InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Bound to Tomorrow ❯ Termite Words ( Chapter 7 )

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Historical notes: Hooray for Google Books! I managed to find a translated Japanese history book from the 1898 World's Columbian Exposition. I'm using it to fill in the historical gaps I'm missing from this time period. I chose a history book written by the Japanese because a lot of the other history books I've been finding from British or American authors from this time period tends to be really…really… racist. I'm not kidding! One British author from a book published in 1901 used the n-word to describe ancient Chinese architectural techniques. Ugh!

Anyway, in my timeline I can finally start using some dates. I'm roughly guessing the current chapter's date to be around 1569. The stuff about Nobunaga is historically accurate (read: NOT made up) and started happening around 1568; according to this book.

Author's Notes: I'm finally done with my art exhibition. It went… ok, I guess… it was interesting to say the least. I won't talk about it here because I'd fill up a freaking page. If you're interested though, send me a message and I'll tell you all about it.

Also, I know it's been a while since I updated and now that the major time-taker is out of the way I should be turning out chapters a little quicker in the near future.

HOWEVER: Finals week is this week (December 6th-11th) for me so I'll be busy then. BTW, it totally sucks to have a final on your birthday. I just have to have my birthday on the very LAST day of finals week and I just HAPPENED to get nailed with a final that day (December 11th). Boo, I'd like to be home for my B-day but no-o-o-o! Anyway, on the 12th my fiancé and I are making the long drive from the Deep South back to my hometown near Chicago. My family likes to send me all over the freaking universe when I go home so you can be sure there likely won't be another chapter update until January. But then again, you never know, the car trip is sixteen hours long so there's a good chance I'll get plenty of story writing in.

After Christmas break I have just two classes next semester and then I can graduate. It's impossible to find a job out here right now so you can be pretty sure that I'll have tons of time to devote to writing. I won't be insanely busy like I was this semester.

Question time! I don't want to give away plot spoilers here but I've got a few directions I could go with some things that are going to happen with the plot in the next few chapters. Some of you reviewers I've noticed are really sharp… I've been playing a few scenarios out in my head for the plot and I'm wondering if any of you lovely readers would possibly be interested in having the plot spoiled a little bit in order to help me out? Like I said, I've got some ideas bouncing around in my head and I can't quite decide which idea would make the most sense logically. I need a few people (more than just one!) who wouldn't mind messaging me a few times about which idea makes the most sense in terms of following canon and logistically. I feel like some of the directions I could go in might be really clever or just plain silly. So yeah, if you don't mind me picking your brain a little then feel free to mention it in a message or review, ok?

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Kagome was nearly knocked off her feet when Shippo's frame barreled straight into hers. His thin arms wrapped around her middle and his tanned face buried itself in her bosom. Deprived of a chance to think, the circled her arms protectively around the boy's head and drew him close.

Moments later Inu Yasha stomped into view, just in time to see Miroku and Sango rush over to Kagome and Kouga. Kouga raised an eyebrow when he realized the priest no longer wore his Buddhist robes and had grown out his hair into a long ponytail. He wondered for a moment if priests had off-duty days; the wolf was not exactly a religious man. He was not aware that for the past year a human named Oda Nobunaga had been executing any priests found to be eating meat or fornicating. Priests who were caught breaking the rules were executed. Miroku could have cared less about the situation because he and Sango could have defended themselves easily. However, Nobunaga had also ordered that the wives and children of non-celibate priests would also be put to death. Therefore, the couple had decided as a family that the houshi would hide away his robes in the meantime. Additionally, they chose to abstain from bearing any more children while they waited out the storm. Kagome had promised them the religious persecution would not last past ten years.

Kouga would have asked the priest all about it had it not been for Shippo's pitiful cries for help from his beloved miko. The wolf demon noted with irritation how content the boy was to snuggle up to all of Kagome's curves and how blissfully unaware she was of his likely motivation. He did, however find it unendingly hilarious to watch the hanyou attempt to pound Shippo but was invariably blocked by the confused and defensive miko. Well, she was defensive, until Inu Yasha related the story of the trap and Kagome astutely recognized its proximity to her bathing spot.

The wolf demon and the dog demon instantly zeroed in on the naughty kitsune who began babbling incoherently about it all being a big mistake and how he was being framed.

Inu Yasha cracked his knuckles menacingly, “Oi, fox, were you peeping at my woman?”

Unable to resist a snarky comeback the boy replied, “Well, technically, I was peeping at the ladies and, uh, your lady just happened to be there.”

Kouga decided to chime in just then, “No you weren't. When I came through Kagome was there alone.”

“BOTH OF YOU WERE PEEPING ON MY WOMAN!” The dog demon howled; then completely forgot about Shippo to rail on Kouga. “Oi, wimpy wolf, I hope you dug your grave before you got here because I'm sending your ass to hell!”

