InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Once Upon a Time ❯ Judgment Day ( Chapter 27 )

Disclaimer: No, they’re not mine, although I wouldn’t mind having a hot hanyou with those adorable ears….

27. Judgment Day  

As usual, the hanyou awoke first, looking down at the girl sleeping by his side in amazement. She inched nearer in her sleep, pressing herself more firmly against him. He wondered briefly if this need for nearly constant physical contact was an indication of a kind of insecurity, then dismissed the idea--not only did she possess a kind of pure strength he could only envy, but she was fully aware that he had bound himself to her, body, heart, and soul, by a kind of invisible chain he could never become strong enough to break.

Unbelievable as it was, he could only conclude that she simply wanted to be close to him. That, he decided, he could understand. He reached out to smooth down a loose strand of her ebony hair, almost as though trying to convince himself that this was all real.

He stretched as well as he could without disturbing her, noting with surprise the angle of the sunlight coming into the room. As near as he could tell, they had been in the room for more than twenty-four hours. No wonder he felt like he was starving.

The woman at his side stirred, sighing in her sleep. Food, he decided, could wait until they were both awake. Truth be told, he didn’t want to be away from her side, even to eat. He inhaled deeply, taking in the scent that--while still insistent--no longer threatened to overwhelm him.

He felt a tiny pinprick at the side of his neck. Swatting at the source of the irritation, he discovered that they were not alone. “Myouga,” he snarled, “What the hell are you doing here?”

The tiny flea youkai ignored the aggressive tone. “The time has come for you to assume your responsibilities, Inuyasha-sama.”

The hanyou narrowed his eyes. He pulled the girl closer to him. “This is my responsibility, bug.”

Myouga suddenly realized that he was in a certain amount of danger. “True. Madame is your primary responsibility, but you have other matters which require your attention.”

That piqued the hanyou’s endless curiosity. “Like what?”

Myouga was hopping up and down on the other’s hand. “There is a dispute between a group of weasel youkai living near the edge of the forest and a human family. You must determine the best course of action for all concerned.”

“What the hell does this have to do with me?” he snarled. “Isn’t that what they have a village leader for?”

The voice was quiet but firm. “Not this time. Don’t you see? You’re the only one who can do this--the humans wouldn’t accept a decision from someone without a strong connection to the village, and the youkai would never tolerate a decision from the human village leadership. You’re the only one who can be counted on to see both sides of the issue and make a fair decision.”

“Damn it, Kagome--”

She ignored the beginnings of the outburst, focusing her attention on the flea youkai. “I’ll have him ready for this in a few hours, Myouga-jiichan. Where will you want him to hear the details?”

The youkai nodded--if anyone could make Inuyasha-sama fulfill his obligations, it would be the woman at his side. He was, after all, his father’s son. “There is a room in the public part of the house set aside for events of this kind. I’ll see to the arrangements.”

The hanyou’s sharp eyes caught the motion of Myouga as he leaped for the door. “Myouga!”

The flea suddenly realized that he was not yet out of danger. “Yes, Inuyasha-sama?”

The hanyou’s eyes narrowed, and he bared his teeth in an overt threat. “Never disturb us in here again. If you do,” he said, his voice growing soft and dangerous, “I swear that I’ll kill you on the spot.”

Myouga hopped away with a lot to think about. It seemed to him that Inuyasha-sama was finally growing up--and becoming more like his father than any son had a right to be.

The hanyou settled back into the cushions. “I thought you were asleep.”

She nodded, resting her head on his chest, her fingertips idly tracing the one imperfection on his otherwise flawless body--the small scar left by Kikyou’s sealing arrow more than a half-century ago. “I was, until you two started fighting.”

He was starting to relax after Myouga’s intrusion. He shook his head, looking at his mate. “What the hell did you get me into?”

Her voice took on a prickly edge. “Don’t blame me--I think this is just something you have to do because of who you are.” At his blank expression she continued, “I mean, you were always really important to me, but I had no idea about the family situation until after we came back here to live. I had all the pieces, but I never put them together until just now.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Although he wanted the answer badly, he couldn’t bring himself to be more insistent.

