Inuyasha pounced on his prey, but, sensitive as he was, a small movement from behind threw off his concentration, and he faltered. The rabbit darted out of the way just in time, and Inuyasha fell - slam! - flat onto the ground with a grunt. Not that that movement was unfamiliar to him. It was just rather uncomfortable. He lay facedown in the dirt, catching his breath. Damn rabbit. That was supposed to be dinner tonight.

He quickly brought himself to a sitting position and glanced behind, in the direction from which the sound had come. He wiped his silver-white hair out of honey-amber eyes and scowled. There was nothing to be seen but an unruly batch of shrubbery growing amongst the undergrowth in the forest. There was a movement from inside the bushes and Inuyasha's expression softened, his scowl fading into a slightly amused smile.

"Okay, Pup, you can come out now."

The bushes moved again, and from their twisted, tangled branches, a small form could be seen. The figure stumbled out, as if it had been quite a task making its way through the entanglement of protruding leaves and twigs.

Inuyasha smiled again. There was the source of the noise. It was a small female child, appearing to be about three or four years of age, and bearing a great likeness to a certain other female whom Inuyasha knew; except for her strikingly golden amber-colored eyes, not unlike Inuyasha's. She wore the garb of a normal human villager, and, although her chubby face was full of naivete, she carried herself with much more grace and poise for a child of her maturity. However, she did manage to retain a certain amount of childish clumsiness.

Bounding forward, as she had seen Inuyasha do from the safety of her bushes, she imitated his motion, pouncing on the spot where the would-have-been dinner had been sitting silently only a minute before. When she had done this, she stood up, returned to the bushes, and repeated the movement again. She did it once more and continued her practice, until satisfied she had perfected it.

The hanyou was content to just sit and watch her, noting to himself how well she caught on. This pattern of springing, missing the prey, and then practicing afterward had been going on throughout the entire day, and it was getting late.
After this had continued for about three minutes or so, Inuyasha noticed for the first time how dirty the child was. She was in the midst of a good pounce, when Inuyasha reached out and grabbed her, and, standing her on her short little legs in front of him, looked her up and down.

She was filthy! Her clothes were dirty and torn, her soft baby skin had several scratches, and cakes of mud had collected around her mouth and in the creases of her small hands.

Inuyasha took one of his long sleeves and rubbed at her face roughly. "Keh, your mother's gonna kill me." When his effort proved futile, he proceeded to wet his sleeve with his tongue and rub at the stubborn dirt that had collected on her chubby cheek. If an onlooker had observed this action, he would have been reminded of an animal grooming its young.
The little girl laughed and squirmed. She thought it was a game. Inuyasha had to hold her still, but the dirt refused to budge.

"That tickles!" she giggled in a high, childish voice.

Inuyasha gave up and sat back, reclining on his arms and looking up at her, brows slightly furrowed. He glanced down at his own robes. They were also filthy. He could only imagine what his face looked like. His furry dog-like ears perked up. He could hear running water nearby. He sniffed the air. Yes, it was the river. They were close to the river.

Inuyasha stood. The little girl followed his movements reverently with her wide eyes. "Come on, Pup," Inuyasha motioned and started walking in the direction of the river. "We'll call it a day. Let's go take a bath before we head home."

"Pup" stood watching him in a childish awe, before scampering after him over the forest floor. Once caught up, she strode along beside him, careful to imitate every movement precisely: a hard task, considering the length of her legs in comparison to his. There was little dialogue between the two, but one would have hesitated to break the invisible bond that was made evident in the silent heaviness of the forest.

With Inuyasha's fast strides, and the child's amazing ability to keep up with him, the pair reached the river in no time. The sun was low in the sky, indicating late afternoon, and the sound of the rushing river-water added to the silent music of the late-summer wood.

Inuyasha stopped on the rocky beach and began to strip his clothes. Pup followed suit. Taking off his outer garment, Inuyasha waded into the river up to his waist and immersed his kimono in the cool water. A cloud of mud immediately surrounded it and then disappeared. He scrubbed at the article of clothing with his palms and then, satisfied that it was clean enough, ringing it out, he laid it on a large warm rock to dry in the heat of the sun. He took off the rest of his clothes and repeated the action, while his little dark-haired shadow did the same.

