InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of Ever After ❯ Chapter 194

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


Chapter 193


For a moment, all eyes standing in front of the old miko’s house looked at the door mat as it clattered down behind Kaede as she retreated into the privacy of her own home.

The last onlookers drifted off, except Koume and her husband, and InuYasha and Kagome.

“Well, I guess we know how Kaede feels,” Koume said. “We can wait until later to find out what Tameo will say.”

Fumio lifted his hammer to his shoulder. “I say, let’s go home, woman.”

“Home,” InuYasha said, moving his eyes from the door of the miko’s house to the face of the smith, who nodded. “That sounds like a good idea.”

“But,” Kagome said, gripping her gathering basket and shifting it on her hip. “But...”

Two children hurried by, walking through the last of Kagome’s scattered herbs. Her frown deepened.


“Heh,” Fumio said, nodding. “Think of this. At least Seiji’s not locked up in a building near your house. Tameo’s going to have to listen to him once he sleeps it off. Maybe they’ll be lucky and get a few hours of peace before he starts yelling.”

“You think that’s what’s going to happen?” Kagome asked.

“Keh,” the hanyou said. “That’s what happened the last time he got too drunk and caused a scene.  I was at Kaede-babaa’s that night. Went into the forest to get away from all the noise.”

Fumio looked up at him, surprised. “Your hearing’s that good? I could hear him at my place, but I didn’t think it’d get as far.”

InuYasha shrugged.  

Koume laughed gently at the look of consternation on the young miko’s face. “Sometimes, Kagome-chan, going home is the best thing of all. If there’s any emergency, I am sure Kaede-sama will send for you. Tomorrow is another day, and nothing that happened here will be dealt with before then. This one’s been crazy enough for us all.”

“The whole week,” InuYasha muttered. Kagome looked up and him and his ears flattened at her frown, and he stuffed his hands back in his sleeves, torn between looking apologetic and ready to bolt. “You weren’t supposed to hear that,” he said.


Seeing his tension, she gently rested a hand on his arm and sighed. “You’re right. Ever since you and Miroku went after the bakeneko.” As she let out the tension, it reflected in the hanyou’s stance as well. She nodded. “It has. I won’t deny it.”

“Well,” the blacksmith said, resting his hammer on his shoulder, “I do suspect they’ll be talking about this week for quite a while. More excitement than we’ve had in a long time. Probably since that time with the shouki bombs.”

“Keh,” the hanyou said. “You should have seen it from where we were.”

“I think,” Fumio replied, twisting his lips into a knowing smile, “that what happened here was plenty enough excitement for the village.”

“And then we went back to normal, and you got to miss all the boring days in between,” Koume said, patting the miko on the shoulder. “We have a lot more of them than exciting ones. I think I rather like it that way. It gives me more time to get ready for market days.”

“Market days?” Kagome asked. “You send things to the market?”

Koume nodded. “Nahoi is a skilled weaver. One of the merchants there is always ready to take a new length or two of cloth. Fumio,” she said, looking up at her husband, “is going to have a pack’s worth this time.”

Fumio laughed. “If I had any brains, I’d let you carry it, woman,” he said.

“If you had any brains, you’d pack it on the ox, husband. Or at least use Eiji’s hand cart. It’s going to be a heavy load  with the ironwork you’re taking.” Koume turned to Kagome. “This time, I’ll be going. You ought to come with us. I need some new dyestuffs, and Fumio-chan, as good as a blacksmith as he is, really isn’t up to choosing which lot of dye wood is better than the other.”

Kagome took a swift look at InuYasha, who just shrugged. “Never saw a lot of women there,” he said.

“There are more men, but we go, too,” Koume said.

“I....I...I’ll talk to Kaede-obasan,” she said, not exactly sure how to answer.  

The older woman nodded. “It’s a bit of a walk But don’t worry about it being too rowdy. I’m sure that husband of yours will scare off all the riffraff.”  

InuYasha’s ear twitched at that one. “Keh,” he managed. “Let’s go home. We’ll talk about it later.”

“Don’t mind me, InuYasha-sama,” Koume said. “I bark some, but I don’t really bite. And you, Kagome-chan. Come see me tomorrow or the next day. I have some beautiful yarn dyed. We’ve been quite busy even through this crazy week.” Koume turned to her husband. “Speaking of which, I better get back to the house. No telling how long Kimi can keep Nahoi at work. When she knows something’s up, she gets so restless.”

“Good idea,” Fumio agreed, nodding and obviously restless and ready to go. “I will see you two later.  When they get your lumber ready, come and talk to me, InuYasha. We’ll see how many nails we’ll need.”

Together, the older couple walked off.

“Can we go home now?” InuYasha asked.

Kagome gave him an enigmatic grin, which made him a little uncomfortable and he shifted his feet.

“Why not?” she said. “That’s what everybody’s telling us to do.” She rested a hand on his arm. “And to be honest, I think I’m still tired.”

“Yeah,” he said.

Together, they headed back to their house.


Back up on the hill, Daitaro walked up the main path. “This day needs to get over,” he said, walking slowly, as if he were looking for something. He moved past the last fence rail marking his pastures, and headed for a stand of trees. “There you are,” he said as he reached the trees.