At that point the wolf lost the remaining vestiges of his temper, “Like hell I'll let your scrawny hanyou ass kill me!”

Several things happened at once. Miroku burst into laugher, unable to contain his mirth any longer over the whole situation. Inu Yasha leapt at Kouga but slammed into the dirt when Kagome sat him. Kouga sailed over the prone from of the dog demon when he put too much swing a punch meant for Inu Yasha's face and the momentum carried him into the dirt right next to him. The two men grumbled and cursed at each other for several minutes while Shippo joined the houshi in laughing at them.

The miko stifled a grin before she adopted a more serious look. She half-squatted down to Shippo's eye level which she idly noted was not nearly as far as it had been six years ago. She knew Inu Yasha's hearing was legendary which was why she and the kitsune had created their own form of simple sign language to communicate various things the other knew would only set the irritable hanyou off again. She placed her to fingers over her eyes and then turned her wrist and pointed them back at Shippo. It was the move she always used first to indicate that he was in trouble and needed to pay attention. The boy's giggles faded slightly as he got the message but continued none-the-less. However, he did nod to let her know she had his attention. Kagome shook her finger at him in the classic “shame on you” gesture and then pointed her thumb behind her back. The boy's cheeks grew a little pink from embarrassment and he shrugged his shoulders in apology. When he noticed her indication that he ought to make himself scarce he bobbed his ginger head in acknowledgement and jogged off towards the safety of town.

A few years ago Inu Yasha had bopped Shippo on the head in front of several of his impressionable friends. The next day Kaede and Kagome had been inundated with complaints from the villagers about the bad behavior which had infected all the children who ran about bopping each other in the head for a good week. The miko had issued an ultimatum to the two that they were not allowed to roughhouse around the village children or else she would sit Inu Yasha and Kaede would create another set of subjugation beads for Shippo. The threat was a great deterrent for the hanyou but also made the village a great haven for the rambunctious kitsune. As long as it was daylight and the villagers were still out and about he could pester Inu Yasha to his heart's content. When he blew his top the boy would simply make a run for the safety of the village before he could be thoroughly brained.

Kouga was the first to get up from the ground and the absence of Shippo coupled with Inu Yasha's inability to stand yet had lightened his mood considerably. He eyed the dog demon before giving his side a quick poke with one of his feet.

“You gonna lay around there all day?” He coughed as a small bit of dirt discharged from his lungs, “So tell me what's going on with the kitsune already. I need to return to my pack, they're useless without me.”

Having finally been released from the subjugation spell, Inu Yasha pulled his knees under his stomach and pushed up with his palms until he was back in a squat position. He took a moment to brush off his knees a little, if only just to irritate the wimpy wolf a few seconds, the man did have to wait on his words, after all. Begrudgingly, he related everything he had been told on their encounter. Eventually during the course of their conversation Sango was called away by her ten-year-old twin daughters to fix dinner. One of them held the hand of a young boy who appeared to be about six years old while the other carried her three-year-old baby sister in her arms.

Kouga could not help but remark, “My you two have started quite the pack, haven't you?”

Sango blushed and Miroku gave a lecherous grin before he waved his wife and children away. The huntress hesitated from leaving until the houshi promised her she would know all the details the minute he got home.

When Kagome did not leave to take care of her own children the wolf demon had to ask, “So where're your little brats, eh, dog-shit?”

Inu Yasha's gold eyes narrowed sharply, “Why do you care?”

Before the wolf demon could respond Kagome broke in, “W-we're waiting for a safer era.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

The miko's husband quickly rescued her with his flippant reply, “It's that miko hocus-pocus shit, when the gods tell her it's safe then we will.”

“Sounds like a shitty plan but, hell, she hasn't been wrong before.” Kouga grumped.

In reality they had been trying to have a child, though they had not been particularly serious about it. Kagome sensed that her husband was reluctant to bring a child into a world that had been hard on his kind and she understood that so she never pushed the subject. Additionally, she knew historically that the end of the Warring States Period was close at hand which would lead to yet another messy war-torn period until the relative peace of the Edo Period.

