InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The King and I ❯ Hail to the cart driver! ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter 4

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"I think he's coming to. Would you mind holding this?"

I heard a familiar jangling, which I vaguely placed as Miroku's staff.

Slowly, I began to open my eyes,

It was blurry, and the most I could make out was a purple and black blob in front of me. Fortunately, my more reliable senses awoke, and I recognized the sent of the monk and the host from the inn.

"My Lord, how do you feel?"

I opened my mouth to speak, when everything came back to me. The girl, sake in the face, running in the rain, and then the incomparable pain of being emasculated. It seemed so surreal to me.

But the dull ache in my lower regions was enough to tell me it wasn't just some twisted dream, and that I hadn't just drunk myself into idiocy.

Funny how at the same time I was cursing the nameless bitch who'd dropped me, a tiny part of me reveled in the fact that she was indeed real then.

I quickly shook the odd thought out of my head, and tried to sit up. That was a bad idea

"Inuyasha?" I could hear the concern in his voice as I grimaced in pain.
"Holy Fuck that hurts!!"

"Aye my boy, she does some strength in her. You're certainly not the first victim."

I blinked a few times, and was finally able to focus on the inn keeper. He looked about ready to burst into laughter. I glared at him.

"You find this funny old man? When I get up, I'll show you how funny I think it is."

My voice cracked in the middle of my threat, and he quickly left the room, hiding his face. I could pick up the sounds of his guffaws from next door.

I turned my attention back to Miroku, who also looked rather amused.

"What the fuck are you grinning about? It's not like you got away unscathed."

He raised a hand to his still bright red cheek and looked away sheepishly.

"She certainly had some spirit in her, didn't she? I was simply trying to be courteous, but it seems she mistook-"
"Shut it, you lecher. I saw what you saw, and I knew what you were trying to do. Wait till Sango hears about this."
He visibly paled, and glanced over each shoulder, as if she might somehow of snuck up on him. Sango certainly had that affect on people…on men in particular.

The innkeeper returned with a jug of sake, and handed it to me.

"What's this for?"
"To numb the pain-you'll be hurting for a few days, but the worst of it comes when you first stand up."
"You seem to know an awful lot about this sort of thing."
"She's a regular. More often than not, this place turns into a recovery clinic rather than an inn."
"So why don't you ban her or something if she-"
"Business is good. You can't argue with results."

Miroku nodded in agreement, obviously seeing things on the more capitalist side.

"The sooner we get the fuck out of this town, the happier I'll be."

I took a swig of the wine just to help out, though. It burned my throat on the way down, and I coughed a few times. After a minute or two, I attempted to stand up.

I promptly dropped back down, panting and wheezing.

"What's wrong with that girl?"

The innkeeper muttered unintelligibly before taking the jug for his own drink. I took note of the sad look that crossed his face, and he rubbed the bridge of his nose thoughtfully.

"She lives alone, said her parents were dead. Been on her own since she was a child, I heard, but that might just be the women's gossip. She's very kind to the children though-she takes care of them when their mothers are helping with the harvest and such. She's been the midwife too since she came about five years ago. But that's about as much as anyone knows about her."

Her harsh attitude made sense to me, and I couldn't help but feel at least some pity for her. I opened my mouth to ask a question, but Miroku beat me to it.

"What is her name?"

"Kagome."

The innkeeper, whose name was Mushin, and Miroku helped me to the room we had paid for upon our earlier arrival. I peeled off my outer robes, which were soaking wet, and hung them to dry. I sat with my back to the fire, to dry both my hair and the rest of my clothing.

It was an odd feeling. On one hand, I was beyond pissed. That bitch had really done me in, and even with my advanced healing as a hanyou, I was still incredibly sore.

But on the other hand…

I couldn't stop thinking about how beautiful she was.

Being in the court, I'd been around enough pretty faces to last me a lifetime. But when compared to the girl I'd seen only a few hours ago-well, there was no comparison.

She had literally rendered me speechless, something that, according to those who knew me, was a rare occurrence in itself.

