InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of Ever After ❯ Chapter 339

[ 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 339

After leaving Susumu to his rest, Miroku stopped for a moment at a place where a footpath joined the main road through town. As he leaned on his staff, he could see Jiro, the son of Kou, Chiya's friend walking with Benika's son heading down the road, hoes over their shoulders. Benika stepped out on the road, and yelled something he couldn't make out to the boys.

"I am not ready for this so early in the morning," the monk said. He sighed deeply. "Let me do this one first, merciful Kwannon," he prayed. "I don't know if I'd be a good dharma teacher if I had to deal with Benika and those women first. I'm still resolving how to handle what they did to Sango-chan."

The footpath ahead of him would be filled with mud and places where puddles could form as it wended through dryland farming plots belonging mostly to Toshiro and Tameo, but the only houses on it were a couple of huts where landless workers lived.

"I know Keiji lives up here," Miroku said, "But I bet Takeshi's probably put him to work already. And the road ends up connecting to the road to Michio's house. I'm glad I wore geta today. With a road like this, my straw sandals would have fallen apart before I got halfway there."

The footpath wound around small bits of wood lot, some planted with fruit trees and neatly tended fields, some already sprouting. In places it was terraced as the ground rose higher towards the rock ridge to the north of the village. As he suspected, Keiji's home looked empty.

As he rounded a bend, the path flattened out, and beguiled by the jingle of the rings on his staff, the monk began to sing softly:

"If you shared a cup with me,
shared a cup of wine with me
who would know,
who would know
this cold midnight?

"If I shared a cup with you,
shared a cup of wine with you
the moon would know,
the moon would know,
and the moon keeps no secrets."

He paused for a moment, trying to recall the next verse, and the jingle of his staff stilled. He heard a noise he didn't expect. "Now what's that?"

Holding perfectly still, the monk listened harder. Softly at first, and then again, louder, the sound repeated. It was very similar to one he had become familiar with over the last few years, and he frowned. "Now that's an odd sound to be hearing here," Miroku said. "Back here in the fields? Who would have..."

The sound evolved into a sob, the type of sobs that small children make, and he hurried down the path. "Why would a child be out here this time of day? Most people are either finishing their breakfast or just getting started. Who from Toshiro's or Tameo's would drag a little one out yet?"

The path twisted one more time and as he rounded the bend he saw the target of his search. A small girl, maybe of six years sat next to a mud puddle. She was dressed in what was probably her sleeping kosode, just a simple white dress, now thoroughly splashed with mud. Her hair was uncombed, and she was rocking back and forth as she cried, holding her knee close to her chest as she cried, like it hurt. The mud covering it was particularly thick on that area, like she had fallen into the mud puddle on it.

"Haha, it hurts," she sobbed. "Haha, where are you? I got lost. I need you!"

Miroku looked around. There was no sign or sound of any adult nearby. Sighing, he stepped forward. The girl heard the jingle of his staff, and turned up a tear-streaked face.

The girl looked at him with a mix of relief and embarrassment and misery "Houshi-sama?" she said.

"Ah, Asuka-chan," he said softly, kneeling next to her. "Would you like some help?"

She nodded, and let him take her hand and lift her up.

 

 

Things were different up on the hill where the hanyou lived.

Breakfast done and the dawn moving into full morning, InuYasha began his morning work by walking to his watering hole to fetch water for the day while Kagome got dressed and put away their bedding. By now the morning sun had risen fully and the light was bright over the bit of open land between the stream and the landscape beyond. It was a peaceful moment, living up to its first-light promise. Some bees had already found a patch of wildflowers growing near the stream and were busy at work. A bird darted out of the tree as he approached, but other than that, it was completely quiet except for the water in the stream, and a bit of wind in the branches.

"No Miroku to bother me while I'm doing my morning chores?" he said. "That's been rare lately. I wonder if he found his own peace for today."

He put one bucket into the water and waited for it to fill up when he heard a twig snap. Turning around he saw Kagome standing there, dressed in her blue kosode and wrap skirt, a scarf tied securely around her head.

For some reason, he found seeing her dressed like this, a village woman in his village, his woman and his village gave him a warm feeling, something that seeing her set apart in her miko robes never could. Somehow, in some way or the other, it felt like home, a safe place, almost like her old bedroom did in that confusing world she used to live in. Something of his contentment at seeing her must have reached her, because she gave him a beaming smile.

"What, no Miroku?"

"Doesn't look like it. Maybe he had enough of us yesterday." Giving her a warm smile in return, he lifted up the first bucket. "What, no miko-sama today?"

"Doesn't look like it," she said, chuckling. "Kaede wants me to take it easy, so I thought I'd do some laundry. It's not going to rain, is it?" She looked up at the sky. It was mostly cloud free.

"I don't think so," InuYasha replied. He plunged the second bucket into the watering hole. "But I don't know about calling doing laundry taking it easy."

Kagome walked over to where he knelt on one knee, filling the bucket, and gave his ear a little, loving tweak. "Says the man who thinks chopping wood and going for a run are relaxing." She gave the tip of his ear a little kiss. "You relax your way, and I'll relax mine. Plus, I need some clean things to take with us when we go off on this trip to the hot spring. We went through most of my towels yesterday."

"We splashed pretty good," InuYasha said said, nodding. He stood up, lifting the bucket free of the water. He held it for a moment so it could drip free of the excess. "Good thinking. If we're going to a hot spring, you'll want enough towels." He waggled his eyebrows. "Although it's perfectly all right to me if you want to let the sun dry you off."

She rolled her eyes, but then gave him a sultry look. "I'm sure you'll get to see plenty. I just thought I'd let you know we'll need more water."

