InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of Ever After ❯ Chapter 24

I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi


Chapter 24


The next morning dawned bright and clear, and InuYasha made sure they were both up soon as it was light.

“Time to get up, woman,” he said, leaning next to her.  Already dressed in his under kosode, he tossed his hair to one side and let  his lips brush  lightly again hers.

Kagome squeezed her eyes tight and frowned, pulling at the covers.  InuYasha kissed her again. “Unless you want me to cook the rice, you need to get up.”

She cracked one eye open.  “Good.  You do it.”  She tried to roll over. “Too early.”

“I’ll burn the pot,” he said, gently grabbing her so she couldn’t get away.

She opened both her eyes to catch him grinning.  “Stop laughing at me. You wouldn’t do that.”

“Not on purpose.  But I’m not used to cooking rice,” he said, giving her a quick peck on the lips. “I might do it wrong.  But we really need to get started.  It’s a long way to where we’re going.”

Kagome sighed, and sat up, bringing the covers up with her.  “It’s barely light.”

“I know,” he said.

“It’d be easier to get up if you hadn’t kept me up so late,” she said, reaching for her kosode. “It’s still cold in here.”

“Feh,” InuYasha said, grabbing his hakama from on top of the chest where he had laid them the night before.   He gave her a satisfied smirk as he stood up, just short of a laugh. “Whose fault was it that we were up late?  I seem to remember someone pouncing on me right after I banked the fire.”  He slipped into the red garment then moved to the fire pit, where he began building the morning fire.

Giving into the inevitable, Kagome finally let go of the covers, and slipped into her under kosode, then walked over to the clothes chest, and pulled out her beige kosode and blue wrap skirt.  “So what should I bring with us?  How long to you think we’ll be out?”  Slipping into her clothes, she fastened the ties and bent over to fold up the bedding.

“Oh, enough for lunch,” he said.  He tossed on one more piece of wood, and got up, brushed off his hands and picked up his fire rat.  “Not too much, though.  I’ll probably be able to catch some fish.”  Slipping on his jacket, he moved over to the water bucket, and took a drink. “Might want to be sure to bring a towel or two.”
Kagome looked at him. “Towels?”

His eyes betrayed his amusement, even though he tried to keep a straight face.  “You never know.  You might find them handy.”

“You’re looking much too pleased with yourself,” Kagome said, as she moved to her supplies to scoop out rice to make breakfast.  “It’s either going to be a wonderful place or awful.”

He moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her.  “I think it’s wonderful.  Kind of like you.”

She turned her head to face him.“Then I’ll try to hurry up and get everything ready.” Giving him a quick kiss, she went back to her work.


After breakfast, Kagome shooed InuYasha out while she made their lunches.  About half an hour later, he popped back inside.

“It’s going to be a good day for travel,” he said. “Not too cool, and I doubt there’s any chance of rain.”

Kagome was sitting at her work table, slowly wrapping some things in bamboo leaves. “Stupid things,” she muttered, sighing.  “Sango made this look so easy.”

“Not ready yet?” InuYasha said, watching her cram an awkwardly shaped bundle into the basket next to her.  There was a note of impatience in his voice. “I thought we’d be on our way by now.”

“Almost,” Kagome said, turning around to give him a frustrated glance. “I’m still not used to using bamboo leaves to wrap the onigiri in.  It looked so easy when Sango showed me how.”  She sighed.  “They’re all ugly and maybe not wrapped well enough.  Makes me wish I had the bento box I used to use.”

InuYasha’s ear flicked at that, as if feeling a bit guilty about trying to hurry her along, and he sat down next to her and took one of her hands.  “This is our break, remember?  I’ll eat them, no matter how pretty they look.”

She looked up and smiled at him.  “Thanks.  Let me just get everything in my carry cloth.  One day, I’m going to have to make a new travel bag for things like this.”

She got up and bundled up the basket and the suggested towels, and a few other items into the brightly colored cloth.“I just hope everything doesn’t fall apart before we get there.”

“We’ll eat’em anyway,” he said, picking up her bundle. “What all did you put in this? It’s heavy.”

“Just the things I thought we’d need,” Kagome said, smiling.  “We better let Miroku know what we’re doing.  Everybody would worry and probably jump to wrong conclusions if they found us missing.” She took the carry cloth from him and fit it over her shoulders, almost like a pack.

They both stood up.

“Let’s try not to stay too long,” InuYasha said. “We have a good way to go.”

Kagome nodded, and they headed out.

As soon as they got to Miroku’s, and told their friends what they were up to and got Miroku to promise to go tell Kaede and Tameo they would be gone, Sango pulled Kagome into the house, whispered something to the monk about keeping InuYasha busy, handed him their daughters, and went to join her friend inside.

Miroku, carrying the two girls, headed toward the tree he liked to sit under sometimes while he meditated.  “Come, InuYasha, whatever it is they’re doing, they’ll do it faster if they don’t think we’re spying on them.”

InuYasha turned to face the house, and pointed his ears towards it, but evidently the women were being careful not to say anything.  Reluctantly, he followed his friend.

“So, where are you taking Kagome-sama?” Miroku asked, once he reached the tree.  He handed Noriko to the hanyou before sitting down.

“Inu-oji,” the little girl said, looking up at him..  

“Yeah, Noriko-chan.  You’re up early,” InuYasha said, trying to not let the child know how irritated he was.  “You being good for your okaa?”

She nodded. Her sister Yusuko squirmed out of her father’s hands and grabbed InuYasha’s hakama.

“You have a way with the girls,” the monk said, smiling.  “No wonder Kagome-sama seems so content.”

