InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of Ever After ❯ Chapter 207

[ 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 206


While Chime and her son were heading up the hill, Kagome and InuYasha walked into Kaede’s house. The old miko, also an early riser had evidently been at work a while. She had her mortar out, and bags of herbs were scattered around her.

“Good morning, Kaede-obaasan,” Kagome said, stopping to take off her shoes as she stepped up on the wooden floor of the miko’s little house. “Are we late? You look like you’ve been busy for a while.”

“No, no, children,” Kaede said. “I just wanted to get started. She gave her pestle a final push before up. Grabbing one of her herb bags, she took a small quantity of dried leaves out, measured it in her hand, then put it in the mortar, then gave a good look at the newcomers. “I must admit,” she said, nodding approvingly as she looked them over with her calm eye, “that you two look much better than you did yesterday afternoon.”

Kagome, nodding, walked over to sit next to Kaede. “It’s really amazing what a good night’s sleep can do,” she said. “The whole world looks brighter today.”

“Rin thinks it’s a good morning, too,” Rin said. The girl was sewing in her corner, but looked up long enough to smile at the couple. “You look better, too, InuYasha-ojisan.”

“Keh,” the hanyou said. “I guess.” He moved to go sit down against the far wall, where he would be out of the way of both the sewing and the medicine making. “And what’s gotten into you? You look too happy for just a good night’s sleep.”

Rin giggled. “Sesshoumaru-sama came for a visit. That always makes Rin happy.”

“I’d heard he did that,” Kagome said, looking up from examining the bag of herbs Kaede had just added. “Kudzu?”

“Very good, Kagome-chan,” Kaede said, nodding approvingly. “It’s good for fever and body aches.”

Kagome put the bag down, and looked at the young girl. “Did you have a good visit?”

The girl nodded, although a shadow briefly crossed her face. “Rin did. She worries about her lord. Jaken, well, likes to complain a lot.”

InuYasha snorted. Kagome gave him a sharp look, but smiled at the girl. “I’m glad he came to see you. I know you’ve been missing him.”

“He gave Rin a gift, too.” Rin put her sewing down. Getting up, she moved to the chest where she kept her things.

“Sesshoumaru-sama is very generous to Rin,” Kaede said as the girl went to fetch her latest gift. “He seldom visits without leaving her with something.”

“Feh,” InuYasha said, scowling. “At least he’s learned better than when...”

Kagome gave him a sympathetic look, but touched her fingers to her lips, motioning him to be quiet. His scowl remained, but he nodded his agreement. “That’s very kind of him,” she said.

Rin gently lifted the bundle of bright cloth out of the chest. “Sesshoumaru brought me this kosode,” she said, moving over to Kagome’s side, where she half-draped it across the young miko’s lap.

“A kosode?” Kagome said, a little surprised. “Interesting. Where I come from, a man giving a girl something like that means he considers her very special.” She looked over at InuYasha, who had taken his sword out of his belt and rested it against his shoulder. He shrugged. She ran her fingers over the soft silk, and oohed. “No doubt you mean a lot to Sesshoumaru-sama. This is very lovely, Rin-chan. The color will bring out your eyes.”

The girl smiled. “Kaede-obaasan told Rin the same thing. Rin will have to wear it on the next festival day.” She got a silly look on her face. “Rin’s lord sends her silk. Sometimes she wishes he would bring her linen. Linen is better in the garden. There are a lot more hours she spends in the garden than at festivals.”

Kagome chuckled as the girl moved to put her dress back in her clothes chest. “But if he did that, what would Rin learn to sew on? Linen is much better for that.”

The girl’s eyes widened. “O, that’s true, Kagome-obasan. And then you wouldn’t have a partner to learn to make clothes with.”

“But I’m glad you’re here, Rin-chan,” Kagome said. “It’s always better to have a partner to learn new things with.” As Rin sat down to get back to her sewing, Kagome turned back to the old miko, who was watching their little exchange with amusement.  “What are we going to do today, Kaede-obaasan?”

“Nothing critical, I hope,” the miko said. She looked at her mortar and decided she had mixed enough. “I’d like to make the rounds of those who need to be looked at. Sora’s boy is still down with his throat. Daisuke needs, no doubt, to be coaxed into taking his medicines.”

