InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of Ever After ❯ Chapter 78

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


Chapter 77

As it neared sunset, a small group pulled up the road to InuYasha’s house - a monk, a man pulling a handcart, and a small  kitsune and a smaller cat sitting on the load he was pulling.

“Ah,” Miroku said, seeing smoke escape from the roof vent as they neared.  “I believe they’re home.  I was afraid they’d be at the headman’s or Kaede-sama’s.”

Chika, the small cat who had once been a bakeneko, looked up from where she was curled up next to Shippou and mewed questioningly.

Masuo, the father of the two children staying in Kaede’s village stopped tugging on the handcart for a moment, and looked at the little house in its clearing and scratched his head. “InuYasha-sama lives there?” Masuo asked. “Somehow, I was thinking he would be living in something less...ordinary.  But it looks just like the houses at my village.”

The cat stretched and climbed to the top of the stack, looking down the road. Evidently not much impressed, she curled back up and closed her eyes.

The two men began moving again. “He does have relatives that no doubt live in much finer houses,” Miroku said, “although I suspect this has been the best house he’s lived in for a long time.”

“Not very big,” Masuo said, shrugging. “Although I’m not sure what I was expecting, a castle or a cave, or a hollowed out tree. I guess I was thinking it would be something you don’t see every day, just like him.”

“Oh, InuYasha might look different than you or I, but in many ways, he’s still like most men,” Miroku said.

“You know him better than me,” Masuo said. “Seems like a good person.”

Shippou hopped off the handcart and jumped onto Miroku’s shoulder.

“Grumpier, though,” the kit asserted.  

“Only when you aggravate him,” Miroku said, moving him to his other shoulder. “And that is one of your talents.”

Shippou scowled. “He deserves it sometimes. Look what he does to me!”

This made the farmer laugh. “I’m amazed a fox and a dog can get along at all, even if they’re both youkai. I’ve always heard that foxes and dogs were mortal enemies.”

“There have been days when you might have thought that,” Miroku said. “But InuYasha saved Shippou’s life and took him in right after his father died.”

“Cause Kagome wanted him to,” Shippou said. “Don’t think he wanted to.”

“She does bring out his better side,” Miroku said, agreeing.

Shippou just made a noise and crossed his arms.

The group pulled close to the little house. “Doesn’t look like whatever Aki-kun did much that I can see,” Miroku said. “You’re sure Daitaro-sama’s cow did a lot of damage?”

“That’s what I heard,” Shippou said, then tugged on Miroku’s hair. “I’d watch my step if I were you.  Look down.”

Miroku stopped in mid-stride, almost about to step down on a cow patty. “Well, I guess that’s proof the cow was here, anyway.”

Masuo, deftly maneuvering the handcart away from that particular obstacle laughed. “Where there are cows, there are cow patties, Houshi-sama. I’d keep a watch out on where you go from here on out.”

They pulled in front of the little house. Even before they said anything, the door mat lifted, and InuYasha stepped out of the house.

“I was wondering when you were going to show up,” the hanyou said. “Took you long enough. We’ve already had dinner.”

“Not all of us can travel as fast as you, my friend, especially when we need to use the roads,” Miroku said. “How is Kagome-sama?”

As if on cue, Kagome stepped out on the verandah, looking well and unharmed, but tired. “She is doing fine,” she said, smiling at the men.

“Kagome!” Shippou cried, and jumped off the monk’s shoulders and made a beeline for the young miko. “I was really worried about you!”

He leaped into her arms, and hugged her around the neck. “I  tried to make enough noise when I jumped that guy that someone would come and help, and when you got loose and I saw them coming, I hurried to get to InuYasha.  But you look like everything’s all right. I’m really glad. Tameo and Susumu took care of you?”

Masuo’s eyes widened at the sight of Kagome. “He’s married to an ordinary woman?” He spoke softly, hoping the hanyou wouldn’t hear him. InuYasha’s ear, though, flicked at the sound, and he frowned a bit, but didn’t say anything, and instead looked at his wife and the kit.

“Oh, Kagome-sama is far from ordinary,” Miroku replied.