I couldn't help but wonder if I'd ever see her again. After all, we were still a day's journey from the capital of the North. The plan was to find my new queen there amongst the daughters of the royalty, and high-ranking officials.

As far as I could tell, she was neither.

"Kagome…stupid girl." I muttered.

Settling in for the night, I did my best to keep my mind trained solely on my mission, instead of the fiery wench who'd kneed me.

It was to little avail…

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"The wheels on the cart go `round and `round, `round and `round, `round and `round!"

A chorus of children was what awoke me the next morning-only a few minutes after sunrise to be more precise.

Groggily, I stumbled over the still sleeping monk, towards the window. I pushed open the shutters, intent on shutting the brats up.

Instead I just stared.

"Kagome-chan! Can we sing it again? Please?!"

The woman in question turned and gave the pleading girl a smile that even warmed me.

"Of course, Miaka. You start us off, okay?"

Not a moment later, the song started up again.

There were about fifteen children sitting in the back of a horse-drawn cart (hence the lyrics), with Kagome at the reins, a baby strapped to her back. As they moved past the inn, my ears struggled to pick out her voice. It was soft and sweet, and everything I'd expected it to be.

Suddenly the cart dipped low and stopped. The straining horse began neighing, its high-pitched squeals making me wince. Both wheels had sunk deep into the muddy road, and the cart-o-kids was stuck.

I watched the look of annoyance pass over her face as she stood. She unlatched the baby, handing it off to a girl who was hardly any bigger before jumping down to the ground.

"Kenichi, honey, take the reins for me. Just keep the horse going forward."

The boy assumed her position, and took hold of the reins. Amused, I watched as she braced her back against the cart, her bare feet sinking into the mud. She pushed with all her might, but the wheels hardly even budged. There was no one else on the streets, most likely out in the fields we had passed on the way into town.

Before I realized what I was doing, I was on the ground, and sloshing my way towards her.

"Looks like you could use some help."

I mentally kicked myself for the lame observation, but at least I got her attention. Her head shot up and I didn't miss the look of surprise…which quickly melted into pure annoyance again.

"Well, it seems like your eyes work as well as they did last night, you lecherous bastard," she hissed quietly, making sure none of the children heard her. I rolled my eyes-she sure did hold a grudge.

"Look wench, you want my help or not?"
She gave me a dismissive wave before pushing again.

"Help away, hero."

I ignored her comment, and did just that.

I suppose she hadn't expected me to succeed on the first try, because the moment the cart lurched forward, she fell backwards into the mud.

At least she started to.

I caught her wrist at the last minute, setting her back on her feet. She teetered for a few moments, obviously waiting for the cold wet muck to break her fall.

Then she cautiously peeked out of one eye, looking confused as all hell before catching sight of my hand on her arm.

She jerked away sharply, and turned to follow the now rolling cart of children.

"Thanks…asshole." She muttered the last part, not expecting me to hear it. Limberly, she jumped up onto the backboard, and climbed back to take the reins, taking the baby back at the same time.

"You're welcome, bitch." I said softly, as I watched them leave. Several of the children waved to me before resuming the song.

I stood there until they were somewhat out of view before I realized the dilemma I was in.

Miroku was due to wake up at any moment, and would be eager to be on our way now that we had our directions.

By later tonight, I would be in the city, looking for a wife I could tolerate enough to spend the rest of my ruling days with; to have an heir with; to try to be happy with…

But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop myself from wondering where Kagome and those children were headed. Where did she live, and why was she alone? How had she ended up here, and why did she hate men so much?

At least I assumed she hated men…

Once again my body moved on its own accord and I was following close behind in the trees. I made my way as quietly as possible, leaping silently from branch to branch, the voices of the children drowning out any possible noise. But I was still uneasy, as every few moments, she would glance over her shoulder, frowning, right in my direction.

It was probably just coincidence, though.

No way she could have heard me.

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The lecherous bastard.

Why the hell was he following me!?

He was obviously trying to be covert, hardly making a sound, but I didn't need to hear him to know that he was there.

I could feel him.

