InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Lost Soul of a Lost Child ❯ Kirara ( Chapter 2 )

Okay, so my chapters probably aren't going to be very long… as you can see, but I promise to work on it… hey, at least I got this chapter out!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha

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The rain, after three strait days of it, had finally stopped, the winds settling with the dissipating of the clouds. The leaves of trees shone in the morning light, coated with layers of raindrops that slowly but surely made their way down to the ground. A small fire cat stepped into her clearing, carrying with her a dead rabbit, food for her kits. She paused for a moment, dropping her load as she came upon the little girl, hardly more than eight or nine, who slept beneath her kits. There was a strange presence around this human, but it was far from threatening, almost protective, and even in her sleep she looked exhausted.

Keira scooped up the rabbit once again, moving carefully around the sleeping figure and jumping up amongst her now wide-eyed and open-mouthed kits. They jumped upon their mother, demanding their breakfast, as they hadn't gotten a midnight snack. The rabbit was quickly skinned and, as Keira tore off bits for each kitten, the count was off.

"Myew!" The girl awoke to the sensation of a kitten's rough tongue on her nose and velvet fur rubbing over her abused flesh. She slowly propped herself up on one arm, reaching out to pat the head of the insistent neko. "Me-myew!"

"Hello little one," she whispered, her voice hoarse and cracking from lack of use for such a long time. She had had no one to talk to, though she had stopped in a town every once in a while, everyone merely assumed she was a mute when she did not respond. "What might your name be?"

"Myew!" She laughed slightly, feeling a little shred of life return to her. The kitten responded by licking her nose again. "Myew myew?"

"Kirara, eh? Well Kirara, I'm sorry, but I can't tell you my name, because I don't know it either. I had to leave my family behind a long time ago, and I don't really remember anything from before that. I've been all by myself since then. I suppose it's gotten a little lonely… What?" She looked up as another cat appeared at the edge of the boulder, this one larger and obviously the little one's mother, holding a scrap of meat. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your dinner… or breakfast… Hey! The sun is out." Her voice was slowly regaining its strength as she felt a tinge of happiness. She looked back down at the kitten, fumbling to climb the rock, and gently picked her up, setting her down on the flat amongst her siblings.

She smiled, laying back down to sleep as her eyes drooped, feeling protected as she began to dream.

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"'Kaa-san! 'Kaa-san! Daijobu?" the small figure cried as her mother cried in pain. The tall figure knelt in response and gave her daughter a loving smile.

"I'm fine, love. Why don't you go play with your sisters?" Her voice was soothing, but it had not yet lost that tinge of pain. She let loose a small laugh as the girl nodded and bound enthusiastically out the doorway. Turning back, she gathered jars of medicines and examined the wound in her stomach. The flesh was slowly growing back, but infection was nearly inevitable.

…

"Aoko! Wait up! Akako!" Her voice held a note of panic in it as she ran after her sisters. "Why won't you wait for me?"

"Hey, sis, don't worry about it," Tsuki laughed, resting his hand on her shoulder. "Spar with me a little?" She quickly nodded, following him off. Neither noticed the figure in the nearby fields as it turned to follow the elder girls.

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"Look at her, Minori. You can't expect me to just leave her there! She looks starved, and she's so small! Please, we don't need to keep her with us long. I merely wish to give her a chance at actually surviving," a woman wined, staring at her brother pleadingly.

"What makes you so sure she's not doing perfectly fine on her own?" he responded, apprehensive, but aware that his words lacked all conviction. His sister responded only by glaring at him. "Alright, Nasake, alright. You win."

Keira's growling was quieted by Nasake as Minori scooped up the child. She stirred slightly in her sleep only to fall even deeper into it, lulled by the rocking of the man's arms and the sleepy purr of Kirara on her stomach.