For a normal person waiting so long would have been ridiculous but in her case she had plenty of time. A year ago she had come to the realization that she had not aged a day since she had married Inu Yasha and subsequently marked. It had happened one day when she and Sango had decided to bathe together at the local hot spring. Sango remarked at how little the miko had changed in the past few years and then complained about how big her breasts had become recently. They had not really gotten that much bigger, a cup size at most by the looks of things, but girls had a habit of knowing when their bodies changed in the slightest and the demon slayer was no exception. Kagome had laughed but the thought struck her as odd, especially when she considered that some of the locals still mistook her for fifteen. Later on that night she had asked Inu Yasha if he thought she had changed at all and the dog-demon snorted and told her that that was impossible. In fact, the last time Sesshoumaru had met with him, the great demon Lord happened to mention to his half brother that she would never age because of the demonic blood the hanyou had given her. Granted, he was quick to point out that her aging would resume as it normally would every six years or so if he failed to re-mark her. His mixed-breed blood would not remain in a human's blood stream for a full decade like a pure demon. As long as Inu Yasha kept periodically marking her she was nigh-immortal. So, for now, Kagome was content with the way things were and she could wait to be blessed with a child.

Regardless, the wolf demon had accepted their answer and they could tell that he was preparing to leave when Inu Yasha caught a look from his wife. For a second he shook his head, knowing exactly what she wanted him to do, eventually, though, he gave in.

“Look, wolf, it's about time to have dinner and you're welcome to stay…” He did not hide the reluctance of his words which made his wife scowl a little at him. The look immediately irritated him to the point where he quickly added “…not that I care, my woman's just too damn soft.”

Kouga smirked but shook his head, “She's got you trained, eh dog-shit?” He offered the miko a genuine smile and nodded his head towards her before continuing, “I'll have to take you up on that another time…preferably without the extra baggage.” He cocked his head in Inu Yasha's direction as if his status as husband was more of a nuisance than anything.

“What the hell does that mean…?” the offended hanyou ground out, having somehow missed the point.

“I don't have time to spell it out for you, dip shit. I've gotta get back to my pack and let them know about this… disease. Whatever the hell it is. When everything's settled we'll have ourselves a little date, all right, Kagome?”

Confusion scrunched up her pretty features, completely thrown by the request, “…what?”

“Damn it, Kouga!” the hanyou snarled as he took off after the already-fleeing figure of the wolf demon.

Kagome could see the man wave one more time before he vanished into the forest. She called out to her husband before he could reach the tree line, halting his pursuit. He uttered a colorful string of curses and he stormed back to the miko to shake a claw at her.

“Y-you are not going on a date with that-that damned wimpy wolf!” He announced; his golden eyes smoldered orange in the light of the setting sun.

She gave him a look that instantly told him that he ought to know better and wove her arms across her chest petulantly. “Did I say that I was going to do that?”

That took a lot of the air out of his ballooning rage, “I—well—no…but…”

Kagome huffed indignantly and began to stalk back towards their home, “Well, I'm not telling you my answer because you're my husband and you should already know what it's going to be!”

Miroku shook his head and followed the miko while her hanyou continued to hound her.

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Sesshoumaru appeared in the village exactly a day after Kouga had left. Inu Yasha instinctively knew that his half brother had shown up too conveniently for it to have been a coincidence. It could only mean that he too had become aware of the kitsune situation and would likely want to speak with him directly.

His suspicion was quickly confirmed a few hours later when Sesshoumaru found him alone near his home. Something in his features made the hanyou raise an eyebrow. The look on his face was unfamiliar and he could tell that his brother with trying hard to maintain his usual bored expression.

The Great Lord quickly launched into discussion, “This Sesshoumaru has heard about the kitsune situation and has heard rumors that you spoke with one of their representatives.”

“Yeah I did…” He replied; his arms crossed over his chest irritably as he recalled the extremely unpleasant encounter with the wolf youkai.

“Is there any information of consequence for this one?” One of the demon's perfectly manicured eyebrows twitched slightly, almost imperceptibly; a sign that indicated his brother was slightly more concerned about the situation than on their last meeting.

Inu Yasha told him everything that he could possibly remember until Sesshoumaru gave a dismissive nod of his head to let him know that he had all the information that he needed. The powerful demon was quiet for several minutes that normally would have irritated the hell out of his half brother were the situation not so grim. Instead, the normally impulsive hanyou waited with relative patience… but not before he noted the way Sesshoumaru's eyes flicked in the direction of Rin and Kaede's hut at least twice in that time.

He had to resist the urge to smirk. Rin was seventeen now and had grown up into a lovely young woman and he was fairly certain his half sibling had taken somewhat reluctant notice. It was hard to say for certain, but some things spoke volumes. The usual conversations between Jaken on Rin had begun to involve questions concerning the girl's “mental well-being.” The imp had begun to inquire about the number of village boys currently “threatening Lady Rin's positive mood.” What Sesshoumaru really seemed to be asking, through Jaken, was how much attention she was getting from the boys… and if she appeared to be interested? It was terribly amusing.

Over the years Rin had blossomed from the cute but plain little girl she once was into a tall and slender young seventeen year old woman. It had been only a matter of time before the girl began to develop a crush on her personality-deficient benefactor. The hanyou had no clue what she saw in the pompous fur ball but Kagome insisted that the girl was in love and he was not about to argue with his wife over it.

