InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of Ever After ❯ Chapter 322

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

Chapter 322

On the far side of town, Kazuo gave one last look to the people standing in front of the house where Chiya was staying.  He turned to Hitoshi.  “Ready?” he asked.

The rush-hatted kami nodded, and began floating up to the top of the roof to join Yoshio.  Kazuo tapped his hoe once, and suddenly, the people around him flared back into movement.

“If you say so, Daitaro-ojisan,” Hiroki said.

“Don’t take anything he says too seriously,” Tsuneo said.

“True, true,” Chime replied, grinning at her husband.

Haname got a thoughtful look.  “Hana-chan, why don’t you and Hiroki-kun go to the main house and see if Nana has lunch ready?  If she does, why don’t you two stay and eat until we’re done?  I don’t think our visit is a good time to bring her meal over.”

“That’s a good idea,” Tsuneo replied.  He looked at the two young people.  “Do what Haname says.”

The two young people looked at each other, bowed politely and left.

“So now that’s done, how are we going to do this?” Daitaro asked.  “Do we all go in together, or in groups?”

“I think,” Tsuneo said, “that Chime and Daitaro can go first.  That way, Haname can say what she needs to say.”

Haname looked up at her husband, surprised by his plan.  “I...Yes, let’s do that.”

Up on the roof, Hitoshi grinned at Kazuo.  

“Perfect,” Kazuo said.

Yoshio pouted.  “I get wife-beaters and nagging ghosts and angry husbands who won’t bend.”

“Karma,” Hitoshi said.  “But your turn is coming.  Let’s go watch.”  The three of them vanished from the roof, and took seats in the rafters of the house, watching a nervous Chiya stare out of the window.




In the center of the village, Kimi gave the wet kosode one final shake.

“So tell me again, what brings you two here?” Kimi hung up the kosode and dunked a towel in the water.

“Well, everybody that went up this morning to visit Maeme has come back down. Miko-sama gave Maeme-chan another dose of medicine while we were there that put her to sleep.  That was the clue for most of us leave. Your otou had some sort of talk with Sukeo-kun and then he went off with the boy,” Koume said.  She sat down next to Tazu. “I’m not exactly sure where they’re at right now. They might have gone to Maeme’s house or to talk to Toshiro-sama or both.  Nakeo is still up there with his mother. I think that besides Maeme and her youngest, Houshi-sama and his family have the house mostly to themselves.  Not privacy, but quieter.”  

Kimi had finished the towel and was now washing a white under kosode. Nahoi walked over to her sister.  “Want a hand?” she asked.  “You know I don’t like standing around with nothing to do.”

“You can hang up while I wash,” Kimi said, giving the shirt one more squeeze then handing it off to her sister.

Nahoi picked up one of the drying rods and threaded it through the kosode sleeves and hung it up on the rack.  She stood there waiting, a little antsy while Kimi washed her next garment.

Kimi looked up and saw the look on Nahoi’s face, and gave her a smile. “Maybe we should change places,” she said. “I’m better at waiting than you are.  And I’ve wrung out enough clothes today that I’m willing to share.”  She offered up the wet garment to Nahoi, who looking at it for a moment, nodded and took it.  Kimi moved over closer to Koume, but didn’t sit down.

“So how are things going with you today, daughter?” Koume asked.

“Just trying to recover from yesterday.  After...after that man drove all the children and a lot of the women away from Tameo’s compound, I stuck around to help Fujime-okaa who took them all in.  Tazu and Rin showed up eventually, and they helped a great deal.”

“We were up at Houshi-sama’s house when they brought Maeme home,” Tazu volunteered.  “We were watching their children while he and Sango-obasan went for a walk.  That’s when they found Maeme.  If we hadn’t been babysitting...”

“The kami do things that way sometimes,” Kimi said.  She patted her daughter on the shoulder.  “I’m glad that worked out.”

At first, Tazu smiled at the praise, but then she frowned.  “Houshi-sama promised us he would tell us stories about InuYasha-sama’s brother, ones that even Rin didn’t know, but he was too busy to do it.”

“They can work that way, too, child,” Koume said.

“Eiji came home exhausted from the village guard meeting this morning, and immediately went to sleep,” Kimi said.  “I sent Yoshi off to help Akimori-otou.  I hope he’s not driving his grandfather crazy.  And then I’ve been trying to find things to do to keep us out of the house.  It was a hard ten-day on him.”

“The last few days, especially,” Koume said, nodding.  

