm in a cast, and you told me that Papa had died in an accident at the shrine. Why didn't you ever tell me what happened?"

"Tell you what happened? Just exactly what am I supposed to tell you? I mean, her? I mean, you? I mean...well, I don't really know what I mean," Mama said testily. "Tell the nine-year-old you that a future you came here, along with a half-demon that you had met in the feudal era and the child that you had by him, and that your father had used a magical sword to defeat a demon that had threatened to kill you before you could grow up and go back to the feudal era to meet your future lover and kill its master, five hundred years before you were born?" She laughed darkly. "I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it, I'm quite sure that don't understand it, and I am absolutely certain that couldn't explain it to a nine-year-old."

"I see what you mean," said Kagome, more than a little chagrined. "But the shrine...we've destroyed the shrine."

"Oh, that old thing." Mama laughed again, but more light-heartedly. "I can't tell you how many times it has burned down over the centuries. It's nothing but trouble. We needed to repair the roof anyway, Grandpa's jars of pickled demon parts are always overheating and starting fires, and your father and I have been fighting for years to keep the equipment in the basement from exploding on its own. Believe me...this was a blessing. Now, at least, we can get the insurance to pay for it." Despite herself, Kagome actually laughed along with her mother.

Izayoi's ears twitched. "Sirens, Mommy. I hear sirens."

Mama kissed each of them hurriedly. "You'd better go before the authorities get here. This mess," she nodded towards the shrine, "I'm sure I can explain, but I don't know what they'll say if they see the three of you."

"What about Papa's...what about Papa?" Kagome asked quietly.

"I'll see to what's necessary," Mama replied calmly. "I need to do it myself...to help say goodbye." Cheery again, she said "Now get going. Even I can hear the sirens now, and they'll be here any second."

Kagome kissed her mother quickly, and they headed across the courtyard to the well-house. Kagome kept looking over her shoulder at her mother; and when Mama saw her, she waved merrily back to Kagome, and called to her, "Don't worry about me! Besides, you'll see me again soon..." and she nodded at the unconscious child in her arms, "just as soon as you wake up!"

Inuyasha, Kagome, and Izayoi entered the well-house, and climbed up onto the lip of the well. Kagome looked out the door one last time, and saw her mother, standing alone in the moonlit courtyard. Mama looked with sadness at the ruined shrine, but when she looked down at her daughter in her arms, her face warmed with sweet sorrow and joy, and she tenderly kissed the sleeping child's brow.

Kagome grabbed Izayoi with one arm, and Inuyasha with the other, and hugged them both very tightly. "Let's go home," she said with a choked whisper. Inuyasha's strong arms wrapped around her and their daughter, and they stepped into the well.

The three of them held each other tightly as they were buffeted about in the stream of time. The ride was rough, but they were numbed by sadness and loss, and they paid the bumps no notice. Presently, they arrived at their destination: the bottom of the well, inside the shrine well-house.

Inuyasha and Izayoi both sniffed the air. "Smells right...sounds right..." Inuyasha said, and Izayoi nodded in agreement. Inuyasha climbed up the ladder cautiously, popped his head out the top of the well, and motioned for the others to join him.

Standing at the door, he looked at Kagome and Izayoi, then said, "Well...here goes." He slid the door open, and they all looked outside. When they had left the past, it had been the middle of the night, but now, it was late afternoon, and the gray flagstones glowed red in the waning sun. Everything looked exactly as it was supposed to: a quiet day, just like any other, at the Higurashi shrine. Across the courtyard in front of the family home, Mama was sweeping the front steps, humming contentedly to herself. Her clothes were right, and her hairstyle was right; they were, at last, home.

Kagome, Izayoi, and Inuyasha wearily made their way across the courtyard to the house. Mama saw them approaching, and waved merrily. "Iza-chan! Inu-chan! Kagome-chan! Welcome home!" Mama saw immediately that something was wrong. Normally, Izayoi ran full-tilt across the courtyard to greet her, nearly knocking her over and smothering her with a big hug. But today, Izayoi tottered along at Kagome's side, her eyes downcast. Mama had seen them come home exhausted from their adventures before, but today they looked worse than ever: Inuyasha's and Izayoi's long white hair was sooty and gray, and Inuyasha's kimono was covered with dirt and debris. Kagome's face was wet from her tears, and her kimono was as filthy as Inuyasha's; but across her chest, there was also an ugly stain of dried blood.

