InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of Ever After ❯ Chapter 149

I do not own InuYasha or any character created by Rumiko Takahashi


Chapter 148


Kagome, giving InuYasha a heavy-lidded, sultry look, unwound herself from her husband’s hold, and bending low to tend the fire under the soup, got back to fixing their dinner.

InuYasha watched Kagome stir the soup. He watched her lift the cover off the soup pot and the appetizing smells of what in it hit his nose as the steam billowed out, sharpening his appetite.

“You want another slice of pickle?” she asked, checking the meat they were going to have with the meal. She picked up the dish with the pickle slices and lifted it in his direction. “I think it’s going to be a few more minutes.”

InuYasha nodded and took a slice, and watched as she continued her preparations. His ear flicked and he leaned forward, resting his chin on one hand. With a skill that surprised him knowing how few days she had been doing it, she pulled the rice to the side and shoved it away from the flames to finish cooking. He got up, and leaned his sword against the wall, rolled his shoulders and stretched.

“Are you all right?” Kagome asked, looking up.

“Just a little stiff,” InuYasha said. “Funny how falling off a roof can do that to you.”

“I don’t think I really want to experience that one myself,” she said.

He nodded as he watched Kagome mix soy sauce and something together to put over their meat. “I don’t think I want you to, either. I don’t think your body’s made for that.”

“I think you’re right,” she replied. Taking her dish of sauce, she began to drizzle some on the meat she had cooking on skewers.

Suddenly, and for no reason he could really put a finger on, he felt penned in. He took a deep breath “Got enough time for me to chop some wood?” he asked.

“If you want to,” Kagome said. She studied his face. “I thought I had you ready to stop thinking about all the craziness today.” She brushed a stray bit of hair out of her face. “I guess it didn’t work.”

He gave his wife a sheepish look. “I thought I was, too. I just keep thinking. Maybe I should have said something different to Miroku.”

Kagome stood up walked over to the kitchen cabinet where she took out the dishes she was going to serve dinner in. “What did you two talk about?” she asked. “I thought you told me he was trying to figure something out.”

“Yeah, that’s what he said. He was wondering if he had been...well, maybe greedy isn’t the right word, but...” InuYasha’s ear twitched as he grasped for the right word.

“He was wondering if maybe he shouldn’t have let Chiya donate so much?” Kagome asked, setting the dishes down on her work table. Next she got their dinner trays out.

“I guess,” the hanyou said. “I think he was feeling guilty or something.”

Kagome shook her head. “I doubt he has anything to feel guilty about. Chiya seems perfectly capable of manipulating things the way she wants. Kind of reminds me of how that kid Aki is, but grown up.”

InuYasha snorted, at first amused, but then looked thoughtful at Kagome. “She is his aunt. You think it runs in the family, being a jerk like that?”

Kagome took the lid off the rice and began dipping it into bowls. She turned to him and shrugged. “It does sometimes. I’ve seen it before. But it may have more to do with how they’ve been raised.”

“That whole family seems screwy, if you ask me,” InuYasha said. “Maybe not Tsuneo, but look at’em...Haname, Joben, Chiya. And Aki, too. Only that brat’s sister and Isao seem to have decent heads.”

She put the rice bowls on their trays, and lifted the lid off the soup pot. “I suspect Akina and Amaya have had some influence. But that can only go so far.” Ladling soup into one bowl, she paused before putting it down on InuYasha’s tray. “So, what did you tell him?”

“I told him he should talk to Sango,” InuYasha said, scratching the back of his neck.

“That’s not bad advice,” Kagome said, filling the soup bowls. “Why are you worried about what you told him?”

“Uh,” InuYasha said, suddenly finding his hands rather interesting. “I sort of suggested that maybe he wasn’t paying enough attention to what was going on with Sango not fitting in.”  

“Really?” Kagome frowned, pulling the skewers of meat out of the heat of the fire. “Do you really think he could have figured out what was going on? All the women seemed to be surprised.” She spooned some of the soy sauce she had prepared over the meat, and divided it between each tray.

“Hell if I know,” InuYasha said. “He was acting all guilty like what was going on was his fault. He’s the one who knew Sango was lonely.” He shook his head. “But mostly, I was just ticked off that he came and dumped all that on me.” InuYasha looked up at Kagome. “What do I know about this stuff?”

Kagome sighed. “It can be hard to know what to say when things like this come up,” she said.  

“Keh,” he said, “He’s the one who listens to all the gossip. I didn’t even realize she felt shut out until he told me so.”

She moved his tray in front of him. “You can go talk to him about it if you feel you shouldn’t have said something.” She looked at the dish of pickles she was about to hand him, and added one more slice. “You did tell him to work things out with Sango. That’s probably the thing he needs to do most.”

“I guess,” InuYasha said. “I’m not the guy to tell him if he’s being too greedy or not.”

“He asked you that?” Kagome said, rather surprised, handing InuYasha his chopsticks.

The hanyou picking up his soup bowl nodded, right before he took a sip. Kagome started laughing. “What?” he asked, putting the soup bowl down.

“It’s just that...” She put her own soup bowl down before she could spill it, and covered her mouth with her hand. “It’s just that if he asked you if he was too greedy...” She took a deep breath. “We all know what you think about that. You’re the last person he should have asked.”

InuYasha smiled. “Yeah. He must have really been feeling guilty to do that.” His smile faded as a thought struck him. “You think he wanted me to chew him out?”