Two pairs of clothing, one pair a great deal smaller than the other, lay out on the large white rocks, sunning themselves, while the owners went to work cleaning each other. Pup could not reach her back, so Inuyasha had to scrub it for her.

"Don't forget your face," he reminded her.

They didn't have any soap, so they had to make do as best they could.

Inuyasha accidentally splashed water in the little one's eyes. "Oops. Sorry 'bout that." Pup rubbed her eyes at first, then recovered quickly. She reciprocated by grinning and splashing him back, and before they knew it, the two had begun a new game.

Pup darted away, as best she could considering that she was up to her armpits in water, and Inuyasha splashed after her, taking care to go slowly, so as not to keep up with her. With unusual agility, the child clambered up a pile of jagged rocks and ducked low to hide. Inuyasha swam by pretending not to notice her, and stood underneath the miniature cliff. It was just in the right position for Pup to jump on him, the opportunity of which she immediately took advantage.
"Rrrrrr!" she growled, leaping from her height and catching the dog-demon around his neck. It was gentle play, but Inuyasha pretended like he was being attacked by the fiercest youkai that side of the village.

"Oh no!" he cried, feigning surprise, and tumbled forward into the water. Squeals of delight and gentle laughter rose up with the sound of splashing water to flood the once-quiet forest afternoon, as Inuyasha purposely lost to a play-wrestling match.

Out of breath, the two climbed from the water and lay on their backs on the warm rocks of the beach, drying. Inuyasha shielded his eyes from the glare of the sinking sun, and noted that it was getting ever closer to the horizon. The little girl saw him do this, and then lifted her chubby hand to her own yellow eyes and squinted upwards. An eagle soared overhead, sounding its shrill cry. As they watched, they saw its mate fly out from some hidden nest beneath the trees, and together the two majestic birds soared into the brilliant infinity that was the sky.

"Why is the sky blue?" the child asked of him, because of course he knew everything.

Inuyasha was silent, pondering for a moment, then, sincerely, he responded, "Because they knew it was your favorite color, Pup."

She seemed satisfied with this answer, trusting in anything that fell from his lips, and grinned contentedly in her little way. When he saw her do this, he couldn't help but to smile back at her. Why was her happiness so contagious? Even when he was in the worst of moods, she could rise his spirits; she was so much like her mother.

He hated to break the moment, but the day was getting on, and they needed to be home by nightfall. Inuyasha leaped up from the ground in one fluid motion and went to the rocks. Their clothes were still damp, but the heat of the day had faded, and it would be a waste of time to leave them out any longer.

He dressed himself quickly, and then bent down to help the little girl, who was having trouble. When he knelt to help her tie on her shoes, she refused, shaking her head and pointing to his own feet. She wanted to go barefoot like him.

"Fine, but I'm not carrying them."

Pup answered by taking the shoes into her small hands eagerly.

Inuyasha sighed. She was going to walk barefoot on the forest floor with all its thorns and prickles? "Is it your life goal to get me in trouble?"

She only looked up into his face innocently, with that characteristically awed expression, and he found it hard to stay cross with her.

They set out for home with the sun low in the sky. The once-humid forest had cooled down considerably. Beneath the shelter of the tall trees, it was almost chilly. An evening wind was blowing in from the north.

Inuyasha walked unfaltering in one direction, never straying from the familiar path only his finely tuned senses could detect. His young companion, however, darted about him, skipping, chasing invisible phantoms, stopping here and there to admire a work of nature: a budding leaf, or a shining dewdrop; then running as fast as she could to catch up once more. She paused at one point to pick a wild forest flower and hold it up in offering to the silver-haired halfling. Inuyasha hesitated, and then with a smirk, accepted, giving the ebony-haired child an affectionate pat on the head. The child beamed, delighted.

