With Eyes of Love
[timeline: companion piece to Chapter 11 of Otherworld 3: Tala] Part Two
In Kaede's Village, Mirago was giving birth to her first child, but there was no celebration and very little joy. Nine months earlier, she had been seduced by Naraku, an evil demon who had harmed so many people in Otherworld and had started the Three Wars World. He was finally dead, but the Princess' mate, Vash, had forfeited his life to end Naraku's. Mirago was only sixteen, not much more than a child herself and the task of raising a baby was daunting.
At her side was her mother, Sango, a renown demon huntress, the Village healer, Kaede, for whom the village was named, and Kagome, the mate of Kouga, the Wolf Demon who was the First Protector of Otherworld. The birth was difficult and Mirago had already spent over an hour in the birthing tub. It was if the baby did not want to be born.
They were expecting a boy; that's what Kouga had sensed eight months when he touched her and realized that she was pregnant. Right after Mirago had found out that the man she thought she loved was a lie, a scheme of Naraku to seduce her and cause pain to her family. She was just part of his revenge. He never loved her at all. He broke her heart and left her pregnant.
Waiting just outside the door was her father, Miroku, who had his own reasons for hating Naraku. The demon had cursed his family with an air void on the first male's right hand that was like a black hole and sucked everything into itself, disappearing forever. Slowly over the years, the hole would widen until the void devoured its owner. Miroku's grandfather and father had not reached their thirtieth birthdays. But Bakura and Kaiba, the mages of Otherworld, broke the curse before Mirago's birth, and now the void was a weapon against evil.
Standing next to Miroku was Shippo, a Fox demon. He was not a Demon World Fox like Kurama, with the power to control plants, but an Otherworld Fox, with lesser powers such as fox fire and tricks of illusion. When he was a child, Shippo had joined Miroku and Sango in the search for the crystal shards and after a few years, he left to return to his Fox clan. Seven months ago he had returned, now grown into a handsome young man.
And he was desperately in love with Mirago.
But the girl was afraid to give her heart to anyone -- Naraku's deception had made her wary -- and she kept the Fox at arm's length.
Another half hour passed, with both Miroku and Shippo pacing the floor nervously. Finally, the baby decided to make its appearance, but to the surprise of all, it was a girl, not a boy. Sango took the baby while Kaede helped Mirago with the afterbirth and then, with the help of Kagome, lifted Mirago out of the tub and into a warm bed. Wolf Demons came in and removed the tub, and then Miroku and Shippo were allowed into the room. Kaede checked out the baby, then Sango brought her new grandchild to her mother.
"Here is your daughter." She put the child into Mirago's arms.
"Daughter? I thought Kouga said it was a boy?" Miroku questioned.
"Well, he was wrong. She is a girl." Sango told her mate.
Mirago uncovered the baby, revealed dark hair and incredible blue eyes. She was beautiful! But then Naraku was a beautiful demon, long dark hair and deep brown eyes, although they often changed to blood red. Sango had brown eyes and Miroku had dark blue ones. Mirago had dark blue eyes like her father. No one had sky blue eyes like the baby's.
"Have you thought of a name for her?" Sango asked her daughter.
"Well, I thought I was going to have a boy, so I was going to name him Tal."
"Add an "a" and that should work."
"Tala?" Mirago tried it out. "Yes, I like that. Hello, Tala, welcome to Otherworld."
As Tala grew up, her ancestry was forgotten, for the girl was a joy. Sweet and loving, Tala was soon being spoiled by her grandfather, Miroku, who had a soft spot for children. He and Sango had adopted Rin, a orphan child that Sesshomaru had come across, although now Rin lived in the Castle with her mate, Kaiba.
Miroku had good reason to be proud of his granddaughter. She learned every skill that was shown to her, soon becoming an apprentice to Kaede, she was an excellent cook and seamstress, but she also was excellent with a bow and arrow and a sword. Her agility was incredible and her strength prodigious -- she did not have Demon strength, but she was much stronger than a human. And she was stunningly beautiful. Tala was soon became the favorite of the Village and was loved by all. And no one ever mentioned her father.
When she was seven, after long years of waiting quietly for Mirago to accept him as her mate, Shippo gave up and made plans to return to his Fox clan. He was packing his belongings, still living a spare room in the dojo, when Mirago walked into his room.
"They tell me you are leaving." She said.
"Yes, I am returning to my clan."
"I thought … well, I thought you were going to stay here permanently."
"Mirago, I would love to stay but not as a friend. I love you. I want you to be my mate, and I have asked you many times to be my mate, but you have never given me an answer. I'm tried of waiting. I want a mate, I want a home, and I want a family. I love you -- I love Tala, but I'm not going to wait forever."
Mirago looked down at the floor. "I'm afraid," she whispered.
"Of what?" Shippo asked, exasperated. "How can you compare me to Naraku? Have I ever deceived you? When I was a child, I fought against him with your parents. What other assurance do you want?"
"I don't want you to leave."
"I will stay only as your mate. Sharing your life and your bed. I have waited long enough."
Mirago remained staring at the floor and Shippo turned away and continued his packing.
"Don't leave," came her whispered voice. "I need you."
"Tell me that you love me."
Mirago lifted a tear streaked face, and nodded.
"Tell me."
"I love you." Her voice was barely a whisper, but it was enough.
Shippo smiled at her and then took her in his arms. "I will never fail you. I will never abandon you. I will never deceive you. I swear that with everything I am. I loved you from the second I first saw you, sitting there on the porch, looking so lost. I don't want you to be lost anymore, Mirago. I want us -- you, me and Tala -- to be a family."
She lifted up her face and he kissed the tears away and then covered her mouth in a deep kiss. Her arms went around him -- her faithful Fox.
She still lived with her parents and he lived in the dojo, so there was no place for them to be alone. But when they told everyone about their plans to mate, the entire village pitched in and soon a little house was built next door to her parents.
Two days after her promise to him, Mirago became Shippo's mate and they began their life together.
And Shippo kept his word: he never lied, he never deceived and he never abandoned. And he loved Mirago with all his heart and soul. And he became a father to Tala.
Their life was perfect until Tala turned sixteen. Then a long-buried power of Naraku surfaced inside of her and a new terror began.