InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of Ever After ❯ Chapter 337

[ 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 337

InuYasha woke up before the sun, but not before the sky had begun to gray. The first birds of the morning were just waking up themselves and had begun to announce the new day and their right to their particular place in the landscape. His ears twitched at the sound of one particularly loud and determined one, and slowly he came to his senses. It was hard for him to let go and come fully awake for some reason, but as his awareness returned, he found that his nose was buried in Kagome's hair and his arm was gently wrapped around her waist, perfect reasons why not to move. He lay there, breathing in and enjoying the peace and comfort this brought him, totally forgetting about the irritating bird outside.

Finally, though, as he woke more fully awake, other needs made their presence felt. He flexed his fingers, flicked his ears, and took one last deep breath of Kagome before carefully unwinding himself from his sleeping wife's side.

Wearing nothing but his kosode, he tightened his obi as he stepped out on the verandah. The air was sweet after the rain the previous night, and still smelled a bit wet, but it had a good feel to it. The sun, just below the horizon, almost ready to crest, touched the scattered morning clouds with red and violet. InuYasha stood there, watching as it rose, breathing in the peace – no monsters, no human voices, no chaos. A group of ducks flew high, tracing the river below. Somewhere, beyond his line of sight, a deer pushed through the brush. He could smell its lingering scent in the breeze. At times like this, he could forget all the irritating things, the dark things that had touched his life. He could just be. He treasured each time it happened. This dawn would be added to the collection.

"More to do than appreciate the sunrise, though," he muttered to himself as his body reminded him of why he stepped outside.

He took care of first things first, then before going back inside to get dressed, he grabbed the bathtub he left on the verandah the night before and emptied it off to the side of the building, finally putting the tub back in its place along the front of the house.

"I ought to go get dressed," he said. "No telling when Miroku or even Choujiro might show up." But he found himself not yet quite willing to let go and head inside to get his day going. While he was indulging himself in the calm that was surely going to shatter before much longer, he heard a noise behind him. His ear flicked at the sound. It was a bit surprising to him, but instead of being an irritation, something to disturb his peace, it brought a slight smile to his face.

"You're up early." He turned around to look at his wife. "Did I wake you up? I didn't mean to. How are you feeling?"

Kagome was standing there, just a little sleepy-eyed, dressed inlike him, in her sleep kosode, her arms hugging her body.

"I'm feeling fine, just a little sleepy. I don't think you really woke me up. It just happens sometimes, you know," she replied. "I get up easier now than when I was fifteen, and I slept so much yesterday that it's really not surprising." Reaching where he stood, she placed her hand lightly on his shoulder before leaning her head against his body. "My eyes just opened up, and I realized you weren't there. And I felt cold."

"Colder out here." He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. "No fire, no quilt, and there's a breeze."

She snuggled into his embrace. "But there was something missing. There's no you to keep me warm in the house right now. But there is one you right here. I know you'll keep me warm."

He looked down at her, caught the twinkle in her eye, and gave her a quick kiss. "You're thinking about something besides cooking breakfast, aren't you?" The way her fingers traced the neckline of his kosode answered that question without her having to say anything. His ear flicked, and he sighed, even as he pulled her in closer. "But Choujiro will be here before we know it, probably. And Miroku has been dropping by most mornings, too, lately. Not sure if we have enough time."

Kagome looked up at him, a little disappointed, and sighed. "Some day that shed will be finished, won't it?"

"Some day," he promised. "At least Miroku doesn't usually come around quite this early, at least not up to the house. Who knows how early he gets to my water hole? At least he usually stays there and waits for me. Bouzu's got at least a little sense." He gave her a quick forehead kiss. "That's my promise for later. Let me go stir up the fire and we can get dressed."

"Probably for the best," she said, but her voice sounded disappointed.

Kissing the top of her head, he gave her one last squeeze. "I'll make it up to you later. Remember, we're going to go out to a hot spring for a few days. Nobody to bother us there."

"I'll hold you to that promise," she said, and headed back in.

With a small sigh of regret for having to put off what could have been, he followed her.

 

 

The same gray light that greeted InuYasha greeted another person on the other side of the village as the door flap to Michio's house lifted open, and a small figure stepped out, letting the door mat clatter behind.

This was not usual. Sometimes someone at the house would get up this early and stumble to the latrine, but even Michio's aunt had yet to arise and start stirring the fire to begin breakfast and the figure who left totally ignored the path to the latrine and headed down to the road.

Perhaps it was the clatter of the door mat that did it, or a change in the breathing patterns of the sleepers around him, or some nudge from the family kami, but suddenly, Masato, Michio's son, became aware, and his eyes shot open.

"Something's wrong," the nine-year old said, bolting up in his bed. Confused at what woke him up, he looked around. The room was dim; it was barely light outside, and he could just make out the beds in the room that he shared with his two sisters. Nori, the oldest of them about eleven, was sleeping soundly and lightly snoring, but the bed his youngest sister slept in was empty, her quilt trailing on the ground next to it.