"Good heavens, Kagome-chan," Mama asked worriedly, "what happened?"

Kagome began weeping anew. "Mama...we just...we just saw Papa..." and she fell into her mother's arms, crying bitterly. Izayoi began crying too, and she hugged Inuyasha very tightly and buried her face in his kimono. And even Inuyasha, who always did his best to maintain a stern face, was blinking back the tears, and his lower lip was clearly quivering as he tried vainly to comfort his daughter.

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Mama quickly bundled the three of them into the house, made them take off their stained clothing, and saw that everyone had a good scrub and a good soak (and, in Kagome and Izayoi's case, they also had a good cry as they sat together in the tub), and she wrapped them all in warm, soft robes.

Once they were washed clean of the dirt and sorrow of the previous day, Mama sat them down at the dinner table, and rather than hot tea, she brought out hot sake. Even Inuyasha, who loathed the taste of alcohol, asked for a cup. ("Man, I hate this stuff," he muttered as he pounded back a shot, then reached for the bottle and poured himself another.) Inuyasha and Kagome sat together on one side of the table, and Mama, cradling the sleeping Izayoi in her arms, sat on the other.

"I was wondering when it would happen," Mama said musingly. "Oh, of course, it already happened, but...oh, you know what I mean. I've never been able to really understand this. But once Izayoi turned nine, I knew it would be soon--that was her age when...well, when we first met."

"But Mama, why didn't you ever tell me? After all these years?" Kagome asked.

"Sometimes, it's best to let things happen as they were meant to happen," Mama said thoughtfully, sipping at her sake. "Your father and I were meant to happen, and that meant that you and Souta were meant to happen. The same way, you and Inuyasha were meant to happen, and Iza-chan was meant to happen; and, sadly, your poor father's death was also meant to happen. I didn't want to do anything that might put any of that at risk."

"But besides," Mama laughed, "it was because of that night that I let you go back to the feudal era in the first place. I mean, what kind of mother would I be, letting my fifteen-year-old daughter all but quit school and disappear for weeks at a time? Most girls that age only talk about music and clothes, but all you ever asked for was first-aid supplies—how do you think that makes a mother feel?" Both Kagome and Mama started giggling, and even Inuyasha left his reverie long enough to laugh with them. "The only boy you ever brought home seemed nice enough, but he had no manners at all, and clearly had no upbringing. Whenever he stayed the night, he always stayed with you, in your room, just the two of you, and I never asked once what you were doing in there." Mama looked half jokingly, half reprovingly at Kagome. "And whenever you didn't come home with him, you would come home in tears, wondering whether he loved you as much as you loved him, because he was involved with another woman who, if I get it right, was...dead?" Kagome and Inuyasha were both blushing fiercely at Mama's description of their rocky past, but even they had to laugh at that. "But I never worried for a second about either of you, no matter what life threw at you...because I had seen you fight for me, for each other, and for her." She looked lovingly down at Izayoi in her arms, and stroked her soft white hair. "And I knew that no matter what happened, you would live long enough to see that moment...that horrible, beautiful moment."

Again, a silence fell between them. Kagome refilled everyone's cup, and they all sipped their sake pensively, lost in their memories. Kagome was first to break the silence. "Er, Inuyasha," she began, "How was Papa able to hurt that thing, when none of us could?" The kaze no kizu, my arrows, nothing could touch it...and yet Papa could."

"That old weapon...it really was a demon slayer. It wasn't like those toys your Grandpa plays with...it had real power." said Inuyasha without looking up, absentmindedly fiddling with his cup. "Plus, it never saw him coming. He was just a human—he was something that a youkai like that wouldn't even notice. It never expected him to attack like that, so it wasn't paying attention...and that gave us the break we needed." He stared at his cup for a moment. "Your dad and mine...they both..." his voice trailed off, and he grabbed his cup and drained it.

"But your sword, Inuyasha," Kagome asked. "How could he use your sword?"

Inuyasha set down his cup, and looked Kagome squarely in the eye. "Tessaiga and I are one," he said simply; then, unwilling to say more, he crossed his arms and stared absently at the table.