Eventually, the girl's endless energy drained, and her steps grew heavier, and her eyes drooped. She was finding it less and less easy to keep up with Inuyasha, and she began to stumble over roots and her own bare little feet.
Inuyasha slowed his pace. They were close to home. But the day had been heavy on the little one, and, although he didn't like to admit it, he himself was growing a bit weary. Looking after 'pups' all day long was a daunting job. "Let's stop up here and take a rest." The child looked up all too gratefully at him.

They came to a clearing. The light was more prevalent here, due to the lack of trees, save one great ancient one that stood alone in the middle of the grass: it was the old-god tree where Inuyasha had once found a long rest. Perhaps it would serve that purpose once more.

Leading the way confidently, he stopped beneath the large tree and sat down, leaning his back against the wide, rough bowl, legs sprawled out before him. Pup followed and sat down next to him, copying his position. As soon as she was settled, Inuyasha crossed his arms in front of him, tucking a hand into each sleeve, and leaned his head back against the trunk of the tree. His shadow did the same.

As they rested there, the coolness of the evening set in. Although he could not see the horizon, he could tell by the pinks and light blues in the sky above him that it was sunset. The child curled up next to him. Her breath slowed. He felt the slight tap of her head, as it drooped to his shoulder. He should wake her, he thought, but the cool breeze was so comforting, the murmur of the leaves soothing . . .. Those sounds enveloped by the baby's rhythmic breathing created a sort of lullaby that made the half-youkai's eyelids heavy. He soon fell asleep to the soft hum of dusk.

When he awoke, it was nightfall. He had not been asleep for very long. The first thing he noticed was the night sounds. His sharp hearing took in the crickets chirping, the owls hooting, and the common rustling and snapping of the evening. But something was missing. The child's breathing was . . .gone! His senses immediately went on full alert. An unusual panic seized him when he turned to his side and saw that the angelic child was gone. He scrambled up at once and glanced about him furtively. Pup was nowhere to be seen. Where had she wandered off to at this time of night?
Inuyasha wasted no time. He dashed about the clearing, and then, when that search proved fruitless, into the darkened forest, shouting the girl's name. Nightfall had floated down from the sky and rested beneath the trees in the form of shadows. He could see fine, it was true, but not Pup - she would have trouble finding her way in the dark.

"Pup! Pup, where are you? Damn-it, I shouldn't have let my guard down like that - how could I have fallen asleep?" Inuyasha reprimanded himself.

Inuyasha was now running at full speed, using not only his powerful legs, but his strong arms as well to catapult him through the maze of jagged branches and cruel thistles.

He came to a sudden halt. Running around madly was not going to get him anywhere. He stood to his full height and lifted his nose to the air, smelling. He tried to detect her scent - a unique scent that sometimes smelled like his own, sometimes like a significant other's, and sometimes like both at once - a scent that was not easily missed. Only the wood smells were nearby.

He was terribly afraid. Just thinking about his little companion all alone by herself, out in those big woods made him shudder. She must be terrified! He had to find her!

He was furious at himself for allowing this to happen, but he tried to keep his head cool - he needed to stay calm in this situation. He gazed around intently. In his wandering he had come close to the village, and an idea took hold of him:

Kaede! If anyone could help him, she could!

He sprinted towards the village. By now it was twilight, and the last of the sun's rays had disappeared beneath the horizon. The only evidence that it had ever existed at all was nothing but a shimmer of pink above the trees. And in an instant, that too was gone. The blanket of midnight lay over the village like a great dark canopy that had been pricked with tiny pins of light. Out here in the middle of nowhere, in ancient Japan, where there was no electricity, no city lights to obscure the view, the stars appeared like illuminated diamonds sprinkled across the sky - or perhaps tears that had been cried passionately and splattered over the blackness.

When Inuyasha reached the village, all was quiet. The villagers had already headed inside for bed. Now that the sun had gone down, there was no longer any light to work by, and they had retreated to their homes for a quick meal and to warm by the fire before going to sleep for the night.

