InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of Ever After ❯ Chapter 277

[ 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 277

As Miroku and Fumio watched, Sango and Koume were joined by Kaede as they lead the distraught woman back to the sleeping room.

“She reminds me of how Nahoi reacted, before...before that son of a devil did what he did,” Fumio said. “Acted like she had failed some way, and acted like she was protecting us by going along with him.” He spat, still angry after all this time at the man he could no longer reach for the damage he had done to his daughter. He held his hammer in one hand, and ran his other thumb along the hammer’s face. “He didn’t get what he deserved in this life,” the smith declared, then looked up at the monk, almost if challenging him to disagree. “It was over too quickly. I hope Emma-O, king of the dead, gave him a fitting reward.”

Miroku’s violet eyes watched the blacksmith without condemnation. “The ways of the dead are not my science,” he said, “although I have it on good authority that Emma-O knows what he’s doing.” He sighed. “What may be more important, and harder for us still alive is to let go, lighten the darkness people like that cause us, and to help others find that light.” His lips curled into a sad, wry smile. “I cannot say I am wholly free of being twisted by what that ...that dark hanyou did to my father and my wife’s family and to me as well, but I have tried.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “That...that is why I cannot stand by and watch what Seiji is doing any longer.”

Fumio nodded. “Letting go is hard. Sometimes, I think I’ve done it, and then something will happen that lets it all come running back in.”

“Always,” Miroku said.

“But, Miko-sama!” came a loud voice from within the house. “Haha-ue, she needs me! You told me that!”

“It sounds like they’ve kicked the boys out,” Fumio said. “I can take them home. You’ve got enough going on here.”

“Let’s go see what Kaede-sama says,” the monk replied. “Sometimes, telling a child no when all they are is concerned and frightened can come back in bad ways. It took me a long time to get over being held back when my father died. I was very angry and grieved, even though it no doubt saved my life.”

“Sometimes,” the blacksmith said, “finding the right path is hard.”

“Or even harder,” Miroku replied, “convincing a person that the path you chose for them was right, even though it hurt. Let’s go see what’s up.”

Inside the sleeping room, Sango moved the lamp onto a ledge high up enough to cast some light on the chamber, but out of reach of accidentally being knocked over.

It turned out to be a good idea. Maeme, being supported by Kaede and Koume, began to struggle.

“He’s going to kill us all,” she wailed, trying to pull free. “Me, my boys, the monk, and you, too. Let me go. I don’t want your blood on my hands.”

“Ha-ha?” Nakao said. His eyes were large frightened, knowing his father’s temper and having tasted his hand more than once. Sukeo pulled him to the side as Maeme pulled an arm free that came close to hitting him.

“Stay back,” Sukeo said. “She’s too upset, and you’ll just make it worse.”

“I prepared another dose of medicine for her,” Kaede said. “It’s by the fire pit. If we don’t get it down her soon, she’ll be too agitated for it to work, and I’ll need something stronger.”

Sango came and took her place holding Maeme’s arm. “Go and get it. You probably need to get the boys out of here.”

Kaede, much to Nakao’s displeasure, scooted the boys out of the sleep room.

Up on the rafters, three figures watched the events unfurl below.

“This is not good,” Sadayori said.

“It hasn’t been good for a long time,” Kazuo said. “But it’s getting worse. Do you feel that darkness sweeping around her?”

“It always amazes me how much darkness humans can create for one another without using any magic at all,” Daikoku, the luck kami said. “Her aura...”

“You know what happens to badly abused people, especially women, sometimes, don’t you?” Kazuo asked.

The kami and the ghost watched as Sango and Koume managed to walk the struggling, distraught woman towards the bed.

“Fumio is out front, child,” Koume said. “He has his hammer. You know what he did when we found out about Nahoi’s...”

For a moment the two women looked at each other. “But Seiji’s bigger,” Maeme said. “And he’s been a soldier. My poor boys...” She sobbed a moment and then started struggling again. “Help us flee. Please. We can’t stay here.”

“I have seen them turn into avenging ghosts,” Daikoku said. “And worse.”

“The air around her,” Sadayori said. “She’s going to turn into a youkai if something isn’t done. She doesn’t deserve to become a monster because she’s married to a man who acts like one to her. I tried warning Yoshio...”

“It is true that sometimes abused women do that,” Daikoku said, nodding. “It wouldn’t do for her to become a nuke kubi, sending out her head at night seeking vengeance.” Daikoku tapped his mallet in his hand, sending a small spray of sparks over the three women. “Maybe some luck will help. Can’t hurt.”

Sango wrapped her arms around Maeme. “I have fought worse monsters than Seiji,” she said. “The monster who attacked the village four years ago...I stood up to him with Miroku, and InuYasha and Kagome. Do you think we’re going to let anything happen to you? All four of us will protect you.”

Maeme stopped struggling as Sango’s words began to sink in. She looked at the taijiya. “You...you used to use that big throwing bone. I remember.”

“I still have it,” Sango said, nodding. “And my sword and armor, too. I’ll use it if I need to.”

“But...but why?” Maeme asked.

A little bit of Daikoku’s luck sparkled around Sango’s head, and she gave the woman a big and genuine smile. “Because you’re worth it. And he’s not.”

Maeme collapsed on her bed. “I...I’m worth something.”