"Don't be sad, Inuyasha," Mama said gently. "Without you, my daughter, my husband, and I, all three of us would have been killed by that...that thing. You and your sword saved us all—in more ways than you know. Come take your daughter for a moment, and I'll show you." Inuyasha gently took his sleeping daughter from Mama. Izayoi stirred slightly, then drew a fold of Inuyasha's robe to her cheek and settled back to sleep.

Mama walked over to the family's shrine, and removed a small wooden box from a drawer. She returned to the table, opened the lid, and poured the contents out: a glitter of sparkling crystals, tinkling musically.

"Kongouseki!" Kagome said in an amazed whisper.

"So that's what they're called. I always wondered," said Mama. "The insurance paid for the shrine, of course, but your father's company plan didn't go very far, and I was starting to get worried. I had two growing children and your grandfather to care for, and I wasn't going to make it much longer without some help. Then, it dawned on me." She picked up a crystal and regarded it thoughtfully. "I had collected all of these after...well, afterwards. It took quite a while—I can't begin to tell you how many of these there were, scattered all over the shrine. I was finally able to sell some of these to a collector. It took some doing, but he paid a very good price—far more than he had originally intended." She chuckled, remembering her skills at negotiation. "Because of that, we were able to live comfortably, and all my children's needs were met. And, if you watch your spending wisely, neither you nor Souta will ever need to worry about money, either." Mama nodded at little Izayoi. "There's even something for her, if she wants it—and by the time she's old enough, it should be quite a tidy sum."

Mama laughed again. "How do you think we paid for the guest room that we built for you two, so that Iza-chan could have Kagome's old room to herself? And how do you think we were always able to repair the holes that would get blown in something" (here she looked pointedly at Inuyasha) "or the Inu-chan-shaped holes that would get dug into the flagstones?" She looked meaningfully at Kagome, who giggled nervously.

Mama gathered the kongouseki and replaced them in their box, and returned the box to its place in the shrine. "But your sword protects us in more ways than that, Inu-chan," Mama continued. "I couldn't bear to sell all those lovely little diamonds. I buried most of them around the perimeter of the shrine grounds. Some of the larger ones I buried under the shrine, and others are in various places around the grounds. The largest ones are under the floor of each of our bedrooms."

Mama looked at each of them in turn, as she said gravely but warmly, "And since the day I placed the last stone...the fortunes of the Higurashi shrine changed. Grandpa's silly little charms didn't change, of course...they're still not worth the paper they're printed on...but the very air of this place became different, more peaceful...more blessed. Nothing dark or evil dares cross the boundary that your kongouseki have created. Even our night's rest is more renewing, more refreshing, than it was before."

"And so, Inuyasha...Kagome," Mama said, with her hands on theirs, "even though I miss your father terribly, and I know you do too, I want you to know that he was very, very proud of you...and that despite the tragedy that happened on that horrible night, it brought great blessings to this family, to me, and to you."

Mama turned away, brushing a tear from her eyes, but in a moment she was her old chipper self again. "So, I think it's time for the little one to go to bed, and from the day I know you two have had, I think it's time for you to do the same. But right now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to spend a few minutes at the Goshinboku... talking with your father."

"I'm coming too," said Kagome, pushing her chair back and rising. "Inuyasha, why don't you put Iza-chan to bed? I'll be back in a few minutes." And so saying, she and her mother grabbed their coats and headed outside.

Inuyasha carried Izayoi up the stairs to her room—Kagome's old room—and laid his daughter gently on the bed, and tucked her under the warm covers. He looked out the window onto the shrine grounds, and saw Kagome and Mama, their arms around each other, looking at the Goshinboku. Kagome's mother had told him years ago that she had buried Papa's ashes at the foot of the tree, and although he had never felt anything there himself, both Mama and Kagome said they could feel Papa's presence when they stood in the shadow of the great tree.

He was lost in thought when he heard Izayoi's sweet little voice. "Daddy?"

He looked down to find her wide awake, her dark eyes looking deeply into his. He sat on the bed, and patted her lovingly. "Yeah?"

"Daddy, was that really my Grandpa who died last night?"

"Yeah...yeah, it was."