Kagome, picking up a pickle slice, chewed it thoughtfully. “You know,” she said, “sometimes I wondered about Miroku. Like all those times he got Sango mad at him, like he liked her to slap him. I used to wonder if he wants to get punished sometimes.”

InuYasha gave his head a quick shake. “Then why did he ask me, and not Sango?”

She picked up her rice bowl. “Maybe he thought you’d be safer. He’s got to live with Sango.”

“You have a point,” InuYasha said. “After seeing how she was when she was carrying the twins, I suspect he’s really careful about things like that anymore.” He picked up a meat skewer, and continued to eat his dinner.



At Miroku’s temple, the monk was not thinking about his guilt or innocence, or even Sango for the moment. Instead, he was looking up at the group of elders - Tameo looking rather pleased with himself and waiting for Michio’s reaction, Daitaro, glancing over at the temple, looking for his sons, and Tsuneo, looking at his son-in-law with a face as sad and as drawn as the younger man.

Miroku stood up, straightening his robes as he did. “A plan, Dono?” he asked.

Eiji dropped what he was doing to move next to Ryota. “One I hope doesn’t involve my household long term?” he asked. “I don’t mind my dear wife helping for a day or two...” He looked at Michio and then Tsuneo, his eyes both apologetic but certain. “I’m sorry, but you understand.”

Tsuneo nodded. “Letting Kimi take her home at all...” He gave the younger man a small resigned twist of his lips. “You’re a good man, Eiji-sama.”

“Well, we can’t just leave Chiya to wander from house to house while she and Michio here figure out how to reconcile their differences,” Tameo said, nodding at the seated man

“Is there anything that can be reconciled?” Michio said, standing up slowly. He dusted his hands off on his thighs and looked at his father-in law. “Are you in on this too, Tsuneo-otousan?”

“I helped put it together, if that’s what you mean,” Tsuneo said. He rested a hand on Michio’s shoulder. “We need to do something. We’d like you to agree to it. It’d help matters.”

Michio looked at Tsuneo doubtfully, and crossed his arms. “So what is it that you’re planning? Where are you planning on putting her?”

“You mentioned it earlier,” Tsuneo said.

Knitting his brows together, Michio frowned while he thought. “The house by the river? With that crazy man who thinks he’s a child? You would do that to your own daughter? Leave her alone with him?” Instead of sad, his face grew stony. “I said that out of anger. You can’t be serious.”

“Do you think a woman like Chiya could handle a man who acts like a six-year old having a tantrum?” Miroku said. “That sounds rather...” The monk scratched the back of his neck. “Impossible. Even if she didn’t get hurt, she wouldn’t be able to slow him down if he ran.”

“We’re not idiots, Houshi-sama,” Tameo said. “And rest assured, Michio, we have every intention of keeping her safe.” Michio took a deep breath and gave the headman a terse nod.

Miroku raised his hands. “I never meant to insinuate...”

“He’s a handful, all right,” Daitaro said. “That’s why we came up with this idea. She won’t ever be alone with him.”

“She won’t, huh?” Susumu said, joining the others after escaping the roof. “So, Otousan, what have you cooked up?”

“We’ve hired Kisoi and his family to move in there with her,” Tameo said. “You know how big he is.”

“And how many children he has,” Michio said. “Chiya-chan’s not going to like that. She barely can stand her own.”

“Michio!” Yaya said, shocked by that comment.

He looked at the woman, still sitting by her tea making things. He gave her a woebegone shake of the head. “Oh, you haven’t seen her when she gets the headache. The children know better than to make a sound when she’s like that.”

“It doesn’t matter what she likes,” Tsuneo said. “She won’t have much choice. She can stay there or run off.”

“We have agreed. None of the other households will be allowed to take her in until we lift the ban,” Tameo said. “We would allow you, Michio, of course, since you’re her husband.”

The aggrieved husband gave a bitter laugh. “What choices - me or the crazy man? I’m not sure which one is crazier. Me if I let her come home.”

“It’ll get better. This will give you time to save face, and her to consider things, maybe,” Susumu said. He wrapped his arm around Michio’s shoulder. “Give it some time.” He looked up at his father.  “What about Joben?”

“Oh, Joben will have to go for a starter,” Tameo said. “I hear Morio is rather obsessed with not letting him out of his sight.”

“Like a rock around his neck,” Tsuneo said.

“So, Michio, will you work with us?” Tameo asked.

Michio shrugged. “What choices do I have? Not much. Do what you think fit.” Shaking his head once more, he walked toward the far side of the temple.

Ryota watched him go. He nudged Eiji. “Go follow him, man. It’s one thing if InuYasha-sama falls off a roof, but with the way Michio is feeling, he might do it in a more permanent way.”

Eiji nodded, and trotted after the unhappy husband.

Ryota turned back to the men. “That’s going to be one really happy household,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Joben and Chiya. They’ve fought like cats and dogs since they were small. And the crazy man. Did Emma-O inspire you so you could help those three work off their time in hell?” He shook his head. “I’m getting back to work. We might just finish before sunset if we hurry.  Coming, Susumu?”

“I’m afraid I need him,” Tameo said. “We’re going down to tell Chiya. Official business.”

Ryota shuddered. “Better you than me. I think I’ll take roof ridges any day.” And with a final shake of his head, he turned back to hurry the work party along.