InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of Ever After ❯ Chapter 69

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

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

Chapter 69

While Tameo kept the elders from going into the area where the kami, Kagome and Morio were, others who had heard the noise and saw the elders hurrying off began coming up to see what was happening.  

Joben himself  finally showed  up and  moved close to his father and the other elders. “What . . . what’s happening?” he asked in a hushed tone, as if afraid to speak.

“It’s the kami,” Tameo said. “I don’t know what your pet yamabushi did, but he really got the old guy angry.”

Joben swallowed. “The kami?  Morio-sama? You don’t think he’ll be mad at me for just having him stay at my place, do you?”

Tsuneo gave his son a hard look.  

“If you didn’t help the man do something wrong, I doubt it,” Tameo replied. “He’s an understanding sort of kami. But I’d be worried if you did.”

Joben gulped.  “I...I don’t think so.”

“I hope not,” Tsuneo said. “Kaede-sama thinks he put a spell on your mother. She’s in a really bad way.”

“Haha-ue?  Him? But he seemed to like her so well.” Joben shook his head. “He . . . he gave Haha-ue an amulet. I swear I didn’t have anything to do with it . . . I even told her not to come back here, but she was impossible to stop. But when Amaya told me something was happening, I got here as soon as I could. Where is she?”

“They were taking her to Kaede-sama’s,” Daitaro said. “If you didn’t see her, I guess Kinjiro went ahead and took her there as we came here.”

“Typical,” Tameo said. “I think he’s related to one of your oxen, cousin, and not me.”

“I wouldn’t tell Hisa that if I were you,” Daitaro said.

While the men were talking, Kagome felt her ears pop, the way they do when making altitude changes, and the air around her shimmered, then cleared, as some sort of barrier around her and Kazuo shattered.

“Yes, we have quite a crowd of witnesses gathering from the look of things,” Kazuo said.
.
“Witnesses?” she asked.

“Oh yes, I want witnesses,” Kazuo said. “Look over there, Tameo, Daitaro and Tsuneo. And young Susumu too.  Susumu likes to talk, and he’ll spread what he sees sensibly, but it’s Tsuneo that I want to remember this lesson.  And his son Joben, who finally has shown up. And others, too. The more the merrier.”

Kagome turned and looked at the group of men. Tameo had his arms spread wide, blocking the others from coming any closer. Behind them a few other faces had shown up, several women including Kinjiro’s wife, yes, and Joben, too, who stood behind his father.

Kazuo struck his hoe once more, and suddenly his shape seemed to change, growing taller and more otherworldly. His clothing, which resembled the blue and beige linen the other villagers wore began to glow with a white light.

“Got to give’em a good show,” Kazuo said, grinning, as he heard Kagome make a little sound of surprise. “If I walked out there looking like just another peasant, they wouldn’t take me nearly as seriously.”

As Kazuo prepared his show, back at Kagemura the last traces of bakeneko magic in the air faded, and InuYasha walked back into the little house where Shizuka and her mother lived. The perfectly normal cat that remained after he severed the bakeneko’s tail looked up at him, and blinked, mewed once again and settled back down, content enough to purr. “Well, it’s over,” he said, as the door mat fluttered behind him.

He stood in the dirt floor entrance and looked at the scene on the raised wooden platform in front of him. The room wasn’t very large, not much bigger than his house back at Kaede’s village. Near the fire pit, Shizuka was laid out on the floor, a small bruised figure, tossing and turning, and her mother, her back to the door, was putting wet cloths on her forehead.

“Don’t . . . don’t,” the girl muttered.  “Please, Chika.”

“Hush, child,” the girl’s mother said.  “You’re safe.”

Miroku, who was sitting closer to the door, turned around when he heard InuYasha enter. “So Shippou’s uncle was right after all,” he said, standing up.

“I guess,” InuYasha replied. “I cut off her tail, there was a big flash of youki, and when I could see again,  this is what was  left,” he said, holding up the small cat. “All the magic is gone.”

“I saw the flash,” Miroku said “It was really bright, and lit up every crack in the house. An interesting phenomenon.” The cat looked up at him with solemn green eyes, curious, but not threatening, and started to shift out of InuYasha’s hold, wanting to go to the monk.