“That old man, he’s a hard headed one,” InuYasha commented.

“You’ve noticed that, have you?” Kaede asked. She looked at him steadily, her one eye calm, but a small smile on her lips. “Reminds me of one or two other people I know.”

Kagome, catching her reference to both her husband and possibly herself, giggled. InuYasha, though, didn’t pick it up, and flicked his ear in uncertainty as he looked first at Kaede, and then back at his wife.

“I’ll tell you later,” the young miko said. InuYasha shrugged, but Kaede’s lips turned up a little more in amusement.

Getting back to her work, the old miko carefully poured the herbal mixture she had been making onto a large square of paper. “We also need to check on Haname. I didn’t like the way she was coughing the last time I saw her. This is why I’m mixing this compound.  There’s Sayo. I’m sure mother and daughter are doing well, or Yasuo would have been over here dragging me to check out his wife and child, but still, it’s better to be sure.  Some things he might not pick up on.”

“When do you think Rin can see the new baby, Kaede-obaasan?” the girl asked, breaking off a new piece of thread. Carefully, she ran it into her needle.

“If all goes well, child, maybe next week when I make my rounds,” Kaede said. “It’s better that not too many people bother the mother and child the first month, but I’m sure Sayo won’t mind.”

Rin beamed at that, and resumed her stitching. “Another girl for the village. Rin likes that.”

Carefully picking up the paper filled with the pungent herb mixture, Kaede folded it into a neat bundle, then pulled out a red cord to tie it with. “And I suspect we should drop by Maeme’s to see how Nakao-kun is doing.” She deftly tied the packet closed. “That should be more than enough to keep us busy this morning.”

“Keh,” the hanyou said. “That’s a big circle of people.”

“And they all need checking on. It’s one of the duties that a healer does,” Kaede said. “I certainly don’t have the room to have them all in my house. And what about you, InuYasha? What will you be doing while we make our rounds?” The miko placed the packet into her basket to join one jar and several other packets.

“Following,” the hanyou said.  

Kaede looked up at him, one eyebrow raised at his answer.

“After what happened yesterday, there’s no way I’m going to allow that son of a bitch Seiji anywhere near Kagome.” His face was solemn, almost daring the old miko to say anything against it.

Kagome looked at her husband, surprised. “What? You don’t think...I mean, Tameo...”

“You do know they have Seiji in the lockup at Tameo’s house,” Kaede said, looking at him placidly, not wishing to cause a disagreement. “I don’t think they have let him out yet.”

“Feh,” the hanyou said, stuffing his hands in his sleeves. “Who knows how long he’ll be there? And besides, his brother’s not locked up, and he’s nearly the bastard his brother is. I just don’t want anything to happen. Especially not today.”

The old miko nodded. “It is supposed to be a highly auspicious day today. Still, after seeing what happened yesterday afternoon, I’m not sure all this isn’t related to some spell the yamabushi laid down before the kami took care of him - so many things following one after another.”

“Yeah,” InuYasha said. “Whatever. One thing after another here lately. This is Shinjiro’s day, and I don’t want those asses to mess it up today. If they try something...” He gripped the sword that was resting against his shoulder. “I just don’t want to let anything get out of hand. Maybe me just being there might...”

“A noble sentiment, InuYasha,” Kaede said, nodding. “I don’t think anything will happen, but you may follow us on our rounds if you wish. Just don’t blame me if you get bored.”


Up on the hill, Miroku was hanging around the house for a while before going on his rounds. Sango, taking advantage of her husband’s presence, declared it laundry day. As they worked on their linen, the young wife probed her husband about details of the previous day.

“So,” she said, handing her husband a length of white linen she had just wrung out. “Kimi was really trying to blame herself for what Chiya did at the temple?”

“I’m not exactly sure,” Miroku said. He took the cloth from his wife’s hands, and gave it a shake. “Yusuko, don’t take your sister’s doll,” he said, giving his daughter a sharp look. The doll was on the ground, next to Noriko. Noriko was stacking stones together, but soon as her sister would have taken it, Miroku knew there would have been a big squall. Yusuko squatted down next to her sister, looked at him and frowned.

