InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of Ever After ❯ Chapter 187

[ 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 186


In the meadow north of the village, a lone bird circled three times, landed in a branch, spotted the couple on the ground beneath him, cocked his eyes, and with one disgruntled cry, flew off.

“Did we do something that bird didn’t like?” Kagome asked.

She was lying on the blanket they had brought, her ebony hair cascading in a fan behind her, her eyes content and heavy-lidded.

InuYasha brushed a stray lock off her face, glanced up just enough to see the bird flying away, then turned his attention back to his wife. “Jealous,” he said, bending forward to give her a soft, gentle kiss. “We’re having more fun than he is.”

His hair was tossed over his left shoulder. Kagome ran her fingers over the top of his right shoulder, under the unfastened fabric of his kosode. He, like her, was dressed only in his white shirt, the ties undone to allow them to touch as much skin as possible without totally stripping down. Around them were scattered their outer clothes - hakama, jackets, belts, in little crumples of red and white.  

He gave her a sultry look, but when she giggled a little, his look lost some of its cockiness. “It was fun, wasn’t it?”

Kagome flashed him a brilliant smile, and wrapping her arms around his neck and under his hair, reached up and kissed his chin. “Of course it was. I thought I made that perfectly clear.”

“Just checking,” he said, rolling off her, and resting on his side. “So why’d you laugh?”

“I was just thinking of that bird watching us, and then flying off to find him the right female. We set a high standard,” Kagome said, also rolling on her side. “Do you think he might be disappointed when he finds his partner?”

He pulled her close to his chest and rested his cheek on the top of her head. “Not if he gets lucky and finds the right one. That’s what it takes.”

The two just lay there together a few minutes, Kagome drawing shapes on the hardness of his chest, he running his fingers through her hair and down the length of her back.

Kagome looked up. “Now, wasn’t this better than staying at home and listening to Choujiro hammer away on this boards?”

“Keh.” He gave her a cocky grin. “The way you make noise, I doubt if you’ve let me get near you while he was there.”

She gave him a playful slap. “You’re not that quiet yourself. At least I don’t howl.” Unwinding his arm from around her, she sat up, looked at their little fire, and reaching over, threw on a couple of sticks. “I think it’s time for the tea.”

“I did not howl,” InuYasha said, sitting up and tying his kosode closed.  

Kagome reached for her hakama. “Whatever you want to call it, it was louder than any noise I made.”

The hanyou chuckled, grabbing his own garments. “You may be right. I was too busy to notice.” He began to slip into his own hakama. “So you still want to gather some herbs? We’ve got a good bit of afternoon left.”

She nodded. “I saw some of those greens I liked, I think. And it’d probably be good practice to see if I can remember the herbs Kaede was showing me.”

“You sound like you’re not very anxious to go home,” he said, fastening the tie to his left ankle.

“It’s just...” Kagome sighed. “It’s just so nice and quiet here. Who knows what’s happening in the village? You don’t mind, do you?”

He barked a laugh. “Mind? We could stay out here a week, and I wouldn’t mind. Maybe a month. Take me that long to rest up after the last few days.” He moved to fasten the other ankle’s ties. “Seems like ever since we went after that bakeneko, it’s been one thing after another.”

Kagome stood up to tie her hakama around her waist. “It’s been a busy week. I’ll give you that much. But I know you. You wouldn’t want to be gone a week.”

InuYasha grabbed his jacket. “That’s what you think.”

She gave him a little, wicked smile. “Oh, I know,” she said, reaching for her chihaya.

He frowned. “Name one thing that would make me want to go home that early.”

“I didn’t bring any pickles,” she said, laughing.

His ear twitched. “Maybe we could buy some.” He walked over to where she stood, and wrapped his arms around her. “Every village makes pickles.”

“But they don’t make them as good as Chime or Sayo,” Kagome replied, resting her hands on his arms.

“I could make do,” he said, nuzzling her ear. “For a week.”

Kagome leaned back. “Maybe.”



At the house by the river, Kisoi rested hands on the shoulders of his two older sons. “Now remember, Hidaka-kun, Touru-kun, even if Morio-kun looks like a grownup, he’s not really. Don’t try to treat him like one.”

Hidaka nodded.

“The poor soul,” Nana said, looking at the group walking up towards them. “That has to be such a hard thing for him.”

“From what I understand,” Miroku said, “he’s very lucky the kami didn’t just send him to hell. He had been involved in some rather bad things before all this happened.”

“I know, I know,” Nana said, bouncing her youngest son on her hip. “But that was then.”

“Bah,” Rikuyo, standing next to her. “You always were too trusting, and too kind.” She glanced at her son-in-law, who, fortunately didn’t see the look she gave him, consternation and regret and fondness, all mixed together.  

“Obaa sad?” Katsuo said, reaching out to his grandmother.

“No, no, child.” Rikuyo patted her grandson on the head. “Just excited.”

That seemed to mollify the boy, but Nana gave her mother a look.

“Well, well,” Tameo said, as the group reached the front of the house. “We made it, finally.”

Kisoi and his family bowed in greeting. “Welcome.”  

Morio leaned towards Joben. “These are the people who want me to stay with them?”

“That’s right,” Joben replied, rubbing his temples once again. “Are you ready to meet them?”