The monk  took the cat from the hanyou, and held her up. “Well,” he said to the small animal, “you’ve had an interesting day.  Feel better?”

The cat, as if in answer, forced her head under his hand and crawled into the crook of his elbow.

“Watch out, don’t you hurt Haha-ue,” the girl muttered.

“I’m right here, child.  Okaa is safe,” the woman said.  She took the cloth off of the girl’s face, revealing a patch of bruising on her forehead and scrapes on her right cheek.

“How is she?” InuYasha asked.

“She got a big dose of the bakeneko’s magic when she got hit with the tail, but she should do fine in a day or two,” Miroku said.  “Maybe even by morning.”

“I hope so,” the woman  said, placing the cloth in a bowl of water to rewet it,  not really paying the men much attention.  Humming a soft tune to reassure her daughter, she lifted the cloth out of the water, wringing out the excess out before replacing it on the girl’s head.  

“It’s over?  That monster’s dead?” she asked InuYasha as she smoothed the cloth over Shizuka’s forehead and brushed a stray lock of hair away.

Shizuka moaned a little as the cloth touched a scraped spot on her forehead. “Hurts, Okaa.”

“I know, baby, but it’ll get better.” She gave her daughter’s hand a squeeze. “I can’t believe something like that was living in my house, and with my daughter, no less.  I never liked cats all that much, but she was so taken with it, I didn’t have the heart to send it away.  I wish . . . ”

“The bakeneko can’t hurt anybody anymore,” InuYasha said.

“No youki left here,” Miroku said.  The cat climbed onto his shoulder, and mewed rather loudly.

Hearing the sound, the woman’s head shot up and she looked over her shoulder  at the two men and spotted Chika.  Her face grew red as she jumped up.  “Are you mad? You brought . . . brought that thing back into my house?  How dare you!”

“But, it’s her - ” InuYasha said, shrinking back from the furious woman.

Miroku stepped in front of his friend. “It’s just a kitten any more,” Miroku said.  “The monster has been cut out of her.” He picked the cat up and showed the woman the bobbed stub of her tail, magically healed when the power left her.  “No tail, no bakeneko.”

“Okaa?” the girl said, as if just realizing her mother had left her side. “Okaa, where are you?  The monster . . . ”

Wiping her hands on her wrap skirt, the girl’s mother turned to her daughter, and spoke in a soft tone. “Just a minute, baby.  Okaa will be right back.” She turned to the men and fury was in her eyes. “Look at her,” the woman hissed.  “I don’t care if that . . . that . . . creature’s piss would turn straw into gold. Look at what it did to her. It’s going to be bad enough if the village finds out my daughter was harboring something that turned into a monster.” She took three steps and grabbed her broom, and lifted it toward the men.  “There’s no way I can keep that piece of bad luck in my house.  Get her out now!”

InuYasha gave the woman a confused look, but when Miroku handed the cat back to him, he nodded and withdrew, dashing out of the house, the kitten cradled in his arms.

Miroku watched the door mat flap closed, and turned back to her.  “I’m sorry, Dono,” Miroku said, bowing. “I’m sure my friend meant well. He went out of his way not to harm the cat because he knew she was your daughter’s pet. He no doubt thought that once the magic was exorcized from the kitten, your daughter would want her pet back.”

The woman lowered her broom and shook her head. “That monster almost ate her,” she said.  “You saw the shape she was in when you picked her up.  She’ll probably be frightened of cats the rest of her life. And maybe monks, too.” She wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. “No, no, just leave.”

Miroku nodded, picked up his staff and headed for the door.  “As you wish. I am sorry all this happened to you.”

“Houshi-sama,” she said as he picked up the door mat, almost ready to step through.

The monk turned and looked at her. The woman bowed. “Thank you for saving my daughter. That was a brave thing you did, picking her up and bringing her back here. And tell your friend I thank him the same way. It’s not your fault that the monster was hiding as an innocent child’s pet. I just wish I had never seen her.”