Sango knelt down next to the bed. “I think so. Koume-sama thinks so.”

“I do,” the woman said, nodding.

“As do I,” Kaede said, walking into the room with the cup of medicine. “It might take you a while to believe it yourself, but we’ll believe it for you until you’re ready.”

Maeme took the cup in her hands. “I....” She swirled the cup around, then swallowed it down. “I...Will the pain ever stop?”

“With time,” Koume said. “It did for my daughter. If you let us help you, it will happen for you, too.”

Unable to come up with an answer, she covered her face, and once again, let the tears fall. After a moment, she said, “Let me see my boys.”

Kazuo gave an audible sigh.“Let’s go outside,” he said. “I think this bit of crisis has passed.”
The ghost and the two kami blinked out of the room, to stand under the tree Miroku favored.

“Now what?” Sadayori asked.

“I think...” Daikoku started. He was interrupted with a brief flash of spiritual light lit the yard in front of the monk’s house. “I think we have company,” he said.

Shimame and Yoshio popped into almost the same space. Shimame smiled at the luck kami, a soft, coquettish glance. Catching herself, she covered her face with her fan. “We’ve been looking for you, Dono.”

Not everybody was smiles. For a moment, Sadayori stared at his family kami. His face went from surprised to angry. Yoshio went from surprised to uncertain. “You!” they said in unison.

“Go look at that poor woman,” Sadayori said. “This is all your fault. Some family kami you are.”

Yoshio sighed. “I have come to do what I can. Still, I must remind you that what I did was based on your deathbed request. You’re the one who asked for Seiji to be - ”

“To the hells with that,” Sadayori said, interrupting. For a ghost, he looked imposingly like an angry deity. “A poor, sick dying man doesn’t think cleanly, and you know it. What about the times I’d come to ask your help since? Or the times you hid?”

“I never - ” Yoshio began to get defensive. “I had other duties, too. You’re not the only member of our family.”

“Could have fooled me,” the ghost said, stepping closer. Kazuo laid a hand on the ghost’s shoulder, and Sadayori turned to look at him.

“Kami ways aren’t quite human ways, old man. They see things differently, sometimes. Might even been destiny waiting for this minute.”

Not quite satisfied, the ghost stepped back, and crossed his arms. “Whatever.”

“I’m here, now,” Yoshio said. “We will do what ought to be done.”

Kazuo looked at Daikoku.

“Not my doing,” the luck kami said. “Luck sometimes does its own thing.”

“I don’t know about you,” Shimame said, flicking her fan, “but I’m ready to see this play that Kazuo-no-kami has worked so hard to prepare. All the actors are in place. I believe the action is beginning to unfold. Shall we go watch?”

“You could stay here, old friend,” Kazuo told Sadayori.

“What? And let him interfere?” The ghost glared at Yoshio.

The group winked out of sight.

In the heart of the village, there was nobody about at the moment. Towards Toshiro’s house, a dog barked until someone quieted him. Tameo’s compound was quieter than usual, with both the headman’s and the second son’s houses being empty for the moment, their occupants off at Shinjiro’s wedding party.

The little fire next to the lockup building grew very low, putting out only a tiny amount of reddish light as the embers glowed in the dark night. Koichi, hard asleep, snored softly. Jun, lying near him, shifted a leg and rolled into a more comfortable position. A cat curled up between the two men.

Yoshimi peered into the compound. He couldn’t see the sleeping men, and the lantern he carried revealed very little except that things were quiet. A bit of breeze tugged at his clothes as he stood by the gate, and he shivered, as if he felt someone nearby. Looking around, he saw nothing.

“Why am I so nervous?” he said, too soft to be really heard by anybody. He swallowed. “Oh, I know why. My stupid brother is an asshole, and if he doesn’t get his head out of his butt, they are going to banish him tomorrow.” He slipped a hand over his eyes for a moment, trying to steel himself. “Or worse.”

He dropped his hand. “Maybe I should go up to the shrine and ask the kami to give me some luck first.”

Someone in a house down the block yelled. “Little brother, come home! Chichi-ue says now! It doesn’t take that long to get the fire wood!” He almost jumped, hearing it, and did drop his lantern, which put out its light.

“Damn it,” he said. “My whole day has gone this way. Hell, my whole life has gone this way. Go get the fire wood. Why did you take so long? Aren’t you good for anything? And Ani-ue...look at him. These last few years, he’s been getting worse and worse. Hells, he even scares me some days. What’s going to happen to him if they send him away? What’s going to happen to me? Right when I thought I was going to finally be able to get married and get away from all this crap. Stupid ass will probably try to drag him with me.”

Somewhere else, a baby woke up and began to cry.

He took a deep breath. “All he can do is be an ass. Nobody will be able to say I didn’t try.”

With that, he walked into the compound.

The cluster of kami and one ghost standing at a distance watched him walk towards the lockup.

“You were right,” Sadayori said. “He did just what you said he was going to do.”

“And lucky,” Yoshio said. “He could have just stayed home.”

“Eh, luck we have,” Kazuo said, rubbing his hat across his head. “Let’s see if he has the guts to do the next thing.”

Shimame waved her fan. “I will never ever understand these humans.”

Keeping a distance, the supernatural group followed Yoshimi in.