InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of Ever After ❯ Chapter 134

[ 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 133


Susumu, hearing Chiya yelling, looked up from where he was tapping in the last board over the replaced roof sheathing. “What in the hell’s that about?”

Sighing, Genjo turned as he put the last tap of his hammer on the board he was fastening. “Sounds like Chiya to me. She might have bought the tea, but I don’t know if it was worth it if we have to listen to that.”

“You’ve got a point.” Shinjiro took a moment to wipe the sweat off his forehead. “I could think of other things I’d rather be doing.”

“Like having Haha-ue have you try on your wedding clothes?” Genjo asked, grinning at his brother.

“You talk too much,” Shinjiro said, but grinned at his brother.

Susumu gave the board he was working on a final tap, and stuck his hammer in his obi. He looked back up to the top of the roof ridge. “Hey, Hiroya, you see anything?”

“Yeah,” he said, stopping his own hammering as he peeked over the roof ridge. “You’re right. It’s Chiya. She’s laying into InuYasha it looks like. Stupid woman.”

Shinjiro looked up at the village guard and shrugged. “That’s Chiya for you. Chichi-ue’s bull Okuro has better sense sometimes, even when he’s in rut.”

“Bull always has good sense,” Genjo said. “It’s us who’re trying to make him do other things that have the nonsense.”

Shinjiro snorted. “You bring him home next time.” His brother just laughed.

Susumu ignored them as he heard InuYasha bellow back at Chiya. “I think maybe I ought to go check it out.”

“You think it’s something to keep you from working?” Shinjiro asked. “Chichi-ue and your Otousan are here. You think they can’t handle it?”

“Keeping the peace is my job, all rumors to the contrary,” Susumu said as he scuttled over to the edge of the roof, and peeked over the edge, seeing the elders moving toward the noise, but the foreman standing there, scratching the back of his head, thoughtful.

“Well, send somebody to take your place,” Genjo said. “We’re getting shorthanded if we’re losing you and InuYasha.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Susumu said, then turned to the foreman. “Hey, Ryota - what’s going on?”

“Don’t know, but it shouldn’t stop the roofing,” Ryota said. “Hiroya, Choujiro, get back to work! Nothing you need to check out.”

“I just want to know why Isao-kun showed up,” Hiroya said. “Isn’t he staying at your place?”

“Isao?” Susumu said, surprised. “Yeah. I’ve been giving him a few days of light duty to get over the battering he took. But he was supposed to stay close to home today.”

“Well, whatever,” Hiroya said. “He’s over there by Houshi-sama. Looks like Tsuneo’s there, too, talking with Michio.”

“Now I know something’s up,” Susumu said, moving to the ladder and heading down to the ground.

“You’re sure you didn’t plan this, to get out of more work?” Shinjiro said, watching him go.

“Not me,” the village guard said. “You want to take it up with someone, talk to Haha-ue. Something must have happened, or Isao wouldn’t be up here. Hope that stupid Aki didn’t get into even more trouble.”

Ryota sighed, watching Susumu. “I hope someone will stay here to get this finished.”

Laughing, Eiji walked up to Ryota and clapped him on the shoulder. “You can’t keep’em all from being curious. But I’m here. I’ll go up to take Susumu’s place on the roof if you get someone else to carry the shingles.”

“Might as well. I suspect we might have trouble getting him or InuYasha-sama back to work if it’s serious. Maybe InuYasha, but Susumu, probably not,” Ryota said, resigned. “Hey, Isamu? Who’s around to lug the shingles up over here?”

“I knew you could handle it,” Susumu said as he walked past the foreman towards the knot of people on the edge of the compound who had gathered to see what was going on.

By the time he got there, his father and Daitaro had been joined by several of the roofing party.    
As he watched, Michio pulled his wife down the path to have some words. The distance didn’t give them any privacy as their voices got louder as he questioned her.

“Don’t you have any sense, woman?” the frustrated husband said. “You put all this together and then you act like this?”

Susumu shoved past Tadaki, one of the younger men, to stand next to Tameo. “What brought all this on? I missed it all working on the roof.”

The headman shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

While he talked, Michio, obviously out of patience, began moving back toward the others, gripping Chiya’s arm and dragging her along with him.

“Bet she’s going to have a bruised arm tomorrow,” Tadaki said.

“If she were my wife, she’d have more than a bruise,” someone else muttered.  

Susumu swung his head to see who it was. “Good men don’t beat their wives. Even when they act like this.” Nobody bothered to reply.

Moving the subject back to what was going on, Tameo said. “Chiya came up here spitting nails. You’d have thought she knew that InuYasha would be up here. I have no idea why she decided to complain about it.”

“Bah,” Daitaro said. “Has Chiya ever needed a reason to have a temper?”

InuYasha turned and looked at them. “Never needed a reason to say something rude about me. First time she ever said it to my face like that.”

“She does seem more agitated than I remember seeing her,” Miroku said, nodding.

Tameo scratched his chin. “Hope it’s not more leftovers from that yamabushi’s magic. If I had known what type of trouble he was going to be, I’d have chased him far away the first day he showed up.”

“You’d probably have help doing the chasing,” Daitaro said. “Joben, Tsuneo...”

“I wonder if your okaasan knows something,” Tameo said, looking at his son. “I was surprised when Isao showed up. He says he has a message from Hisa.”