Miroku nodded, and made a sign of blessing. “I am sorry as well that you had to see it all.  But saving people from these monsters, it’s what I and my friend do,” he said.  “I’m just glad it didn’t turn out any worse.” And with a final nod to her, he headed back outside.

As Miroku left the house, he found InuYasha standing outside with the kitten perched on his shoulder and his arms crossed and stuffed into his sleeves, and  a scowl plastered on his face.  

“I don’t know if I’ll ever really understand people,” the hanyou said. “We get here, and the girl’s really frightened for her cat.  I bet she thought it was you who turned her into a monster when you hit it with your ofuda.”

“Probably,” Miroku said.

“I worked hard not to kill that cat,” the hanyou said. He rolled his shoulder. “Took a pretty good hit to my shoulder, too, while I worked hard not to let that brat see me hurt her pet.” He plucked the kitten off and handed it back to Miroku. With a sigh, he went over and picked up the bakeneko tail. It was blackened, and stank of burn and bad magic, but it was still quite flexible. “It would have been a whole lot easier if I had just kaze no kizu’ed it to begin with.”

“But then Shippou wouldn’t have his trophy,” Miroku replied.

“Feh,” InuYasha said. “Probably just all go to his head anyway.” He turned around to see Ryuu and a few of the other villagers heading their way. “At least now, we can go home. Let’s hurry and wrap this up. We have a long walk ahead of us.”

“That we do,” Miroku said. “Still, it’s just mid-afternoon.  With luck, we’ll be home before dinner.”

And with that, the monk began strolling toward the wary villagers, ready to discuss whatever payment they might have the means and the will to make.

Back in Kaede’s village, in the garden of Kazuo’s shrine, a wind out of nowhere began to blow, scented with the smells of rose and sandalwood.

Kazuo looked down at Kagome.  “Are you holding up, child?  I can leave you standing here, but if you can handle it, I would like you to be part of what I’m about to do.  It’ll help make it clear to all the thickheaded ones what I mean, I mean.”

Kagome looked up at him.  Something about his aura calmed any unease she felt, and she nodded.  “I’m all right. Let’s do this.”

“Good girl.  You give me more and more reasons to like you. I think enough of them have gathered. Let’s go talk to Morio,” the kami said. He began to walk towards the yamabushi.

She nodded and followed him.

As Morio saw them coming, all the spells that had been holding him in place evaporated. He jumped to his feet.  He took a step towards Kagome “What type of magic is this?” he asked.  “I knew you were strong.  That’s why I wanted to take you away.  You’re not just any witch.”

“You had no right,” Kagome said calmly.

“True, true,” Kazuo said, nodding. “This piece of shit had no right.”

“Who are you to tell me that?” the yamabushi said.

Kazuo continued to talk with Kagome.  “He’s foolhardy, too. The ones I talk to, they tell me he’s left a string of misery wherever he’s decided to prey on people.  Even his own master kicked him out before his training was through.  Akio-sama was a lot wiser than this one.”

“How . . . What . . . ” Morio said.  He tried to step forward, and Kazuo waved a hand and he was stopped.

“But,” the kami said, turning to the yamabushi, “As to your first question.  It’s not her magic at all that you’re feeling, although she has plenty of her own.” He grinned at the yamabushi, a look at once both amusing and terrifying.

Morio fell to his knees. “Who . . . who are you?” the trembling man asked.

“Whose ground are you on, yamabushi?  Whose garden did you try to desecrate with dark magic and a plot to steal away a woman under my protection?”  Kazuo’s voice was loud, easily heard by all nearby.  

“The kami?” Morio said, his voice barely above a whisper. “Kami don’t just manifest themselves like this.” Taking a deep breath, he tried to pull himself together.  Slowly he raised one knee, and then the other and stood. Holding his chin up, he said, “You say you’re a kami? Then you should know what type of woman this is - the type who sleeps and lives with youkai.”

“And I am proud of my husband,” Kagome said, holding her chin up. Her eyes were on fire with anger and her aura rose, a bright pink cloud around her. “Why shouldn’t I be?  He’s a finer man than you’ll ever be.”