“And you like to use your daughters so I won’t jump on you like you deserve.” The hanyou’s ear flicked, which, as usual, fascinated Noriko.“Why are you keeping me out here, Bouzu?” InuYasha asked.  She began to reach up for it, but InuYasha gently brought her hand back down.  “No ears, right?”

Looking disappointed, Noriko nodded.  “No ears.”

“We are here because I don’t want to make my wife unhappy,” the monk said.  He grabbed  Yusuko back.  “Inu-oji is going on a journey today,” he told her.

“Going?” the girl asked, sticking a finger in her mouth, looking at her father, and then at InuYasha and Noriko.

Miroku nodded. “But he’s not telling me where he’s going.”

Noriko pulled on InuYasha’s forelock. “Go away?  Tell Chichi.” He sighed, and removed the silver hair from her grip.

“Just for today,” he told her and then gave Miroku a hard look.  “There’s this place up in the hills west of here I know about.”

“Ah,” the monk said. His eyes had a knowing twinkle.

“It’s quiet.  No village nearby.” InuYasha sat down next to his friend.

“And, I suspect, no nosy monks running interference for their wives, either.”  Noriko held her arms out for her father, and Miroku scooped her up. “Or cute girls who like to pull their uncle’s hair.”

“That, too.” InuYasha shoved his hands in his sleeves, but gave the girls a soft look. “Everything’s been kind of crazy.  Did Kaede-babaa tell you what happened at Tameo’s yesterday?”

“No, but Hisa-sama did.  Sounds like you both had quite an interesting experience.”  Noriko wiggled out of his hold, attracted by something she saw on the ground next to him.

“See, Chichi!” she said, holding up a piece of weathered quartz.  “Pretty!”

“Yes it is,” the monk said.  Yusuko crawled out of her father’s lap to look.  She reached for it, but Noriko pulled away.

Miroku, well aware of what was about to happen next, grabbed the pebble, and put it in his sleeve before the two girls could fight over it.  “I’ll hold it until we can show it to Okaa.  All right?”

Noriko frowned, but nodded.  Yusuko frowned and shook her head.

InuYasha looked at the house.  With no small girl to help him mask his impatience, he was growing more agitated, and stood up.  “I wonder what’s taking them so long?”

“I have no idea,” Miroku said, corralling his daughters again, and putting them on his lap.  “They keep their little mysteries.  It makes them more interesting.  Relax, friend.  If you go hurry them, they’ll be unhappy.”

InuYasha leaned against the tree. “Feh.”

“To change the subject, I think we’ve got enough volunteers to finish patching the temple roof,” the monk said, catching his daughter’s hand as she reached for his earring.  “I’ve been talking with some of the men. We were thinking of having a work party in about ten days.”

“That’s good,” InuYasha said, cocking an ear towards the house.  “They’re being too quiet in there.”

“They probably know you would  be listening. If it’s supposed to be a surprise, they’re going to be as quiet as possible. You will be helping on the roof, I hope,” Miroku said.

InuYasha turned away from the house, although one ear still pointed towards it, listening. “You think they’ll want me?” the hanyou said, looking down at the monk.

“Of course.  You’re my partner.”  He let down his daughters.  “Go tell Okaa to hurry, girls.”  

The two girls ran back into the house.

“Then after that, we can go down to Odawara and pick up the copies of the sutras I ordered,” he said smiling.

“We?” InuYasha asked. “Odawara?”  He gave his friend a look, frowning.  It was a rather intimidating glance, one that had stopped many people and youkai in their tracks, but Miroku ignored it.

“Wouldn’t want to bring them back until the building’s got a sound roof over it.” The monk scratched the back of his neck as InuYasha’s youki rose. “Might give old Mushin a visit as well.”

“We?” InuYasha repeated. His hand made a fist. This too his friend ignored.

“Of course!  We’ll be bringing back a new incense burner, too,” Miroku replied.  “The one I’m using is totally inadequate.  But it will be too heavy for me to carry. And that reminds me. Are you ready for market day?”

Suddenly, InuYasha untensed, like a spring that came unwound and found the grass beneath his foot strangely interesting. “I guess,” the hanyou said.  “Kagome’s made a list.”

“We’ll talk it over with Sango when you get back,” Miroku said.  “It’s best to get as much of it done as possible upfront.”

“I -” InuYasha started, but just then, Kagome slid the door open, her carry cloth already tied on.

“Ready to go?” She gave InuYasha a silly grin.  “Sorry you had to wait.”

“Have a good time,” Miroku said.  “I’m going to see if my wife remembered breakfast, with whatever you two have been conspiring about.”  He gave Kagome a knowing smile,  headed for the house.

“Shall we start walking?” Kagome said, giving the hanyou a coy, but satisfied little smile..

InuYasha gave her a curious look.  “You gonna tell me why you had to leave me in Miroku’s company all this time?”

“I will, but not right now,” she said.  Her smile grew just a little more smug.  “Still, I think you’ll like why it took us so long. You have your surprises, and I have mine.”  She began heading down the path.

Curious, but not willing to push the issue, he grabbed her wrist. “Wait,” InuYasha said.  He knelt down. “Did you forget?  We’ve got a long way to go and we need to go at my speed.  Get on my back.”

“Dressed like this?” she asked, pointing to her wrap skirt.

“Unless you want to go home and change clothes,” he replied.  For some reason, this made him grin.  “Just hike your skirt up.”

With an uncertain look and a nod, she hitched up her skirts, tucking them into her obi.  Climbing on, she wrapped her legs around him in a way that felt at once familiar and awkward, and InuYasha, securing his hold on her, took off.