Susumu scratched the back of his head. “Haha-ue usually knows what she’s doing.” He looked at the group. Michio had stopped again, and was facing Chiya, telling her something too soft to be overheard, although the hanyou’s ears were focused that way, and from the scowl on his face, Susumu was sure he could hear what was being said. Chiya said nothing, but glared at her husband, then crossed her arms. Michio began pulling her toward the monk once again.

Isao, transfixed by the sight, still stood next to the monk.

“Hey, Isao-kun,” Susumu called.

The boy turned and looked at the village guard, then hurried up to join him, and bowed.

“Well, son, what brings you up here?” Susumu asked. “Last time I saw you, you were working with Jun today.”

Isao bowed a bit deeper. “I was, Susumu-sensei. But after...Hisa-sama sent me up here, Susumu-sensei. It’s all right, isn’t it? I’m not up here just to see what’s happening.”

Smiling, Susumu nodded. “When Haha-ue asks?  Oh yes,” he said. “Very much so. Something happened? It wouldn’t have anything to do with why Chiya-sama is acting the way she is now, would it?”

The boy frowned, but nodded. “I was working with Jun near the house where the women were sewing when - ”

He was interrupted as Chiya jerked hard, pulling against Michio’s hold, but unable to free her arm. “Let me go! Don’t treat me like a child.”

“Then don’t act like one,” Michio said  

“She’s not going to go down lightly,” Daitaro said. “I don’t know who’s more stubborn when they’re angry, her or her mother.”

Michio grabbed her by both arms, facing her. “After what you just did? You shame our family. You think I have no honor?”  

“Honor?” Chiya spat the word out like it was poison.

“You must, to behave like this in public.” The men watched as he yanked her forward again, not stopping until he stood before Miroku and InuYasha.

Bowing, he looked up at Miroku. “I am not sure why my wife has acted in this manner. To shame such a holy work with an attack on the people helping, even after all the work making preparations...All I can say is I apologize for her rudeness.” He bowed again. “And to you, too, InuYasha-sama. We wouldn’t have a good man like Houshi-sama here if you hadn’t befriended him.” He glared once more at his wife. “Then we would have had no temple for our devotions.”

Chiya made a face at the mention of the hanyou, but for once, decided not to speak.

The hanyou’s ear twitched, not yet sure how to react. Instead, he stuffed his hands in his sleeves, and waited for some signal from Miroku.

“Is she bewitched, too? Like Haname-obasan was?” Isao asked.

“I don’t think so,” Tameo said. “At least I can’t sense anything like that from her.”

Miroku returned his bow with a nod of his head. He studied Michio for a few moments, trying to think of the right thing to say. “Peace is a river filled with the waters of forgiveness,” he said. “I thank you for what you have tried to do, Michio-sama.”

“Keh.” InuYasha took a deep breath and looked at Miroku and back at Michio.  “Can’t keep other people from doing what they’re going to do.”

“Apologize, woman,” Michio said, still holding on to Chiya. “You at least owe that much.”

The monk looked at Chiya. “The Buddha said, ‘Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.’ It would be best if we all drop our coals right now.”

She glared at her husband, a deep burning look that showed absolutely no fear, only resentment, then turned to Miroku and nodded. As they watched, she muttered something, took several deep breaths. Slowly the resentment was replaced as her mask of politeness slipped back into place, smoothing her face.

Turning to the monk, she bowed. “Please forgive me for upsetting this day and the work you’re trying to do.” Her voice was strained, and not nearly as polite as her face.

“It’s not so much me you need to ask forgiveness from,” Miroku said. “But your husband, and InuYasha-sama and Kimi-sama.”

She turned to Kimi, who smiled at her. “I know these last few days have been hard, Chiya-chan. Remember how the way helps us to live in joy, in peace even among the troubled if we just let go.”

“Let go,” Chiya said, bowing. “Forgive me, Kimi-sama. I...I had no right to question your compassion.”  
Michio nudged her again, but didn’t hold her arm. She turned and looked at the hanyou. Her eyes narrowed. InuYasha waited, not exactly scowling, to see what she would do, and a breeze lifted up his silver hair. She studied his face and swallowed, as if trying to say something, but she never spoke. Instead of bowing, her face grew harder, and  she turned around, and headed away, at first walking, and then running. Michio began to move in her direction, but before he could reach her, Tsuneo wrapped his arms around her.

“What are you doing, Chiya-chan?” he asked, trying to hide his own anger at his daughter’s actions unsuccessfully. It reflected in his voice and how he grasped her arms.

“I...I...” she started. Otousan, let me go.” She didn’t struggle against his hold. “Kimi-chan said to let go. But I can’t. You know how Haha-ue is. You have to deal with Joben and that...that man. Don’t make me apologize to...to that thing who made all this happen.”

“Are you sure she’s not bespelled?” Tsuneo asked looking up at the monk as she struggled in his grasp. “She sounds as mad as Haname did.”

All eyes but hers turned to the monk. He closed his eyes and held up a hand to his face, as if trying to sense something, but when he opened his eyes, he looked at Tsuneo with compassion but uncertainty. “Let’s find out,” Miroku replied, reaching into his sleeve. “I have an ofuda that should make it clear.”

“It better be a spell,” Michio said, darkly, staring at his wife. “If it’s not, then you can take her home. Or better yet, send her off to take care of that crazy man of yours. I don’t want her under my roof.”