"Oh. I thought so." Izayoi fell silent for a moment, then continued. "Is Mommy sad that her daddy died?"

"Yeah, she is...but she has you, and that makes her feel better."

"Did your daddy die just like Grandpa died?"

Inuyasha replied grimly, "Yeah...yeah, he did. A very long time ago."

"Daddy, are you going to die like that too?"

Inuyasha was taken aback, but not for long. He held up his fist triumphantly and said proudly, "Naah. I'm too tough for that. I've faced a lot worse than that loser," and he clenched his fist hard enough to make his knuckles crack, "And the end was always the same!"

"That's good, Daddy." Izayoi thought for a moment, then asked, "Is little Kagome sad too?"

"Yeah, I'm sure she is."

"When will I see her again?"

Inuyasha's eyebrow twitched nervously. "Well...I don't know. That's kind of... complicated."

"If little Kagome's daddy was the same as Mommy's daddy, does that mean they're sisters?"

Inuyasha felt his heart skip a beat, and his eyebrow twitched uncontrollably. "Well...why don't you ask your mother about that?"

"O-kay. Good night, Daddy," she said, and shut her eyes and curled up in the comforter.

Inuyasha sat with her for a few minutes, stroking her hair, until Kagome came back into the house and joined him in the bedroom.

"How's she doing?" whispered Kagome.

"Just fine. She asked whether little Kagome's daddy was the same as your daddy, and whether you were sisters. I told her to ask you."

"Honestly, Inuyasha," Kagome sighed dejectedly, "How you can face down Naraku but can't answer your own daughter's questions, I will never understand. 'If I have Daddy's hair and ears, why don't I have the other things he has?'" she imitated Izayoi's innocent little voice. "'He says girls don't need them—so what does he need them for?'" She sighed again. "Now I have to explain to her how she's the little white-haired girl who taught me how to press flowers in books, and how I taught myself how to make omelets, and...well, at least I don't have to do it right now. Maybe by tomorrow morning I'll come up with something..." She scratched Inuyasha fondly behind the ears. "I always do." Inuyasha rose, and silently he and Kagome left Izayoi's room, shutting off the light and going downstairs to their own room.

When Izayoi heard the door to her parents' room shut, she threw off the comforter, walked to the window, and pressed her forehead and palms to the glass.

"I'm sorry you died, Grandpa," she whispered to the Goshinboku, "but I'm glad I met you."

Through the window, Izayoi saw the banners and trees that ringed the courtyard standing motionless in the still night air; but the leaves of the Goshinboku began to rustle, as though in a gentle breeze. And though it was autumn, and the air outside was cold and brisk, Izayoi felt a warm, sweet wind wafting through her room, rustling her hair and caressing her cheeks. A warm golden light suffused the room, and she felt herself lifted by strong, gentle hands, which bore her to her bed and set her tenderly upon it. She felt as though she were floating in a sea of light and love, and as she drifted into sleep, she thought she caught the faraway scent of springtime blossoms.

In the morning, Kagome arrived as usual in Izayoi's room to wake her and get her ready for school. Izayoi was not a "morning person," and the morning ritual was usually more difficult than either mother or daughter liked. But this morning, Izayoi awoke with bright eyes and a warm smile.

"Well, Iza-chan, you're energetic today!" Kagome said cherrily as she sat beside her daughter on the bed. "To what do we owe this change of heart?"

Izayoi smiled. "Grandpa loves me," she said, her face bright with joy, "and he loves you too." She suddenly embraced her mother, and kissed her cheek. "And so do I." Izayoi jumped out of bed and skipped down the hall to the bathroom.

"Well," Kagome thought, "I don't know what brought that on, but I'm glad that something did." She began making the bed, but as she adjusted the covers, she thought heard the sound of something other than cloth against cloth, and she caught a strangely familiar scent.

Intrigued, she pulled back the bedclothes, and found that Izayoi had been sleeping on a bed of flowers. She looked at them, puzzled, then gasped as she recognized what they were. Each petal was rare, and precious, and perfect, and once you had seen them, you could never forget them, or the tree from whence they came.

They were the flowers of the Goshinboku; and each one bore the scent that Kagome had known from the earliest days of her childhood: the sweet and gentle scent of her father.