Having averted one minor catastrophe, he hung the cloth on the line to dry. “I’m not sure if it’s that she feels she caused it somehow,” Miroku said, running his hand along the top of the cloth to smooth it out, “or if she’s more upset how she felt with Chiya when Chiya pulled her stunt yesterday morning.”

“I know how I would have felt,” Sango said, scrubbing the next linen in the tub of water. “And what I would have done in her place. I don’t think I would have had any guilt about it, either.”

Yusuko, no longer stalking her sister’s doll, instead, found a rock, and carefully added it to the stack her sister was building. Noriko babbled something that nobody but her sister could understand, and Yusuko nodded. She got up and began looking for other rocks. After a moment, she found one and hurried back to her sister, who added it to the pile.

“Since when have they started building rock heaps?” Miroku asked. “And what are they supposed to be?”

Sango sat back on her heels, and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. “They’ve been doing it for about a week now. I think they’re trying to build a house for their dolls.” She started wringing the cloth out.

Yusuko found another rock and offered it to her sister. “At the rate they’re going,” Miroku said, looking at them fondly, “they’re going to rebuild Odawara castle right here.”

“That would be a sight,” Sango said, handing her husband the length of wet cloth.

“It would indeed,” Miroku said. “But where would we hang up our laundry?”

Sango covered her mouth and laughed. “Where indeed?”

“Why not on the castle walls?” a soft voice asked. The monk and taijiya looked up to see Chime and her son Genjo walking up to them. “I think it would look lovely, like banners flying over the walls,” Chime said.

She was carrying a basket, and her son was carrying another. The girls looked up from their building, and smiled shyly at the older woman. In a fit of giggles they ran and hid behind Miroku, peeking around the edge of his robes to look at the two newcomers.

“Ah, Chime-sama,” Miroku said, bowing politely. “I certainly didn’t expect to see you today.”

Sango got up from her laundry, and drying her hands on her wrap skirt, bowed as well.  “I thought you’d be too busy with everything,” she said. “I hope everything is going well.”

“Very well,” Chime said. “My husband Daitaro isn’t the only one who can turn up in unexpected places.” She beamed at the two girls. “Sometimes, I even come around, with unexpected gifts.” She reached into her basket and pulled out two chimaki, wrapped in bamboo leaves. She bowed to the monk. “These are for your beautiful daughters.”

Miroku accepted them from her. “Thank you, Chime-sama.” He stuffed them into his left sleeve. “I’m sure they will enjoy them a little later today.”

“Good, good,” Chime said.

“Haha-ue knows how to make the best chimaki,” Genjo said. “If we lived near Kyoto, we could make a fortune.”

“We have everything we need here, son,” Chime said, fondly. “Why do we need Kyoto’s money?”

“Why, indeed?” Sango said.

“Bring your basket here, son,” Chime said.

Genjo brought his basket and set it down in front of Miroku, then backed up.

“They say it’s good luck to donate to the Buddha to mark a special day,” Chime said. “So we brought these gifts. This is a length of cloth that I and Mariko wove. I hope you can find it useful.”

Miroku opened the lid to find a long length of pale blue cloth.

“It’s lovely,” Sango said.

Chime smiled. “It might come in handy. A monk with a growing family and a temple to run must always have needs.” She handed Miroku the basket she was carrying. “And this also is for you. Rice cakes and pickles.”

“Ah,” Miroku said. “Pickles. I’ve heard about your pickles, Chime-sama. Thank you.”

“Now these are your pickles,” Chime said. “Don’t let InuYasha-sama wheedle you out of them.”

The monk chuckled. “Knowing him, he would.”

“I think, perhaps, after this evening, he’ll leave you in peace,” Genjo said.

“That’ll take a lot of pickles,” the monk said.

Genjo laughed.“You haven’t seen how many Haha-ue made for tonight. If that doesn’t hold him, I don’t know what will.”

“You haven’t seen how much he likes them,” Sango said.

“But I bet I made enough,” Chime said. “Even for InuYasha.”

Somehow, Miroku was not convinced.