The half-human instinctively made his way to the priestess's house. Perhaps if the situation had been better, he would have remembered his lessons in courtesy and knocked first, but urgency was the prevailing factor. He burst in through the door and found the old woman by the fire stirring something monotonously in a pot with a wooden spoon. The only light in the small house came from the cooking fire, and the corners and recesses of the cottage were lost in shadow. Lady Kaede did not even stir.

"You!" Inuyasha gasped. "I need you - now!" He grabbed her arm and tugged firmly, but gently, so as not to hurt her old bones. Slowly, the miko turned her head to look at him for the first time. Her expression was blank - if she was surprised, her face did not betray it.

Inuyasha figured he better explain. "It's Pup," he said, the shame revealing itself in his voice, despite his efforts to conceal it. "I - I've lost her. Please. You've got to help me find her!"

"Lost?" the old one repeated numbly. Her face remained expressionless, and Inuyasha felt his rage rising from her indifference. Why was she not upset?

"Yes, old crone, lost! She's missing. Have you finally lost it, or something? Aren't you going to help me?" he shouted desperately.

"Quiet, Inuyasha!" the ancient shushed him. "Do ye wish to waken those who would sleep?"

His demon temper was really starting to flame. He could feel it like a burning fire, rising hotly from his very being, and bursting out from his chest in heated anger. He barred his fangs at the old woman and dug his claws into his palms, but restrained himself. How could she care about the stupid villagers' sleep at a time like this?

"Kaede, if you don't -."

"Hush your howling, Inuyasha," she interrupted, motioning to him with her hands. What did she want from him?

He followed her with his eyes as she made her way slowly to the corner of the cabin and stopped. Inuyasha gazed after her. She bent over a small shadowed form lying in the corner. With his superior sight, he couldn't believe that he hadn't noticed it there before. Kaede stood and glanced back over her shoulder expectantly. He finally realized what she had been trying to tell him.

Swiftly, he walked the length of the wooden house in a few broad strides and came to rest next to the old priestess. There lay Pup, sleeping soundly on the hard floor, a blanket wrapped tightly around her tiny body. She lay on her stomach and her chubby hand was curled and rested close to her slightly opened mouth. Her dark eyelashes fluttered against her round white cheeks ever so slightly, as if she sensed his presence bending protectively over her. Her wavy onyx hair framed her little head like a halo. The sound of her rhythmic breathing, which had been missed in his frenzy, returned to his ears.

Inuyasha breathed with relief. She appeared to be all in one piece. No harm had come to her.

"She chased a butterfly here," the village priestess explained. "I took her in and gave her some food, and she fell asleep right away. I knew ye would come looking for her sooner or later."

The half-demon knelt and skillfully lifted the slumbering child, careful not to wake her. He hugged her to his chest, and she stirred only slightly, adjusting her position, moving her body towards and against him. The little palm opened and lay against his breast, plump fingers spreading out against his kimono.

Inuyasha looked up just in time to see Lady Kaede smirking.

He scowled. "Well, go ahead. Say it, ya old hag."

"Say what?"

It bothered Inuyasha even more when he realized the smirk was one of amusement. "Tell me what a horrible parent I am. I know you're thinking it, so go ahead and say it."

"I was not thinking that, Inuyasha. Little do ye know the mind of an elderly woman."

He must have looked surprised, because she proceeded to laugh wisely.

"Well . . .then what were you thinking?" he asked cautiously.

"I think that ye be a wonderful father," she stated sincerely.

Inuyasha was shocked. "Y - ya mean it?"

"Aye. Just because ye mess up once does not change that. One day ye will learn that even the best of us make mistakes."
She smiled again, but this time it did not irritate him. He stood there for a moment, looking thoughtful. Then, hugging the child to him, he grudgingly muttered a quick thank you under his breath, before darting from the cottage and into the frigid night air.

He easily found his way home, but the going was slow, because he didn't wish to wake up the little girl. About two-thirds of the way there, Pup awoke and squirmed in his arms to be let down. He did so, but even for her above-average sight and oddly swift legs, walking in the night forest was difficult. So they made a compromise - Inuyasha allowed her to climb onto his back and ride him, which was one of her favorite daytime activities.

