InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Learning my way... ❯ Chapter 6 ( Chapter 6 )

 ~~~~~

"And that's Kenji, he's the blacksmith…. He always gets drunk on sake," said Miaka, pointing to a hunched, bearded man with rough hands as he passed the hut.

"Keh, I could smell the alcohol on him," commented Keitaro, glaring disapprovingly at the man. For the last twenty minutes, Miaka had kept a running commentary on the villagers who were passing them, their names, what they did and little tidbits of gossip about their lives. Her voice was quiet, lyrical and carefully moderated.

Mariko was scribbling away in a little flip notebook that had been in her backpack. Oddly enough, she was writing in English instead of Japanese. When Keitaro asked her about it, she mumbled something about it being easier after spending most of your life in America.

"This will be perfect for my Japanese history project… I picked the Sengoku Jidai, because you said that's where the well takes you," She said a few minutes later, still scribbling.

Keitaro nodded as he noticed the miko returning. Mariko noticed a low growl in her friend's throat and placed a calming hand on his shoulder.

"Cool it boy… She already got a sound tongue lashing from me about what she did and believe me, she's sorry."

Keitaro cast a wary look at his friend. From tales that Mama-baachan and Souta had told him, Mariko rivaled (and probably surpassed) Kagome in what Souta described as 'Scariness'. While none of her yelling had actually been directed at him, Keitaro had witnessed enough of it to know that if she turned her voice on him, he would shrink from being 5'10" to about the size of a 2 year old pup.

~

Keiko frowned when she saw Keitaro, Mariko and Miaka sitting on the step outside her hut. The hanyou boy was shirtless and clad in the odd, heavy trousers that he and the blue-eyed girl both wore. Blue eyes. Keiko had never seen anyone save a few demons with eyes like the girl's were. Thorough scrutiny of Mariko's aura had proved that she did not possess any youkai blood, or youki of any sort. How could someone that did not have any demon heritage have blue eyes? 

She also possessed the Shikon jewel, wearing it on a necklace around her neck, explaining that Keitaro could not hold it any longer. Keiko was surprised to learn that despite the girl's lack of any sort of miko powers, she did not taint or affect the nearly finished jewel.

"Hello Keiko-sama!" called Miaka, smiling. Mariko had a hand on Keitaro's shoulder and was regarding her neutrally while Keitaro's golden eyes were narrowed in distrust and anger. Keiko could see some of the shiny and blistering burn on his back and on the shoulder that did not have Mariko's hand on it and her stomach gave a twinge of guilt.

She had injured and could have killed the only son of Inuyasha and Lady Kagome. Purification was one of the only wounds that took the youkai more that a few days to recover from, if they survived it at all. She hoped that Keitaro's human blood would be enough to help him heal quickly. She also hoped he did not have the tendency to go running off while still injured as she had heard his father did.

Inuyasha had done nothing but good for the village as its protector in the seven years before his death at the claws of the Ryu-youkai, while Lady Kagome had been one of the most powerful miko's in Musashi country and a skilled healer.

"Good day Miaka," answered Keiko as she reached the steps of the hut. Mariko gave her a nod and Keitaro said nothing at all. He just glared. Keiko couldn't really blame him. She wondered for a few seconds about who had disabled her barrier spell then realized that the only other person in the village capable of doing so was Miroku.

"Keitaro-san, I must reapply the burn salve," said Keiko, returning the inu-hanyou's glare with a steady gaze.

 ~

Keitaro jumped slightly at being addressed so politely.

"Fine," he muttered. The pain had started to become sharper. The miko nodded and stepped into the hut, and returned with a jar that reeked of the stuff on his back. Mariko, probably sensing that he didn't want to be touched by the miko, took the jar from Keiko and motioned for him to turn slightly so she could apply it properly.