“See! Out of her own mouth.” Morio  pointed at Kagome.  “She’s a dark miko!” He took another deep breath, as if it were a struggle to keep standing. “Why shouldn’t I try to use whatever power I have to save her from his grasp?”

Kazuo laughed. It was a deep belly roll of a laugh. “Of course I know,” he said, tapping his hoe on the ground. Immediately, Morio found himself spread out on the ground. “These two were the ones destined to rid the world of a darkness even blacker than your heart, fool.  You don’t think they both have my blessing?”

Kazuo slammed his hoe on the ground one more time, and it turned into a fine wooden staff. He grew a foot taller, and was suddenly garbed in the robes of a high level official, flowing white silk, with a tall, tall hat on his head marking his status. “Enough games. Now I stand before you as judge and magistrate. This is my territory, after all.”

“Ho, you my people,” he said, his voice ringing out loudly. “Let it be known to all of you.” He took Kagome by the hand, leading her in a circuit around the prone yamabushi, so that everybody could see, and then stopped, facing the elders. “This woman, Kagome, wife of InuYasha the hanyou, has my blessing. InuYasha, son of the great Inu no Taisho has my blessing.  The young kitsune who travels with them has my blessing. The monk who is their companion  and his family have my blessing.”

Tsuneo jabbed his son with an elbow.  “Hear that, fool?” he hissed.

The younger man, swallowing hard, nodded.

Kazuo smiled as he heard that, and turned to Kagome. “I think we made my point,” he whispered. “But now for what this fool deserves.”  

The kami tapped his staff on the ground. “You, Morio, I accuse you of the crimes of lusting after one under my protection, and plotting how to use her power for your gain, and attempting to force yourself on her. I accuse you of casting spells on members of my village trying to get more business to exploit, no matter what the damage you left behind. I accuse you of harming Haname, wife of Tsuneo the village elder in your plot to get the young miko. For all of these wrongs, I now render judgment.”

This time, he tapped Morio with his staff. “For using your reiki for evil, I now will strip you of it.”

A light shimmered around the man, brilliant blue, and as it faded, the yamabushi jerked almost as if he were having a seizure. “My . . . my head!” he screamed, rising after a moment back to his knees, groaning loudly. “My head . . . why is everything so dark?”

“For using your lust to guide your decisions, I take away your ability to lust again.” Once again he tapped the man.  Morio’s eyes grew large, and he screamed even more, doubling over.

“And for using your intelligence to harm instead of help, I take away your intelligence to plot and plan and scheme.”  He tapped him a third time, and Morio jerked once again, and collapsed, wordlessly.

There was an awed silence over the assembly.

“Now, someone take this piece of dung out of my garden. Don’t kill him though - he’s an object lesson to those who think the kami are powerless. Use him to practice compassion with. He won’t be good for much else when he wakes up.”

He and Kagome moved toward the shrine doors. Kazuo looked down at Kagome. “I think I gave them a really good show this time.”

Kagome, not knowing what to say, nodded. “What’s . . . what’s going to happen to him?”

“He’s going to wake up and not know very much. Quite pathetic, actually. I was actually rather kind,” Kazuo said.  “If I sent him to hell today, he would have suffered more than he’s going to suffer now.”

He saw the troubled look in Kagome’s eyes. “I know you have a tender heart, but just like with that black hanyou you fought, sometimes people have to die before they get a chance to get better.” He rested a hand on her shoulder. “But to live like this opens some possibilities. Perhaps Kwannon or Jizo will have some mercy on him and let him live long enough to make amends so he won’t need to spend as much time learning his lessons. But he has some really, really bad karma to work off.”  

“I guess,” Kagome said. “But . . . ”

“Trust me on this,” Kazuo said. “He’s going to be like a lost child when he wakes up. He’ll be able to acquire a lot more merit that way that the way he was going.” The kami looked up at the sky and closed his eyes a moment, concentrating. “That man of yours should be coming home well before the others. Your kitsune friend panicked and ran off to fetch him. Tell him I ask him nicely  not to put that fool out of his misery.  Let fate take its course.”

Tapping his staff once more, Kazuo disappeared.