InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of Ever After ❯ Chapter 189

[ 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 188

Miroku, wanting to be alone after the events of the morning, had left Tameo and the other men, and was heading towards home by cutting through the farm fields. As he walked, he spotted a floating pink balloon drifting lazily across the landscape.

“And what is Shippou-chan up to, I wonder?” he said, stopping to watch. After a moment, he realized that the kitsune wasn’t merely drifting, but passing along the area in a pattern, like he was looking for something, especially along the edges of the wooded land and surrounding the fields where the farmers raised their beans and vegetables. “Is he looking for something?”

His desire for contemplation evaporating, the monk hurried towards the area the fox kit was most interested in. Shippou spotted him coming his way, stopped his search above the trees and then turned in the monk’s direction.

Miroku sighed. “I suspect I’m going to get home late for lunch.”

The pink balloon transformed with an audible pop in front of the monk, and an anxious Shippou jumped immediately onto Miroku’s shoulder.

“You’ve got to help me find her, Miroku!” Shippou leaped from the monk’s shoulder and onto the top of his head, bending over to look Miroku in the eyes. “It’s my fault. I know I shouldn’t have let her get so close!”

Miroku reached up and lifted the kit off his head and dropped him onto the ground.

“Who are you talking about, Shippou-kun?” the monk asked, knitting his brows together. “And what did you do this time?”

The kitsune took a deep breath. “I didn’t do nothing! I was just doing what Rin asked me to do.” He crossed his arms, determined not to be blamed for what was going on, and looked up at Miroku. “It’s not my fault that she was gone when I came back with the basket. Or that Tazu came by looking for her.”

Miroku squatted down, his hand sliding down the length of his staff as he did it, making the rings jingle, looking even more perplexed as he watched the kit. “I’m confused, Shippou-kun. Try again. I can’t help you if I don’t understand what’s going on.”

Shippou frowned, impatient to be moving, but nodded. “I was helping Rin weed Kaede’s garden, when she sent me back to Kaede’s house to get a basket. She was pulling some things she called weeds, but they taste good.” He pulled a wilted one out of his vest. “They ought to be growing them instead of some of that stupid stuff they do grow.”

Taking the weed, the monk leaned his staff against his shoulder and ran a finger over the plant. “Akaza. Lamb’s quarters. Yes, they are good to eat, especially when young. Sango-chan tells me they are a sign the soil is good.” He handed it back to the kit, who proceeded to eat it. “They’re not so good when they get big. And then what happened when you got back?”

“Tazu was looking for Rin,” Shippou said, swallowing the last of his snack down. “She came to the garden with me, but when we got there, Rin was gone.”

“Do you think something happened to her?” Miroku said, standing up. “Why didn’t you go to the village and tell someone?”

“Sesshoumaru happened,” Shippou said.  He glared at the monk. “Do you think I’m stupid?” He tugged at Miroku’s sleeve. “But we need to go find her.”

“It is best to allow Sesshoumaru to have his visits with Rin-chan in peace,” Miroku replied. “Or don’t you remember what happened the last time you interrupted them?”

The kit jumped back up on the monk’s shoulder. “Not Rin. Tazu.” He pointed towards a stand of pine trees. “I smelled her scent that way, but I couldn’t see her through the air.”

“Towards the river?” Miroku began walking in that direction. “But why, my fine kitsune, are we looking for Tazu-chan?”

“She wanted to see Sesshoumaru.” Shippou curled as much into a ball on the monk’s shoulder as possible and still hold on. “I tried to stop her. I really did!”

“I believe you, Shippou-kun,” the monk said. He had a look that said he didn’t know whether to be amused or worried. “You know, though, Sesshoumaru-sama would never hurt any of Rin-chan’s friends.” He scratched behind his right ear, where the kitsune’s tail had tickled him. “At least I don’t think he would.”

“Bah,” the kitsune said. “You sound as bad as Rin.”

Miroku shook his head. “No, I know what the daiyoukai can do. Still, where Rin is concerned...”