"I must go tend to old Nyoko," said the miko quietly, directing her speech more at Miaka rather than at either him or Mariko. Then she turned and made her way to one of the huts on the far side of the village, her red hakama billowing out behind her as she strode away.

~

Mariko pried off the lid of the jar and began to spread the stuff on his back. It smelled like butter mixed with something noxious. If the stuff smelled bad to her, she didn't want to know what it smelled like to Keitaro with his sensitive nose. He wasn't complaining, but she saw his nose scrunch up as soon as she had opened the jar.

"Awww…. Is poor Keitaro and his doggy nose smelling something nasty?" she teased.

"Shut up," he shot back, rolling his golden eyes. Mariko could see the ghost of a grin on his face.

   Miaka suddenly stood up, startling the pair from the future. She had the wide-eyed look of someone who had just remembered something important.

"I must go help Okaa-san with chores and dinner," she said quickly. Keitaro glanced at the sky and noticed that the sun was not exactly overhead.

"Mariko…. Just how long was I out?" he asked, peering over his shoulder at the blue eyed girl.

"For about eight hours," she remarked after checking her watch, "You needed the rest… From what Keiko told me, purifying can be hard to heal for a demon, but I think all your human blood that saved you,"

Keitaro nodded.

"I understand, but I'm not thrilled," he remarked, his ears twitching. To distract himself from the horrible scent of the salve, he focused identifying the familiar scents around him. Things in the village smelled the same, despite the fact that they were sixteen years older than they were when he first smelled them.

"What are you sniffing for?" asked Mariko, taking notice of her friend's sharp inhalations.

"I'm just looking for scents that I know… I may have been a baby when I was last here, but nearly everything smells the same… fresh and clean," replied Keitaro reverently, taking in another deep breath.

"Sango invited us for dinner in her hut, She said that she had something that she wanted to give you," commented Mariko, replacing the lid on the salve jar.

"Oh?" said Keitaro interestedly, his ears pricking up.

"She didn't say what it was,"

"When does she want us to show up?"

"She said she'd send someone named Rika… I'm guessing that's one of her daughters..."

Keitaro nodded. Rika was one of the names that he remembered. Mama-baachan knew all about Sango and Miroku's first child, a girl three years his senior.  Keitaro could remember her scent, which was yet another medley of her parents', but Rika's had more of Sango's influence than Miroku's.  He idly wondered what she looked like now.

  He soon found out.

 Rika's scent wafted in sensing range about a minute before he saw her. His ears pricked up and Mariko raised a questioning eyebrow.

"She coming," 

"Oh… How far away is she?"

Keitaro shrugged and stood.

"I suppose my T-shirt was destroyed?" he asked, peering inside the hut.

"Yep, You'll have to go around shirtless," said Mariko slyly, poking him, "but the cold won't bother you ne?"

Keitaro shook his head, an amused expression on his face. "Me? Keitaro Higurashi, hanyou extraordinaire? Cold? It might happen when Hell freezes over," he said dramatically, throwing his arms wide.

"Damn, where did you get an overblown ego?" asked Mariko, laughing.

Keitaro gave her a roguish grin.

"Apparently, I inherited it," he replied, winking. Mariko whacked him upside the head, nailing one of his ears perfectly.

"Ouch! Whatdya do that for?" he cried, backing away, shielding his ears. 

"To bring you down a few pegs," she remarked, smiling innocently. He scowled at her for a few seconds, then he turned and waved to a tall girl who had just appeared from behind one of the huts. The girl waved back and Mariko studied her closely. She was the spitting image of Sango, right down to the expression of calm confidence.

"Keitaro-kun! It has been so long since I last you… you were so small then!" she said as she reached him, smiling broadly.

Mariko grinned inwardly when she saw one of Keitaro's ears twitch in annoyance, but his smile didn't fade.

"Hello Rika-chan, same to you…." he said, grinning. The older girl laughed and motioned for them to follow her.

"Okaa-san has made a large dinner for us all, in celebration of your arrival… I have never seen her cook so much, even for my brothers…"