“I....I guess,” the yamabushi said.

Joben rested a hand on Morio’s back. “Then let’s go meet them.”

Before he could take more than a few steps, Touru broke away from his father’s hold and ran up to Morio. For a couple of moments, the much taller Morio and the little boy looked at each other, both a little frightened and unsure of what to say. Rikuyo audibly took a deep breath and held it, and Miroku gripped his staff a bit more tightly. Susumu stepped around from behind his father, but Tameo held an arm up to keep his from passing.

“Wait a minute, son,” he said softly. “Let’s see what’s going to happen. You forget how he behaved the day he played with your boy?”

“Uh...” Susumu said. He stepped back one step, but didn’t relax

The boy and the cursed man ignored all of this. Touru chewed on his bottom lip for a moment, judging what to do next.  He held up a toy horse, made up of straw. “Wanna play?” the boy asked.  “I built a fort out of rocks over there,” he said, pointing to the side of the house. “You can come play with me there. Ani-ue plays there, too. We can have big battles against the bad guys.”

“When did he do that?” Nana asked her husband, and then at her mother, who was supposed to have been watching the boys.

“Don’t look at Okaasan that way. I snuck Touru off. We were putting it together while you were cooking,” Kisoi said. “A bucket of dirt, some river rocks. Instant fortress. Our boys have good imaginations.”

Morio’s eyes grew wide. He looked up at Joben, who, breathing a sign of relief that the boys weren’t going to be afraid, gave him a nod. The childlike man turned back to the boy in front of him. “I can play with you?” he asked, as if he didn’t quite believe the invitation. He held out the bag he was clutching. “I brought my toys.”

“All that’s toys?” Touru asked, impressed.

“Yeah,” Morio said. He glanced at Joben. “Joben-ojisan gave them to me.” He sighed. “I lost all my old toys before I got here.”

He started to open the bag when Hidaka, nudged a little by Nana, walked up. “Or you can play with me. I like to play ball, too.” He held up the one he had been holding, made of brightly wrapped threads. “Here, catch!”

He tossed the ball, and without even thinking, Morio caught it, and opened his hand to look at it.
“You want me to throw it back?” he said.  

Hidaka nodded, deciding he liked Morio, and smiled. “If you want to play.”

The man threw it back softly and Hidaka easily caught it. He was about to throw it back when his mother, having left her youngest son with her mother, walked up and held Hidaka’s hand, stopping the motion.

“Welcome home, Morio,” she said, showing no fear at the yamabushi’s oddness. Instead, she smiled at him gently. “Before we do all that, why don’t you come in and have some lunch? After that, we’ll show you all around, and Touru," she said, nodding to the boy still clutching his horse, and Hidaka and you can play until suppertime. How’s that sound?”

Morio’s eyes couldn’t get any wider as he looked at Nana. “You...you look...look...look like my okaasan.”

Nana’s eyebrow rose, but his words pleased her. “Do I now, Morio-kun?”

He nodded. “Are...are you my okaasan?” He chewed on his lip. “You even sound like her.”

She moved next to him and rested a hand on his shoulder. “I will be your okaasan if you want me to be, Morio-chan.”

Suddenly, she found herself wrapped up in a huge hug. “Okaa, Okaa, I’ve missed you so much. I’ve been so scared,” Morio said.

Kisoi and Rikuyo hurried down to where the two were standing, Rikuyo more alarmed than her son-in-law. Kisoi took his sons hands. All three looked at each other, not exactly sure what to do as the yamabushi cried as he hugged Nana.

“It’s all right,” Nana said, running her hand soothingly over Morio’s back. “It’s all right. You don’t have to be scared anymore. Let’s go inside, and you can tell me and Otou all about it.”

“You won’t leave me again, will you?” Morio asked, his voice trembling. “I was so scared when I woke up and I couldn’t find you. I was so confused and I hurt so bad.”

“I promise, son.” Nana gave him a tight hug. “I didn’t know about it until now. I promise.”

It took a few more moments, but Morio let Nana pull herself away. “Otou, you want to help get everybody in the house for lunch?” she asked Kisoi.

“You’re my otousan?” Morio asked, tilting his head to look at Kisoi.

“If Nana-chan is your okaasan, then I must be your otousan,” Kisoi said. “I’m glad you’ve made it here, son. Let’s go have lunch.”

Nana led her surprised and somewhat bewildered flock back to the house, with Joben bringing up the rear. Miroku stayed behind to join the other men.

Tsuneo looked at Tameo. “Now that was unexpected.” He looked at the monk.

“That’s none of my doing,” Miroku said, shrugging. “But it looks like a nice bit of luck from the lucky gods has found us for a change.”

“I won’t turn it down,” Tsuneo said, “not after everything else I’ve been through this week.”

Tameo looked around the grounds, thoughtfully, as if he expected to find someone hiding behind a tree or building. “I wonder if there might be a kami’s hand in this.”

“I wouldn’t put it past old Kazuo,” Susumu said. “We ought to stop by the shrine with some of Daitaro’s sake when we get back.”

Tameo laughed. “Maybe we should, maybe we should.”

Unseen to human eyes, dressed in the plain clothes of an old farmer, the kami let off a pleased chuckle.