The forest was no longer threatening now that all was well, and the sounds were comforting and familiar once more. The smell of gathering due was heavy in the chilled air. It was unusually cool for the time of year - a sign that it was going to be a good harvest.

Pup's short little arms clung to Inuyasha's neck and her head rested heavily on his shoulder, her nose buried in the warm crook of his neck. She was drifting off to sleep again. Up ahead Inuyasha could see a small clearing, with a low dim light emanating from some hidden source. They were nearly home. Inuyasha quickened his pace.

He was nearly upon the clearing, when all of the sudden, Pup lifted her head, drew near his face, and gave him a quick sticky kiss right on the cheek. She raised her head just so, as to make it easier for her quiet voice to reach his oddly placed ears. What she then told him was a precious gift, the memory of which would settle in his very depths, kept safe there, to be recalled for years to come: "I love you, Papa," she whispered, laid her head back on his shoulder, and was asleep again.

Inuyasha's heart leapt into his throat. There were only two people in the world that could have that kind of effect on him, and she was one of them. The other lay just ahead in the clearing, waiting anxiously for their return.

He came into the little clearing and stood gazing upwards at the tree-house that was his home. He had built it himself, with the help of the other woman in his life. She had insisted on making floor plans for its construction and on using that terrible algebra and calculus to build it, and, to his surprise, the results had been spectacular. It was far homier than any house the villagers could have built, and he was proud of it.

Warm light poured from the many windows. A porch surrounded the entirety of the house, and a figure, outlined by the light, moved on the porch, just above the narrow stairs leading up to it from the ground.

"Miyoko!" a feminine voice broke the stillness of the forest night, trembling from worry. "Inuyasha! Is that you?"

The sleepy child left slumber one last time to answer to the call of her given name. She dropped down from Inuyasha's shoulders, stumbling slightly when she landed on her wobbly feet. Inuyasha noticed for the first time since Kaede's that in his panic, he had forgotten to pick up Miyoko's shoes. But none of that mattered now. The important thing was that they were home at last.

The little one scampered up the wooden stairs, and the woman ran down to meet her halfway. She was the perfect image of the little one to whom she came, except older. Miyoko ran into her waiting open arms, and Kagome enveloped the child in a fierce maternal embrace. She cradled the small frame of her daughter against her and rocked her back and forth to a silent lullaby. "Oh, Miyo, I was so worried!"

"We're sorry, Mama," the child piped. "We didn't mean to worry you - promise!"

"I know," Kagome sighed, and looked past Miyoko and down to where Inuyasha still waited. "You said you would be back by nightfall, Inuyasha." It was a question more than a statement.

He paused. Should he tell Kagome about the scare he had with Miyo? In the end, he decided against it. What she didn't know wouldn't hurt her, he figured. "We lost track of time. We were visiting with Kaede." It was the truth . . .well, it wasn't a lie, anyway.

There was a brief interlude, and the sound of the wind blowing through the trees was all about the clearing.
"Well, come up here," Kagome demanded. Would she be angry with him?

Inuyasha decided he was too tired to put up a fight and obeyed. He climbed the steps warily, stopping when he reached the two females, expecting to get a good lecture.

But instead, he was pleasantly surprised when the young woman set the child down and threw her arms around him, holding him in the same tight embrace that she had given to Miyo, only this one was much wider. "I'm glad you're safe," she murmured lovingly. Inuyasha finally reciprocated, wrapping his arms in an equally tight, if not tighter, hug. He put his face into her curling midnight hair and breathed in her fragrant smell, the smell of which could be recognized in Pup's own unique scent.

The three stood on the steps like that for a couple passing minutes, Pup watching the two in simplistic admiration, when Kagome finally pulled away, and said cheerfully to the both of them, although more so for Miyoko, "Well, you went to see Kaede-sama, hm? How good! You two must be hungry. Come inside, and we'll get you something to eat." As she took the little girl's hand and turned away toward the house, Inuyasha thought he glimpsed her brushing away a tear from her cheek, but it could just have been the dim moonlight playing tricks on his sharp eyes.