Sesshoumaru cleared his throat, though he appeared to be talking to himself initially, “… If that is the way this world is going to behave, then this one has little choice…”

“Eh? What the hell do you mean?” Inu Yasha grunted.

His half brother did not respond; the thoughtfully-bored expression he had held turned into total boredom, though his amber eyes again flicked back towards the village. The wind shifted and both demons stood up a little bit straighter as two scents assailed them; that of Rin and Kagome.

Rin's infuriated voice rung out, “Don't you dare leave without me Lord Sesshoumaru!”

Confusion flitted across the pretty-boy's features just long enough for Inu Yasha to catch it. Kagome and Rin gradually came into view; the former looked flustered while the latter lugged a gigantic satchel over her shoulder. Jaken waddled some distance behind either of them wheezing from the exertion of shadowing the two women.

The teen was clothed in a simple red and white cotton yukata; obviously prepared for travel, “You said when I was old enough that I could choose where I wanted to be. Well, I want…” She hesitated for a second, her cheeks turned a faint shade of pink before she quickly corrected, “… I am going with you.”

Sesshoumaru turned a cold stare on his half brother.

He waved his claws and shook his head, “Don't look at me. I didn't have anything to do with this.”

“This Sesshoumaru said no such—…”

“You told me today that I was all grown up now. If I'm grown up then I'm old enough to make my choice and I've made it. I'm coming with you.” Rin interrupted audaciously.

Inu Yasha smirked when he smelled the fear oozing off of Jaken. Rin was the only being, next to the hanyou, capable of cutting off the Lord of the Western Lands without also losing their heads. Rin had interrupted Sesshoumaru only a handful of times but every time was so shocking to the youkai leader that it always left him speechless; which was hilariously funny to him.

The little green imp found his voice just then and stormed over to the girl's knee. He shook his staff at her while he chastised, “You—you…have you no manners for the master? Lord Sesshoumaru did not summon you, therefore you shall not insist yourself upon him!”

The raven-haired fury squared her shoulders, set her feet apart, and stared down at Jaken with the best Kagome expression she could muster. “I'm having a conversation with Lord Sesshoumaru, not you, so it's none of your business!”

Jaken turned positively purple with indignant rage. He was so thoroughly upset at Rin's perceived outrageous behavior that he choked on his own words. Kagome's hand fluttered over her mouth to protect it from releasing the giggle that threatened to slip out. Inu Yasha gave a snort, and then coughed hard to hide the bark of laugher that tickled his throat. For a moment the golden eyes of the full-blooded youkai flashed red. He turned his crimson stare on Rin, saying nothing. She locked eyes with him and refused to release it. Kagome watched the exchange with trepidation and sent a look Inu Yasha's way however she found that her husband was actually grinning. What the miko did not know was that he could smell that Rin was not the least bit frightened. Eventually, the girl blinked first because her eyes grew dry. As soon as she did she quickly refocused her gaze back onto her Lord.

Sesshoumaru raised his eyebrows and the edges of his lips twitched in what could have possibly been a proud smile had he allowed it to form. He would not. Instead, the great youkai Lord turned on his heel and stalked towards the forest.

“Hmph, this Sesshoumaru has seen what this village does to one's manners. It would be wasteful to keep her in such care any longer.” He nodded to Jaken to retrieve her satchel, leaving the unspoken invitation for Rin to follow. The young woman emitted a happy little squeak, shuffled over to Kagome who gave her a quick hug, and then hustled off after her Lord.

The last thing they heard was Sesshoumaru commenting that Rin would need nicer clothing and a good deal of etiquette lessons so that she might not thoroughly embarrass her Lord.

Kagome stood beside her husband and clasped her hands behind her back as a she became thoughtful, “Does this mean Sesshoumaru is going to…well... bring her with when he speaks with other youkai? Rin complained that she always had to wait somewhere while he negotiated with other demon lords.”

Inu Yasha scratched the back of his head, “How the hell should I know?”

“Good point.” She muttered.

“I think he was gonna take her anyway.” The hanyou spoke up abruptly, “Jaken kept saying that if he thought the village wasn't safe anymore then he would have to find other accommodations.” He adopted a high, nasally voice similar to the imp's for effect.

Kagome sighed, “So then, does that mean this place won't be safe? Does Sesshoumaru think there's going to be an attack here?”

He shrugged, “I don't know but I get the feeling he was just looking for an excuse to get her away.”

“Yeah, his head might explode if he ever told her flat out that he missed her.” She was rewarded with a snort of laughter from the half demon.

Suddenly, his mood became more somber, “It doesn't really matter what reason he has for taking her, we should still be more careful…”

A week later his words would come back to haunt him.