Moving quietly so as not to wake his older sister, he slipped on his hakama then walked through the house.

"Maybe she had another nightmare," he said softly to himself, fastening the ties to his clothes. "Seems like she's had one every night since Haha-ue got sent to stay in Ojiisan's old house."

His older sister stirred a bit as he moved. Standing still for a moment, he waited for her to settle back down and quietly slipped out of the sleeping room. Trying hard not to make any more sound than necessary, he slid the door closed and walked over to the tiny screened off corner of the room where his great-aunt slept.

The older woman, almost as old as her grandfather was curled up on her bag of rice straw, her quilt pulled up to her chin, white hair cascading over the edge of the bed, sleeping hard still, all the worry of these last few days erased as she dosed. There was no sign of Asuka anywhere near her.

He did a quick check of his grandfather. The old man was snoring, the only person sleeping in the back room where they all gathered on winter nights. The boy, not seeing his sister there, slid the door closed, then steeled himself for what he needed to do next.

He walked toward the fire pit to where his father was sleeping, curled up not on a bed, but with a jug of sake and a quilt draped around his shoulders. Masato had woken up once during the night to use the chamber pot and peeking out of his sleeping room had spotted him , staring at the fire, sipping sake and listening to the rain, saying nothing but looking very sad. The boy knew from experience what type of mood his father would be in, yet he didn't know what else to do. First he moved the sake jar and put it on a shelf. Then he knelt down next to the man and took a deep breath.

Finally, carefully, he shook his father awake. "Chichi-ue!

Surprising, it only took a couple of shakes and the boy calling softly to his father before the sleeping man came to. Michio blinked, trying to get the face hanging over his into focus. "Masato?" His voice croaked dryly, and he swallowed. "Wha...what's going on?" His eyes were bloodshot, and his breath smelled of too much to drink. "Better be important. Anybody else up yet?"

Masato shook his head. "Just me." He held out some water to his father. "You need to get up, Chichi. Asuka-chan..."

That caught Michio's attention, and he gave a sigh that was both tinged with anger and resignation. "Is she crying again?" he asked. He sat up, shook his head and scratched the side of his nose. Taking the water from Masato, he swallowed a mouthful, coughed, and took another sip. "Why wake me up? Inishi-obasan is way better at calming crying girls than I am. Just ask your okaasan. She knows all about how I'm really damn good at just making things worse." He handed Masato the water back, and covered his face with his hands.

The young boy heard the tone of self-pity in his father's voice, but not really understanding the way his parents interacted, shrugged and put the water down.

"No, Chichi," he said, pulling on his father's sleeve. "She's not crying." There was a slight note of panic in the boy's voice, and his voice rose, growing. "I looked everywhere in the house. I couldn't find her. She's not here."

Michio dropped his hands and looked at his son, confused. "Not here?"

"I woke up after a bad dream. She wasn't in her bed." Masato grabbed his father's hand, trying to tug him up. "I checked Obasan's sleeping place, and Ojiisan's, too, and walked into every corner of the house. She's not here!" He tugged on Michio's sleeve, like he was trying to get him to stand up. "We've got to go find her! She's not in the house. What if a youkai grabbed her?"

Inishi, hearing the noise, stepped out of her sleeping area. She rubbed her eyes, and had only heard part of the conversation. "A youkai? Here, in our home?"

Michio stood up, just a little bit wobbly. "No youkai came into our house, Obasan. But Masato tells me Asuka-chan snuck out."

"My Little Flower," the older woman whispered. "She was so sad last night. Do you think..."

"Maybe," Michio said. He ran his fingers through his hair, then walked over to the water basin to splash water on his face.

"What do we do, Chichi?" Masato asked. He was bouncing on foot to foot, anxious, a little sleepy, but obviously scared for his sister.

Michio looked at his son. He looked a lot like Michio at that age, and had the same impulsive energy. "You, son. You can go check places where your okaasan would take Asuka-chan. I'd start by the well. I know your okaa would go there and sit and talk with people, and she took your sister a lot. And if anybody's there, you can ask them."

The boy nodded once, bounded off the wooden floor and ran out of the house.

Inishi nodded in approval as Michio splashed water on his face. "A good move, Michio-chan," she said.

"He's just like me when I was that age," the man said, grabbing the towel. "Calm and helpful and then something happens and he needs to explode."

The older woman bit her lip at that comment, knowing full well that was still true. Instead, she took a deep breath. "What do you want me to do?"

"Wake up Chichi-ue. Send him to get Susumu or whoever's on the watch this morning." Taking the towel, he dried his face, and as he did, his look changed from one of groggy self-pity to steely determination. "I think I know where she's trying to go. Let's hope I pick the right path. Say a prayer to the kami."

Handing the towel to Inishi, he followed his son out of the house.