“He told me not to wake him up before lunch.”  Kimi looked up at the sky.  “It’s almost that time. Teruko came by earlier and announced she was making lunch for everybody, since Fujime-okaa took care of all the children yesterday and last night.  She hasn’t shown up yet, so I’m not waking him up until she gets here.”

“He was looking pretty tired last night.” Koume said, nodding. “I can’t imagine how tired he was this morning.  It took a long time before everybody went home.”

“And even longer to get Yoshimi to Kaede-obaasan’s,” Kimi said nodding.  “And then he got up not long after sunrise to go to the ten day changeover meeting.  He was so glad to get rid of the baton.”

“I bet.  This was a ten day for the record books.”

Nahoi handed her sister another kosode, this time one in pretty stripes of rose and light blue.  “Did I weave that cloth?” she asked.

“You did indeed, sister,” Kimi said.  “You gave it to me for a special present, so I would have something nice to wear to the festival last summer.”

“So many pieces of cloth.  I can’t always remember what I’ve done,” Nahoi said.  “But it looked like the type of thing I would make.”  She looked in the clothes basket, grabbed the last garment.  “Only one more to go.”

“There would be more if I ever finish mending Yoshi’s things,” Tazu said.  She took a careful stitch.

“If we don’t get them done today, that’s all right,” Kimi said, smiling at her daughter.  “You’ve been really helpful last night and today.  Thank you.”

“Does that mean I can go find Iya after lunch?  Or Rin?” the girl asked, looking hopefully at her mother.

“I imagine so,” Kimi said.  “Oh look!”

All the heads turned towards the direction Kimi was pointing.  Haruo and Teruko were walking up, carrying pots and baskets.

“I guess it’s time to wake up Eiji,” Kimi said.  She headed off to her house.  “You can stay for lunch, Ha-ha.  We haven’t had a lot of time to talk. You can tell me all about Chi-chi and Sukeo-kun.”

“I thought you were going to ask her something,” Nahoi said to her mother.

“I will.  Let’s have lunch first,” Koume said.



At the house by the river, Chime looked at Tsuneo and Haname.  “So we’ll go first.  Come on, husband.  Hand me that last green bundle, the little one.”

Daitaro reached into his pack.  “This one?” he asked.

Chime nodded.

“I think,” Daitaro said, “that this visit is mostly women talk time.”

“So, you want to wait out here?” Chime asked.

He nodded. “I do.  This visit was one you planned, and although I might be your ox, I’d rather wait in the field than go into the house, where I can’t scratch, burp or do any of those other things oxen do because I have to be polite.  You’ll probably enjoy it more, anyway.”

“A man of wisdom,” Tsuneo said.

“You’re probably right, old ox.  Just don’t get any ideas like Okuro does, about dashing off,” Chime said, smiling at him.

“Too tired for that,” the old farmer said, plopping down on the log Hiroki had been using for a seat.  “Take your time.  My back and feet will love you the more for it.”

Chime headed for the door, knocked on it to let Chiya know she was coming in and lifted the door mat. Chiya was sitting on her mat by the window and spinning wheel, pulled into as small a shape as she could make without actually curling into a ball, like a child waiting for a scolding.  Something in Chime’s heart was saddened at the sight. She pursed her lips, then intentionally chose to give the woman a brilliant smile.

“So there you are,” Chime said, crossing the threshold. “You know, I’ve been meaning to come visit, but Shinjiro’s wedding did take up all my time.  Now that’s done, I have so much more time to do things. So here I am, with a second day gift for you.”

Chiya looked up at the older woman and gave her a hesitant smile, but her eyes were guarded.  “I can’t believe you wanted to come see me, Chime-obasan. The last day I saw you, I was so mean to you and everybody.  You still wanted to come visit me?  Why?”

Up on the rafters, the three kami watched as Chime reacted to Chiya’s self-pitying, slightly distrusting tone.

“How did Daitaro ever find a woman like that?” Hitoshi asked.  “He was such a wild young man.”

“His parents knew him well when they looked for his bride,” Kazuo said. “And believe it or not, he had a little good karma in reserve.  Watch how she reacts to Chiya’s prod.  It’ll be like water off a duck’s back. Kwannon would be proud.”