  ~~~

The hut that Miroku, Sango and their children possessed was larger then most and had four rooms, one larger dining room and three small bedrooms and Sango had indeed cooked a large dinner. Keitaro felt that it could have been more accurately called a feast and he felt a little uncomfortable that Sango had gone to so much trouble.

The food was quite good though. Sango was an excellent cook.

The entire family sat around the low table, which barely fit all ten of them. Miroku and Sango sat at both ends of the table, while Keitaro had taken the spot on Sango's right with Rika sitting on his other side. Across from him sat Mariko, and beside her sat Miaka. Next to Miaka was Masuhiro, who was fourteen and the eldest boy of the family. Naomi, the baby of the family at ten, sat on Rika's other side and the two spots nearest to Miroku were filled by Sachi, who was thirteen and Kohaku, who was twelve and named after Sango's long deceased younger brother. Sitting near the table with it's own bowl of food was a small, two tailed white and black youkai kitten with a star on its forehead.

The meal was silent, as was tradition. It obviously made Mariko uncomfortable, but Keitaro had been to dinner at her house and was surprised to learn that her family often talked and discussed their days over dinner. He supposed that was the way things usually were in America.

As dinner was wrapping up, Sango disappeared into hers and Miroku's bedroom for a few moments before returning with a small drawstring bag.

 "Keitaro, this is something that belonged to your father…" she said quietly, handing him the bag.

"Thanks," he said, taking the bag. Pulling it open, he reached and pulled out a necklace made of purple beads and teeth. Keitaro stared at it for a few seconds, trying to place its familiarity and then it hit him. A mental flash of the picture of his parents on his dresser made him remember where he had seen them.

 Otou-san's prayer beads… 

Keitaro was unable to say anything. He just gazed at the beads mutely, overwhelmed with emotion. A few tears welled up in his eyes, but he blinked them back forcefully.

 "Arigatou…" He managed to say.

"The subduing spell was nullified when your father died, but after Tetsussaiga, these beads were one of Inuyasha's most prized possessions," explained Sango, taking them and slipping the beads over his head.

"Osuwari!" cried Naomi gleefully. Keitaro flinched as the rest of the table erupted in laughter.

 "Good thing the spell's gone," he murmured wryly, holding the beads away from his neck so that he could look at them. 

"I remember when I tried to use the spell on your father… it didn't work, but his expression was downright priceless," commented Sango, beginning to stack the earthenware bowls.

 Naomi and Miaka scurried after her in order to help and Rika filled the youkai kitten's dish with some of the leftovers, which it devoured eagerly.

"What is its name?" asked Keitaro curiously.

"This is Kirara, she's a fire cat" replied Rika, stroking the kitten's fur, "Okaa-san has had her since she was young,"

"Ah," replied Keitaro, reaching out to let the kitten sniff his hand. Kirara mewed and nuzzled it affectionately.

"She recognizes you," said the older girl, "Okaa-san said that Kirara looked after the both of us sometimes when we were little,"

 "I kind of recognize her smell, its sort of always mixed in with Sango's in my memories," commented Keitaro, smiling slightly as the firecat hopped into his lap and settled herself in quite comfortably.

Most of the evening was devoted to Miroku and Sango telling stories about Kagome and Inuyasha and the shard hunts. They also told him more about Shippou, the kitsune kit that his mother had adopted and whom neither of them had seen in over a decade. 