"Keh," he said, picking up the first bucket. "Two buckets for the tub, two buckets for the house."

They began to walk back.

"It's such a peaceful morning," Kagome said, looking up at her husband. "No emergencies, no disasters, no monsters. We needed a morning like this."

"Not even a visit from Miroku," InuYasha said, nodding.

"Didn't come by to steal your peace today?" Kagome bent down, seeing a patch of an edible weed. "I wonder...no, I think I'll even leave them in peace today. We have plenty to eat, and I feel too pleasant to do it."

"No. No Miroku today," the hanyou replied.

"Well, let's hope he's having a morning just as peaceful. He and Sango deserve it."

"At least Sango does," InuYasha replied.

 

 

On the other side of the village, Amaya answered the door at Tsuneo's house, surprised to see a frightened looking Michio standing there.

"Michio-kun?" she said, unsure of what to do. "Let me go see..."

"I need to talk to Tsuneo, Amaya-chan," he said, pushing his way in.

Too quick for her to stop, Michio strode across the beaten earth of the domo and jumped onto the wooden floor. Haname, dipping soup, froze, a soup bowl in one hand and a full ladle in the other as she and the rest of the family sat around the fire pit. Joben, in the eldest son's seat, began to rise, but both Tsuneo and his wife Akina placed hands on his shoulders, pushing him down.

Setsuko, Joben's daughter, turned her head, confused. "Michio-ojisan, did something happen?"

He looked around the room and fell to his knees. "Asuka-chan, she didn't come here, did she?"

"What?" Haname said. She dropped the ladle back into the soup pot. "Asuka-chan? What makes you think she would be here? You weren't a fool to send her over here by herself, were you?"

Tsuneo grabbed his wife's hand. He leaned over and whispered to her. "Look at his eyes, woman. Something's gone wrong. Asuka's our granddaughter. Don't let your distaste forget that."

She gave him a curt nod. "Tell us, Michio, why you were looking for your youngest daughter at our home at breakfast time. What happened?"

Michio looked up at his mother-in-law and swallowed hard, trying to get his voice. An angry Haname was hard to face, and he had long experience how well her attention could make his words disappear.

"I was woken up early, just after first light by Masato. He had woken up even earlier, even before Inishi-obasan, who's usually the first up." His voice cracked, and he swallowed again. "Masato woke me up because Asuka was not in her bed, or anybody else's at home."

"She was gone?" Haname said. "All by herself?"

"As far as I could tell, Okaasan," Michio said.

He dropped his eyes to the floor. "I knew she was unhappy. Inishi-obasan was saying she was having bad dreams."

Joben looked at him harshly, crossing his arms. "Why did you come here?" he asked. "Why didn't you go to the guard?"

Michio looked at his brother-in-law, and his eyes narrowed. "I might be a fool, but I'm not that much of a fool to forget about the guard. Otousan is doing that. Masato is looking at places near the well and other places Chiya went to. He's such a good big brother, the way he's been watching out for his sister these last few days."

"Brothers can only do so much," Tsuneo said.

Michio nodded. "When Asuka disappeared, I thought she might try to come here, looking…looking...She misses her okaa more than I know what to do about. I think she's trying to find her, and this is where her obaasan lives, so I was hoping... When I found her gone, I came the way Chiya usually took from our house."

Tsuneo pursed his lips together thoughtfully. "I suspect I would have made the same choices, Michio-kun." He glanced at his own son, who was still staring at Michio. Slowly, Joben backed down and nodded. "We'll do what we can to help."

The younger man nodded at Tsuneo, a look of gratitude washing over his face. "I know this has been a hard time. After what happened, I've been trying to stay away, let my anger fade, Tsuneo-otousan. Anger like I felt frightens me. I didn't want to end up like Seiji."

"One must do what one must do," the older man said, nodding. "No one should end up like that monster." Tsuneo motioned to Hiroki. "Go down to the house by the river, and come back if she's there. Do not mention this to Chiya yet."

The young man nodded and got up.

"Joben, get Masu's family on this. Search the areas between here and Michio's place. There are a lot of paths in the fields between here and there. She could have made a wrong turn."

Still frowning his distaste for helping his sister's husband, Joben gave his father a quick nod then got up. Akina followed him out.

There were only the three of them left in the room – Michio, Haname, and Tsuneo.

"She will be found," Tsuneo said.

Haname, who had been holding her tongue for most of this time, finally reached the point she couldn't hold back any longer, and stood up. She walked over to her son-in-law who was still sitting and looked down at him, her eyes flashing in anger.

"It is at moments like this I am reminded of why I never approved of you and Chiya getting married, Michio-kun. I don't know who's worse. You two just feed on each other. You never thought of what your temper tantrum could do, did you? Neither of you ever think about the consequences." Haname looked at the ruins of her breakfast meal, rice and soup ready to serve with no one to serve to. She lifted a hand, and for a moment Michio cringed, as if he expected her to hit him, but instead, she brought it to her face and covered her eyes. "Never think, never think, either one of you. You or my daughter."

"Think of what, Okaasan?" Michio said.

She dropped her hand, and looked at him with angry amazement. "It's not just about Chiya shaming you and you acting with indignation. Yes, she shamed you in front of people that mattered to you. Yes, you had a right to send her away. But you also have the obligation to your children, and your family. What is this doing to your father and Inishi-chan? Your temper tantrum cost Tsuneo a great deal when I was too sick to even help him. And now your selfish games have caused a small girl to go wandering alone."

"I...I..." Michio stuttered.

"Fix it!" Haname said, then strode out of the room.