“I can believe that - I never knew of anybody else who was protected by a kitsune like that,” Masuo said. “Not to mention InuYasha-sama. And if your village elders are content - I’ve never heard anything but good about your village headman. Far be it from me to cast judgment after all he and you have done for us. She seems happy enough.”

He dropped the pull bar and stepped away from the handcart. “I’d heard about things like this from the storytellers, but hadn’t seen it before. No doubt they have an interesting story to tell.”

InuYasha’s ear flicked a bit more, then relaxed.  He let out a breath, and ruffed the kitsune’s head. The monk gave him a knowing glance.

“Oh yes, quite interesting,” Miroku said, “although I suspect they’d rather talk about other things right now.” He stepped up to Kagome. “It’s good to see you looking so well, Kagome-sama. Shippou-kun here had us rather uncertain what we’d find when we got here.”

“I’m not surprised,” Kagome pulled Shippou off of her neck and  gave the kitsune kit a hard look. “And if he had waited a few minutes more before running off to frighten you all, he would have known that everything was all right.”

“Uh,” the kitsune said. “But InuYasha said -”

Kagome ignored him for the moment, but didn’t let him down. “And you must be Masuo-sama, Yume-chan and Hiseo’s father. InuYasha told me you were traveling with him.” Kagome bowed politely.

The farmer bowed in return. “Yes, yes. I hope my children haven’t been too much of a burden on your village. I was at my wit’s end, and I remember how good Kaede-sama was at healing youkai wounds, so...”

“Kaede-obaasan is very good with that,” Kagome said. “And your children have done nothing to cause you distress. Hiseo-kun is such a good brother to his sister. And Yume-chan was up and playing today. You did the right thing getting her away from that bakeneko.”

The man smiled, obviously relieved at the news about his children. “Ah, that makes this day even better.”

Kagome smiled back. “I’m glad everything has worked out well.”

“And for you, Kagome-sama?” Miroku asked. “I hear you had an interesting afternoon.”

“You could say that,” Kagome replied. She looked down at the ground. “Not one I want to go through again in the near future.”

“Are things settled with Haname? And the yamabushi?” the monk asked.

“Yeah, what happened to him?”  Shippou asked.  “I bit him pretty hard.”

Kagome sighed, thinking about what to say, but before she could answer, Chika, obviously tired of being left out, jumped off the handcart, ran up to Kagome, and began rubbing her ankles.

Surprised, Kagome looked down on the little calico cat. “Where did you come from?” she asked.

InuYasha bent over and picked up the small animal. “This is what was left of the bakeneko after I cut off her tail. No monster, just a little cat.”

“That was a bakeneko?” Kagome asked, rather surprised. “But she doesn’t feel like a youkai at all.”

“No tail, no youki,” Miroku said.

“I told you that’s how you take care of them!” Shippou, still being held by Kagome, crossed his arms and gave InuYasha a smug look. “You didn’t want to believe me. But my ojisan was right.”

The hanyou snorted. “Yeah, runt, I know,” InuYasha said, handing the cat to Miroku, who began petting it. “Maybe you do know a thing or two.  And, even if someone says otherwise,” he continued, giving Kagome a fond look, “you did the right thing coming to get me.”

The cat, as if in agreement, mewed, but Shippou looked surprised. Kagome, on the other hand, humphed.

“You’re sure you’re all right?” the kitsune asked. “That bakeneko didn’t do anything to you, did it?”

“Feh,” InuYasha said, walking over to the cart. “Don’t believe me?” He lifted the tarp, and pulled out a long, thin, cloth-covered bundle. “Then maybe you don’t want this?”

Shippou jumped out of the miko’s arms. “Is that . . . the bakeneko’s tail?”

“What do you think?” InuYasha said, handing it to him. “Told you I’d try to get it.”

“I...I take back all those mean things I said about you,” Shippou said. “I figure you’d just kaze-no-kizu the cat, and I wouldn’t have anything.”

“Bah. Go tell your uncle. Pretty sure it was the same neko.” InuYasha said, walking back towards Kagome. “You can see Chika has the same markings, and one of her paws isn’t quite right.”

“Oh wow,” he said, stroking the length of the bundle. “ I wonder what Ojisan’s going to say?  And that stupid cousin of mine?”