“Here I am,” his eldest son said, sitting with his back to a large sakura tree, just far enough away to be unseen from the cow pasture. “Were you looking for me?”

“I noticed you were missing,” the old man said. As one of the cows in the pasture lowed, he sat his own body down with a small huff, neatly crossing his legs and wrapping his hand around one ankle. “Well son, how’s your knee doing?”

“Stiff, a little,” Shinjiro said, shrugging. “I’ve had worse.”

“Your okaasan chase you out?” the old man asked, leaning back against the trunk of the same tree.

“Not exactly. First, she poured that nasty medicine she gives you for your aches down my throat, then told me to get away from the cooking pots,” the younger man said. “After you left, they pulled out about everything we own outside, to get washed or aired out or oiled. I don’t think there’s any room for men in our house today.”


“You noticed that, did you?” Daitaro said.

“I wonder what things are like at Takeshi’s house,” Shinjiro said, picking up a fallen leaf. It was an old leaf, from the previous fall, and crisp. He touched it with one finger, and it cracked.

“Not as much cooking, I suspect,” the old man said, unfolding his legs. He rotated his left ankle, shaking out an ache. “But still, lots of fussing. All the girls in that family - lots of giggling, I suspect.”

“Erime’s sister, Tama - I think she’s a bit jealous. Or maybe resentful,” Shinjiro said, folding his arms. “I hope she’s not causing any problems.”

“Ah,” Daitaro said, putting his jug in between his legs. “You noticed that, too. Well, her time is coming soon.  I’ve heard talk about wedding arrangements for her, too. She doesn’t mean bad. But she’s probably nervous about giving up her sister.” He uncorked his bottle. “It can be hard to let go sometimes.”

“I know.” Shinjiro reached out his hand for his father’s jug. Daitaro looked at him, surprised, but he unslung the jug strap from around his head and passed it over to his son.

“What are you thinking about, son?” the old farmer asked, frowning. “Everything’s settled, your okaasan has finished all the sewing, thank the heavens, and all the omens for tomorrow are good. Even Aki-kun has calmed down a bit and Okuro hasn’t managed to get out of his pasture for two weeks. You should be happy.”

Shinjiro took a small drink from his father’s jug. “I am,” he said, nodding, and trying to give his father a reassuring smile, but there was a hollowness to it. “Erime-chan is happy, Takeshi and his family are happy, Haha-ue is more than happy. I’m just...”

“What?” Daitaro asked, taking back the jug that Shinjiro handed back to him.

“I was thinking about last time, when you had to come out after me.” He rubbed the tip of his nose, as if that would obscure his face from his father’s glance. “I thought it would be easier, the second time, but...”

Daitaro smiled. “You were a really nervous bridegroom. Your okaasan was afraid you were going to run away.”

The younger man snorted. “Thought about it. She was so beautiful, and I was all legs and arms and tripping over everything whenever I saw her.” He looked down the road, his eyes getting lost in thought. “I felt like that most of our time together, even after we were married. She’d look at me and I’d turn into an awkward boy.”

“That’s how your okaasan made me feel, too,” Daitaro admitted. “It took me a long time to get over it. I think it wasn’t until you were born it finally dawned on me I was a grown man.”

Shinjiro picked up another leaf. “I....” He swallowed.

“Ah, she was a lovely child, she was. I think Chime-chan scared her a little, there at the first.”

Shinjiro nodded. “Her brother’s wife didn’t get along with her mother that well. I think she was afraid Haha-ue would be the same way.”

“Some women...well, there’s not a jealous bone in your okaasan’s body.” Daitaro pulled a drink out of his jug. “Erime-chan and she are as thick as thieves already. I don’t think you’re going to have any problem that way.”

The younger man picked up another leaf and crumbled it, letting it scatter. “No, I know you’re right there.”

Daitaro took a deep breath, shifted and drew his legs back, crossing them neatly. “Things are different, this time, son. No bad omens. A most fortunate day. Your mother’s hung the whole house with amulets and ofuda. And we have InuYasha and his woman coming. I don’t think any bad spirit would dare linger around.” Daitaro rubbed the back of his neck. “I kind of wish something would try though.”

Shinjiro looked at his father, surprised. “What?”

“You’ve seen his sword at work, haven’t you?” the old farmer asked.

His son nodded. “Pretty hard to miss when he lets it go.”

“Think about the fireworks that would make!” Daitaro pulled another drink from his jug, and passed it to his son. “And all the trees it’d pull down. It’d make a big start on next winter’s firewood.”

Shinjiro laughed, hard, before taking a drink. “Otousan, only you...”

Daitaro, liking the joke picked up a stick, and held it up over his head. “Begone, you demon of melancholy!” With that, he crashed it to the ground.

Just as it landed, there was a really loud crash, and a bellow.

“Dammit,” Daitaro said, jumping to his feet, and throwing the stick away. “That stupid bull must have gotten out after all. Momoe’s cow must have come in season early. Run home and get your brother, Shinjiro. Damn me for mentioning his name.”  

Corking his bottle, he began to trot in the direction of the noise.

Shinjiro, slowly getting up and wincing a little as he stood, shook his head, and started for the house.