"His grief was more profound than ours," murmured Sango softly, "He couldn't follow Kagome through the well and because of that, he lost two sets of parents. He stayed with Kaede until she died, but he's been gone since then, and we have no idea what happened to him,"

Keitaro felt a strange twinge of sadness for what for the kitsune who had been as good as his brother.

 ~~~~

When Keitaro helped Mariko clamber out of the well in the modern era, Mariko suddenly turned around and just stared down into the wells depths.

 "Today was the coolest day in my entire life!" she enthused, grinning. Keitaro smiled a close-lipped smile and nodded in agreement.

 "Well, as long as you don't count me nearly being purified, but otherwise, yah, really cool day," he replied, grinning slightly as he reached up to touch the prayer beads around his neck.

Mariko gave him a warm smile.

"You were able to smell something besides toxic air," she commented and Keitaro's grin widened a few more teeth. Mariko could easily see his fangs now, and she realized that she had never seen him smile like that. Smirks and small smiles were more his style and Mariko wondered if he smiled like that in order to conceal the dangerous looking canines.

 His fangs would have been another bullet in Nishimura's arsenal, She thought as they exited the well house and made their way across the shrine's moonlit grounds.

Checking her watch, she noted that it was after ten thirty. She had told her mother she would be home at around eleven at the absolute latest. They slid open the shoji for the house and entered the house.

Mama Higurashi stuck her head out of the kitchen.

"Where have you been Keitaro?" she asked, her voice suspicious.

Mariko shot a glance at her friend.

"You didn't tell her?"

Keitaro's ears flattened in remorse, giving his best friend the answer she needed. Mama stalked towards her grandson, gripping him by the shoulders and giving him a good shake.

 "Where did you go?" she demanded.

Keitaro ducked his head and flashed his neck. Mariko doubted that Mama Higurashi noticed his inu-youkai signs of submission. She noticed the strand of beads around his neck however.

"You went back,…" whispered Mama, paling slightly as she stared at the beads.

Wordlessly Keitaro nodded, glancing up at his grandmother's eyes, waiting for the rebuke. Instead, Mama hugged him tightly and for once, he didn't struggle to get away. Mariko smiled at the moment between the two.

 "I think you should take Mariko home Keitaro, it's not the best time of day for young women to be walking the streets of Tokyo alone," remarked Mama as she let go of her grandson and steered him around so that he was facing the door. Keitaro gave her an apologetic look and beckoned her to follow.

Mariko felt her stomach lurch at what she knew was going to be a very fast, nauseating and downright scary ride as she followed him outside.

 Crouching down, he let her climb on and frowned as the thick smell of fear filled his nostrils.

"Mariko, I won't let you fall, okay?" he said, rising up so that he was standing and she was straddling his back.

"Just close your eyes and hold on tightly if you need to," Mariko squeezed her eyes shut as he coiled his legs and sprung up onto the roof of the house. The wind whistled by her ears and played with her hair and the only thing that she could feel was the occasional bump as Keitaro sprung off various buildings.

  Mariko shrieked as the two of them suddenly fell into a steep drop. Her eyes were still squeezed shut, but her stomach felt as though it had been shoved up her throat. The bump and clatter of Keitaro landing on a what must have been a fire escape was a little more jarring than usual before he took off again.

"Sorry," She heard Keitaro say, before his voice was snatched away by the wind, "I mis-calculated". In reply, she clung to him tighter. As he continued to bound his way across Tokyo. After a minute of smooth going, Mariko cracked her eyes open. The sight that met her eyes was one that took her breath away.

The smog that hung over the city during the day had transformed into an ethereal aura that glowed above the cityscape like a halo. Streets full of cars and people blew by as Keitaro smoothly lept from building to building. He gripped her legs firmly; being careful not to scratch her with his claws and Mariko suddenly understood that he would never drop her.

 For the first time, Mariko began to appreciate Tokyo and she knew that she would never be scared of whatever abilities Keitaro possessed or what he could do.

 He set her down in the alley near her apartment and walked her to the door.

"See you at school Mariko," he said with a grin, "We should go back next weekend," and with that, he disappeared into the shadows. 

  ~~~~~~ 

Hey all! I've done some rough sketches (I'm no artist) of a bunch of Characters from Learning my way and it's sequel, Kimi's song. If you want to see them, you can drop me a line and I'll send the pictures in the return e-mail and perhaps a bit of a hint for a future chapter!

   ~Mockingbird