Kagome chuckled. “Why don’t you go tell him, if it’s not too late for you to get there?”

“Good idea, Kagome,” Shippou said, looking up at her, smiling. “You can tell me what happened to that guy later.” And putting a leaf on his head, he turned himself into a pink balloon and flew off.

“I’ll never get used to seeing people do that,” Masuo said.

“If you lived here, you would,” InuYasha said. “And you haven’t met Miroku’s friend Hachi yet...he’s a tanuki.  He’s just as bad about shapeshifting.”

“Alas, Hachi’s too busy keeping an eye on Mushin any more,” Miroku said, rather regretfully. “I wonder how often we’ll see him myself.”

Masuo just shook his head. “Too much for a poor farmer like me.”

Kagome reached out and stroked the small cat’s head. “So what are you going to do with the cat?”

“Chika?” Miroku said. “I thought I’d see if Sango would like to keep her. She’s missed Kirara a lot ever since she sent her off to fight with Kohaku.  She knows a lot about youkai cats. I know Chika’s not a youkai anymore, but...and anyway, I see her looking at other people’s cats sometimes, and I know she misses her.”

Kagome ran her fingers down the back of the cat. “That sounds like a nice idea. I wonder how the girls will react to her?”

“We’ll have to see,” Miroku said. “So, you never did get to say how things worked out.”

Kagome sighed. “Haname ended up at Kaede’s.  Kazuo took care of Morio. Sango knows the whole story.  I’d rather not talk about it much tonight.  I’m really tired.”

“Kazuo?” InuYasha asked. “The kami that scared the heck out of us the day we went to Tameo’s?”

Kagome nodded, but a shadow seemed to cross her face as she talked, and she dropped her eyes. “He wasn’t very happy with what that man was trying to do in front of his own shrine.”

“How - ” InuYasha asked, then noticed that Kagome’s eyes were starting to moisten, and her bottom lip trembled a little. “Never mind. You can tell me later. Why don’t you just go inside.  I’ll be there in a minute.”  

Kagome nodded, and bowing a little, hurried back in the house.

“Did I do something wrong?” Miroku said, after the doormat rattled shut.

InuYasha looked at the door for a moment, his right ear twitching. He turned. “She really had a rough day,”InuYasha said, scowling at Miroku. “Didn’t you see how tired she was? I don’t know half of what went on yet, and I’m not going to push her. Go talk to your wife or Tameo if you have to know everything right away. Me, I’ll wait until tomorrow, or when she’s ready to talk.  Then I’ll  figure out what to do next.”

“I didn’t mean...” Miroku said.  

The hanyou ignored him and turned to Masuo. “Your kids are at the headman’s house.  I suspect  they have a place for you to stay tonight. Tameo’s good like that.”

The farmer nodded, and InuYasha went inside.

Miroku looked at Masuo. “Newlywed and nervous. And, as my fine kitsune friend said, he gets rather grumpy at times.”

“Eh, I would be, too,” Masuo said, and talked back to the handcart and lifted up the pull bar. “Let’s go. I’m anxious to see my kids.”

Miroku nodded, and they began heading for Miroku’s house.

“It’s a shame my wife didn’t come with us,” Masuo said as they neared the monk’s house.  

Miroku looked at him curiously. “Why?”

“Your life here is like something the storytellers spin. Kitsune and kami,” Masuo said with amazement.  “This might be your ordinary life, but it’s way over my head.  Outside of the one time that spider got me, I’ve seen very little stuff like this.  My wife, though - she’s the best storyteller in the village. She would have loved to know all the details about what’s been going on here.”

“You mean, we didn’t give her enough with how we took care of the bakeneko today?” Miroku asked, leaning on his staff while he looked at the farmer.

Masuo grinned at him. “Oh, I’m sure I’ll hear lots about InuYasha-sama and the Bakeneko. And it’ll get wilder and more interesting each time around. Probably until I’m sick of it.  It would have been nice to have more variety.”

And laughing, Miroku said, “Well, let’s hurry to my place.  I’m sure Sango has all the latest.  Maybe you’ll learn enough to give your wife another story to spin.”