“Go that way,” Shippou said, pointing between two trees. They could hear water in the distance.

“So what happened?” the monk said, dodging a low-reaching branch.

“Sesshoumaru caught us where we were hiding.” He crossed his arms again. “It wasn’t my fault this time. I tried to get her to go before he caught us.”

“Considering how long it took you to sit down after that last time, I’m not surprised you tried,” Miroku said, nodding.

“I told him that, too.” The kitsune sniffed the air. “Yeah, I think she came this way. Let’s go!”

“And then what happened?” Miroku said, deftly stepping around a muddy hole in the path. “You obviously got separated.”

“Uh...” The kit said. “Did you hear that?”

“Not I, my friend.” Miroku frowned. “You ran, didn’t you?”

“Uh...” Shippou leapt off the monk’s shoulders. “I hear her! Just over there!” He began to bound away.

Rolling his eyes, and shaking his head, the monk followed.


North of the village, InuYasha lay on his side and watched his wife.

“Hard to believe what a wild thing you were just a little bit ago,” he said, as she moved along the ground near the trees. “And now you look like such a proper miko.”

She stopped what she was doing, stood up tall, with just the touch of a grin on her lips. “That’s because I am a proper miko. I can demonstrate my powers of purification if you need proof.”

The hanyou watched her performance; for a brief moment, she had become the spitting image of Kikyou. Not knowing if she had meant to do it on purpose, he decided not to spoil the moment, and instead laughed. “Indeed, miko-sama, I believe you,” he said. “Both wild and proper.”

“The better to deal with you,” she said, shifting her basket and began walking again.  

“You’re probably right,” he said, agreeably. “We know how proper I am.”

Kagome stopped what she was doing, knelt down, and added several leaves of a plant she had found to her basket. “And how wild you are, too.” She gave him a glance that even in his relaxed and fulfilled mood stirred something in him. He flashed her a smirk.

“I wonder what that is?” she said, bending down and touching a small plant. “I don’t think I’ve seen that one before.”

InuYasha was far less interested on what was growing in the ground than on how the sunlight played on her hair as she moved and the contentment that radiated from her scent and movements, but he rolled over and looked. “Don’t know. Maybe it’s a lily. Seen some sasayuri growing here before. And maybe some oniyuri, too.”

Kagome looked at him, a bit surprised that he’d know that, and smiled. “You’ll have to bring me here later. Sometimes it’s a lot easier to tell what some plants are after they get their flowers.”

“I guess,” he said, sitting up and brushing the grass off of his sleeves. “So what are you trying to find?”

She began moving away from the trees and into the center of the meadow. “Oh, whatever I can find. It’s kind of practice to see what I can recognize, and kind of to see if I can find anything useful. Some fresh greens would be nice for dinner.”

Getting up, InuYasha followed her. “So what was it that you put in your basket?” he asked.

“I’m pretty sure it’s some mitsuba. I’m going to ask Kaede-obaachan to be sure. But I’d like something else with dinner. Something that I’m sure what it is.”

A stand of wild mustard was growing near a large stone that jutted out of the ground not far from her. “How about that?” the hanyou asked.

“It looks like one of the plants Amaya grows,” Kagome said, walking over and kneeling next to it. “Wild mustard, I’d guess.”

“I guess,” InuYasha said, settling down next to her. “I’ve eaten it before. Tastes all right. Not as good as the stuff that Kaede and Sango get out of their garden, but not bad. Not as hot as tade is.”

“You eat tade?” Kagome asked. “After seeing how you handled my mother’s curry, I thought it’d be too hot for you.”

“If I have to,” he said, making a face.

Kagome, amused by the look on her husband’s face, glanced around the field. “I don’t see any here.  You’re in luck.”

“Feh,” InuYasha said. “Only until we go to Sango’s. She really likes it with her fish.” He looked around. “There’s some hakobera growing over there,” he pointed to a bit of disturbed ground some animal had made, covered with the pale green of the weed. “You might want to get some of that. It was good in the soup you made last week.”