As they watched, Chime took a deep breath, but the sincerity of her smile never wavered.  Her voice was very gentle. “Why? How do I explain it? We all have days we wish we could take back forever, actions we wish we’d never done.” She walked across the room and sat down next to the woman.  “If we dwell on them only, nobody would talk to anybody again or even be able to sit in the same room.  Yes, you were cruel that day.  You hurt the hearts of Sango-chan, Kagome-chan, your husband and others.  But that was that day. I’m hoping, though, to help you come through to the other side where life will be better.  We all have to live together.  It is better if we can bridge those dark days and keep going down our road together.”  She handed Chiya the small bundle she was carrying.  “I packed this for you.  It’s just a few sweets.  But it’s to remind you that there is good along with the unhappiness.”

“Chime-obasan...” Chiya sighed deeply.  “How can there be any good left for me? I’ve made such a mess of everything.  My husband won’t let me apologize.  I miss my children. My father locked me up here. I angered my one true friend with a stupid, stupid stunt. How am I supposed to make things right?”

Chime patted her hand.  “Sometimes, its not a question of making things right.  It’s a question of moving forward.  Michio-chan always was a one of those people willing to take a lot, and then explode.  But he’s a slow burn, not a raging volcano.  Give him some time, child.  He loves you. His is a fire that has to burn until the flames die back and it’s covered with ash.  Then he’ll be able to see beyond the wall of flames. It will all work out in the end, you know.”

Chime touched the  bundle of fiber Chiya held in her hand.  “Spinning work is good for when we feel confused.”

“All Otousan lets me do is spin,” Chiya said.  “It doesn’t do much for my waiting or worrying.  It doesn’t make the bad things go away.”

“Try looking at it differently, Chiya-chan,” Chime said.  She picked up one of the bundles of thread Chiya had already done, and unwound a bit of it.  “You spin excellent fine thread. It will weave lovely cloth. But do you ever think about how it gets to that point?”

“I don’t understand, Obaasan,” the younger woman said.

“Think about it.  Look at what we do to the poor hemp plants.  First we plant them in the sun, where all their lives are easy, plenty of warm light, good water, care.  They know no sorrow. But then we come along and pull them out of the ground, the only home they ever knew. We let them rot, we break their backs, we tease out the fibers, and in the end, we twist them into thread and make clothes.  From their pain, good things happen.  From a bunch plants we make fibers, from the fibers we make a thread to tie everything up.”

“But it hurts getting there,” Chiya said. “The bad...the stupid...the anger.”

“Yes it can,” Chime said.  “Just ask the hemp plants.”

“Is my okaa here?” Chiya asked.  She had a look both of longing and trepidation in her eyes.

“Yes she is, dear,” Chime said.  “And your otou as well.”  She gave Chiya’s hand a squeeze.  “Both of them care for you, child.  They are worried for you.”

“Okaa’s going to yell at me for being a stupid woman.  She’s never approved of me or my marriage.”  Chiya covered her face with her hands.

“She really wants you to grow into being a woman, child.  Accept the reality when you’ve made a mistake.  Put your duties to your husband and his family where they belong.”  

“That’s Chiya’s real weak point,” Yoshio said.  “She never wants to take the blame of choosing badly or being wrong.  She always wants someone else to be the reason.”

“Ever since she was a little girl.  Most of her friction with Haname grew out of that,” Hitoshi said, nodding.  “Can Chime start her breaking through?”

“This is your noodle recipe, Hotoshi,” Kazuo said.  “I guess we’ll see if it’s a good one.”

Chime wasn’t through yet, though.  Taking Chiya’s hand, she gave it a little squeeze and sighed.  “I know all that talk is easier said than done.  When you’re hurting from things, the pain is really there.  Oh, I remember how that feels, still.  Daitaro and I had our rough times when we were younger.  I was lucky, though.  My okaa lived a three day’s walk away from here.  My parents couldn’t interfere.”

Chiya looked startled at Chime’s confession.  “You, Obasan?  You and Daitaro-ojisan? You two have the perfect marriage.  You don’t know how often I’ve been jealous of just how perfect it is.”

Chime laughed.  “You didn’t know us when I was a young bride.  No, every marriage has its rough moments.  But if you hold on, and if your man is a good one, it can become your strength, not your pain.  Ask Haname-chan about what we went through sometime.  She was there.  She knows all the details.”  She patted Chiya on the shoulder.  “Now smooth your face, child.  It’s time we let your okaa in.  She’s really worried for you.”

Chiya sat up, closed her eyes a moment and took a deep breath.  “I’m as ready as I’m going to be.”

“Good girl.”  Chime stood up and walked to the doormat and lifted it.  “Haname-chan, it’s your turn.”