Once inside the shelter of their tree house, Kagome prepared a late supper for them and watched with wide eyes as they vigorously consumed their food. Even Miyo, who had had something at Kaede's, found an appetite. The three of them sat around their little homemade table, legs crossed, talking - well, mostly it was Miyo talking, chattering away like a little sparrow, and Kagome listening happily for the first time, while Inuyasha had to laugh at the eager child's retelling.

Everything was so different from Pup's point of view! Little trivial details became things of great importance, and the main events were made to seem like nothing at all. Fortunately, Pup left out all together the fact that she wandered to the village on her own.

"And there was a flower . . ." Miyo stopped. "Papa, where is the flower I gave you?" She looked at him earnestly.

Where was the flower? It was amazing how children could remember every single little thing they had done. He had left it beneath the old-god tree when he had fallen asleep earlier that evening. He answered truthfully, "I left it beneath the tree, Pup. I know how much ya wanted me to have it, but I thought it would be much happier there."

Miyo's smile showed she agreed. Inuyasha winked at her, and her eyes lit up. The little girl and the half-demon gazed at each other, communicating secrets only they could understand. Miyoko broke the gaze by yawning.

"It's past your bedtime, Miyo," Kagome sat up in realization. "Come along, young lady, we need to be getting you to bed!"

"But I'm not sleepy!" she protested.

Kagome raised her eyebrow in disbelief.

"I want to stay up with Papa!"

"But Pup, I'm not doing anything special, I promise. Ya won't miss a thing."

"But sometimes you stay up and look at the stars with Mama. I want to, too," she persisted.

"Well," Kagome and Inuyasha said simultaneously, "she's as stubborn as you are!"

They looked at each other, surprised at first, then broke into uncontrollable laughter.

"Alright, Miyo, you can stay up a little longer," her mother gave in, her giggles subsiding.

"Yay!" the spirited child jumped up from her sitting position at the table, grabbed hold of Inuyasha's hand, and, pulling him up with her unusual strength, dragged him out the door onto the front porch to participate in the star-gazing ritual.

The raven-haired woman lingered inside to clear the table.

Inuyasha found a nice spot on the porch and sat down, crossing his legs and leaning his back against the support of the strongly built house. Pup climbed into his lap and shifted around, getting comfortable. The dog-demon wrapped his long-sleeved arms around her to guard her against the coldness of the night. The two lifted their heads upwards and watched the wheels of the heavens turning. Before long, Pup was fast asleep in his arms.

Shortly, Kagome came onto the porch and joined them. She took a seat next to Inuyasha and looked lovingly down at the small child asleep in his lap. Taking great care not to wake her from her pleasant slumber, she reached down and placed a delicate palm on the little one's forehead, stroking the unruly bangs away from her daughter's face.

She moved her hand away slowly, and looked up into Inuyasha's face in all seriousness. " . . .She adores you, you know . . .," Kagome said softly.

He glanced tenderly down at his own daughter and his lips twitched. "Yeah . . .I know." Looking back at Kagome, their eyes met and they shared a secret smile.

Then Kagome grinned mischievously. "She's not the only one."

The hanyou's breath caught in his throat. It was amazing that after all this time she could still manage to have that effect on him. She came closer to him and every second felt like an eternity. His heart pounded in his chest, but finally their lips met in a firm, yet gentle kiss.

He pulled back and looked at her, and she stroked his face softly with smooth, warm fingertips. Resting her head against his shoulder, she turned her eyes to the dark star-lit sky. Inuyasha followed her motion, while moving an arm carefully to rest it across her slender shoulders, holding her close, and took in the sight that he so often took advantage of - the brilliance of the heavenly bodies could so easily be missed. But it was moments like this when he realized how truly happy he was - it shocked him to think that he loved to be who he was, when it seemed like such a short time ago, he would have given anything to be someone else. Keh, love could do that to you.

A shooting star streaked across the pitch-black firmament overhead, leaving a trail of shimmering light where it had passed.

And at the moment, there was nowhere else he would have rather been than sitting there in the chill of the night, watching the stars travel around the earth, with his very own little family resting in the safety of his arms.

The End