She turned her head to look at her husband. “You know more about this than you’re telling me, don’t you?”

He shrugged. “I just learned what I could eat and what not to,” he said. “I had a lot of practice when I was younger.” He looked a bit embarrassed. “Sometimes, it was easier to find plants to eat than rabbits. People didn’t exactly invite me into their homes to eat dinner.”

Kagome gave him a tender look, and reached out, patting his hand. “Well, I can learn from you and Kaede-obaasan both.” And while he watched, she began to pick some of the leaves.

After gathering the mustard she found some henbit with its purple flowers near it, and was just settling down to pick some of the hakobera InuYasha had pointed out, when suddenly she stopped and looked up, her eyes widening a little.  

InuYasha frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“I feel youki,” she said, her voice soft but serious. “Strong youki. Coming this way.”

The hanyou went instantly on high alert, and he looked around and his hand went to the hilt of his sword. “Where?”

Kagome closed her eyes and widened her senses. She pointed to the south, just above the tree line. A bright shape was heading in their direction. “There!”

InuYasha’s ear twitched and his nostrils flared as he looked, his grip tight on Tessaiga, then suddenly, as the shape grew nearer and he realized what he was seeing he relaxed just a little.

“Nothing to worry about,” he said as he crossed his arms and stuffed his hands in his sleeves.

“But...” Kagome said, turning her head to her husband, and back to the sky.

“About time he showed up,” InuYasha said. “It’s been too long since his last visit to Rin.”

“That’s Sesshoumaru?” Kagome watched as the shape grew closer and she could begin to make it out.

“The bastard himself,” InuYasha said, nodding. His look turned into a scowl. “He’s been hanging around the village. I catch his scent every now and then. Don’t know what Rin sees in him, but he needs to visit her more often or just disappear so she can get on with her life.”

Kagome gave him a sad smile. “I had people tell me things like that about you, once upon a time.  Maybe she’s as stubborn as I was.”

“Feh,” the hanyou said. “Don’t know what good it’ll do her.”

The young miko didn’t reply, but instead watched as the youkai flew closer and closer. As he grew nearly overhead, a small green form clinging to his long white mokomoko bent over.  

“Sesshoumaru-sama,” Jaken said. “It’s Kagome!”

Kagome waved and called out, “Oniisan!”

Sesshoumaru did not slow down or say anything, but gave her a look of the type that had been known to stop other mortals in their tracks.  

“Did you see that? He made a really mean face at me,” Kagome said as he flew off. There was a slight growl coming from her companion. The hanyou was staring at her with a look nearly as severe as the daiyoukai’s. “And you are, too.”

“That had a really nasty sound to it,” InuYasha said.

“But it’s true,” Kagome replied. “If you are my husband, I’m supposed to call him Oniisan.”

InuYasha shook his head. “I’m not ready for that. What type of brother has he been to me?”

Kagome leaned forward, and brushed his cheek with her fingers, and ran them into his hair. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I just...”

Something struck him, though, and his frown went away almost as quickly as it came. He clasped her hand with his, and leaned forward and gave her a quick peck on the lips. “I just thought of something.”

“What?” Kagome asked, perplexed.

“He wasn’t happy because he had a half-human brother. Now he has a full-human sister-in-law.” InuYasha gave Kagome a very wicked grin, the type he would get right before going into a fight. “Couldn’t happen to a more deserving bastard.”

“Improper and very wild,” Kagome muttered, so low that even InuYasha couldn’t hear her.

“You say something?” he asked, helping her to her feet.

Kagome put on a smile. It only looked a little forced. “Let’s go home.”




A/N: The dialogue of what happens as Sesshoumaru flies overhead is based on the text in the fan scanlation by Patches, and not the version printed in the Viz edition of the manga, nor the Final Act. I’m familiar with all three, but this is what I based it on, in case you’re wondering why it doesn’t exactly match the source you remember.