Just like I could feel every other presence around me, human or demon. It was something I had been born with, a gift as my mother had called it.

Or a curse, according to my father…

As far back as I could remember, I'd been able to sense the aura of most living things around me. It was a kind of mental tingle, constant but usually unobtrusive. It was a feeling I'd long since grown used to, and was now able to ignore the feelings of the animals, plants and even people around me.

But if I concentrated, I could tell which flower would bloom first, the uneasiness of animals before a storm. If I really tried, I could probably even feel the storm itself.

And when it came to people, things got really strange.

I could never claim to be a mind reader. All I sensed were feelings, emotions. My sensitivity to them depended solely on the intensity of each emotion.

For instance, if someone were blatantly lying to me, and was extremely nervous while doing so, I would know right away.

But if someone was so confident that I would buy whatever they told me, that they felt no obvious fear, I would be just as dumb as the next person.

Although I would have my doubts.

Sometimes I wished I would have just trusted my instincts and my sense. I could have avoided a lot of hurt that way. But I could not live in the past, or whine about my mistakes. I had a new life now.

The reason why I became midwife for this town was simple: I loved children.

They felt simply and honestly, and above all, they were innocence incarnate. They were the only people whom I seemed able to understand. And sometimes I believed they were the only ones who came close to understanding me.

Being a midwife, I could guide women into giving birth safely from drawing off not only their emotions, but of the yet unborn child. If the baby felt nervous, it was going to be a hard birth-and why wouldn't it be nervous? Birth was a harsh experience for someone who doesn't even realize what they are yet.

Its being ripped away from the only thing you've ever known-literally.

But with my sense, and the experience I'd gained over the years, I'd become well adept at easing the process for both mother and child.

Those were the times when I knew my mother was right, that I had been born with something special and miraculous.

But there were always the times when I couldn't help but agree with my father's opinion on the matter.

There were times when feeling others was my curse.

I'd been betrayed so many times, had people I loved and cared for lie to me, right to my face. Each time was like being stabbed through the heart.

It was one of the many reasons I left my old home. Why I'd wandered from town to town for a season, trying to find somewhere to belong.

I'd finally found a place here, surrounded by honest, hard working parents, who loved their children dearly. This was my home now.

I caught sight of the lake as we topped the small hill. The road here had dried more than the one in town, so I had no problems getting there.

"Look Kagome-chan! There's the lake! Now you can teach us how to swim!"
I smiled and nodded at Kenichi, who'd stayed by my side since the ordeal in town.

"That's right. Your mother is going to be very proud of you."

"Really? Wow, thanks Kagome-chan."

I just nodded, and urged the horse onto the grass, towards a large tree where it could rest in the shade. I didn't have to concentrate to know the gesture was appreciated.

The children burst forward the moment the cart stopped, heading straight for the cool water ahead. I took the reins and bridle off the horse, letting him go free to take a drink if he so wanted.

I vaguely realized I couldn't feel him anymore.

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Sorry, short chapter, but the next one is longer.

Can't you just picture the "cart'o'kids", and their little song? I thought it was cute.

So…Kagome is not exactly what she seems.

To explain further:

Her gift makes her sensitive to the aura of every other living being. She can feel the different shifts in those aura's, making her adept at predicting things like the weather, and as she mentioned above, if a single flower will bloom. All this takes different levels of concentration for her, but having lived with the sense for so long, its second nature to her.

When it comes to people, she can sense their emotions as well as the natural shifts in their auras. She cannot read minds and cannot hear thoughts. What she can do is make a judgment based on what she feels from the person, taking into consideration their emotions and the state of their aura. As she explains above though, she is not always right. Her instinctive need to trust someone has clouded her judgment before, and a lot of hurt has come of it.

This sense will play a very large factor in the story, so if you don't understand her gift, you might not follow along too easily. Sorry, if I made it so complicated, but I just think Kagome's powers get underestimated sometimes-I wanted to focus on her ability rather than Inu swinging his sword around.

Not that he doesn't look sexy doing it….^_^

Thanks for reading guys!

~Sabichan~