She shook her head at the bizarre turn events had taken. “Back at the beginning Myouga-jiichan told us about how your father once ruled the entire region. From what I could see from the copy of your mother that Sesshoumaru and his little stooge created, I got the idea that she was also somebody of importance--a hime, maybe.” She laughed softly. “When Myouga-jiichan said that you were a prince, I thought he was speaking metaphorically. Now I’m not so sure.”

He stood and paced, and she realized that his aggressive response was due to a nagging worry. “None of that matters--it doesn’t make me qualified for this shit. I don’t know anything about law, or treaties, or any of that crap. Hell, I can’t even read--not more than a few words, anyway--there was nobody willing to teach an ignorant animal how to pretend to be as good as a human.”

“Do you want to learn?” Kagome’s voice was small--she had never fully understood the torment the child Inuyasha had suffered at the hands of his mother’s people after her death. It was, she thought, amazing that he was able to move beyond the bitterness to trust anyone at all.

He shook his head. “I think it’s probably too late for that.”

She thought about it for a few moments, trying to frame her response in terms he could understand. “There’s no shame in not being able to read because nobody cared enough to teach you when you were little. The only real shame is in letting that continue out of fear. Besides,” she continued, shifting gears to keep him off balance, “I’ll need to practice so I can teach our family some day.”

That last reference took him by surprise. Being hanyou, he had never really expected to have a family: youkai females would probably kill him if he approached them, and human women were so offended by his very existence that they would run from the very suggestion. Except for Kagome….

He reached out, pulling her from the cushions and into a fierce embrace. “I think,” he said, murmuring into her ear, “That we may be late for Myouga’s ‘event.’”

As much as she loved the idea of taking a few hours to just be together, she shook her head. “Not this time, Inuyasha. This is important. I don’t know how or why, but I’ve got a feeling that this day will be important to our future.”

He released her reluctantly, keeping her left hand. He had learned to trust her intuition--if she said that this damn thing would be important, he was going to listen. “All right,” he growled. “Let’s get dressed and get something to eat. If I have to sit through this thing, so do you--that way I can pick your brain if I need to.”

He looked a little surprised at the clothing she close for the arbitration--since she had been bringing more and more of her own things to this world, she seldom had need of a traditional miko’s attire. Still, it no longer bothered him when she did so: he hadn’t seen Kikyou in her in a very long time.

She could feel him watching her, and turned to him with a broad smile. “If I have to sit through this thing, I think it’s best if I at least look like an authority figure. Even if the humans involved don’t know us, they’ll still be inclined to respect the power implied by these clothes.”

He shook his head. “Unless these youkai have reason to hold a grudge against mikos.”

She flashed a smile that made him wish he didn’t have obligations in the next couple of hours. “Youkai don’t scare me,” she said, resting a hand on his lean chest. “You’ll never let anything happen to me.”

After a quick meal of instant ramen, the pair decided to take a look at the place in which they would be hearing the particulars of the disagreement. After only the briefest glance at the large room, the hanyou insisted on a change. “Myouga!”

The tiny youkai appeared instantly. “Yes, Inuyasha-sama?”

Gesturing at the large chair that had been set at one end of the room, he asked, “Is there another chair like that around here someplace?”

The flea youkai understood immediately--he had had this exact conversation with the inuyoukai he had served so diligently so very long ago. Clearly, the hanyou thought of his relationship with this human girl as a partnership. He would have to remember that--he had no desire to be crushed out of existence because of some unintentional slight to the lady of the household. “No, Inuyasha-sama, but I’m sure I can find two chairs close enough to identical to suit you for now.”

The two were surprised by the turnout for the arbitration. Not only did all of those presently in residence attend, but a large part of the village population had also chosen to observe the proceedings. The pair took their seats, waiting for Myouga to introduce the parties involved in the dispute.

The actual content of the dispute was simple enough on the surface. The small tribe of weasel youkai claimed that the human farmers were harassing them. The humans, on the other hand, claimed that the youkai had been destroying their crops in an attempt to drive them out. Clearly, both stories could not possibly be true, but how was it possible to determine exactly what had happened?

The hanyou looked around the room in an attempt to stall a little. It was unnerving to think that all of these people were waiting for him to reach a decision in this matter. He swept the room with his gaze, noting the presence of the small, silent figure standing with the rest of the household.

He gestured at the white youkai. “Kanna, can you come here for a minute?” As she stepped forward, away from her sister’s side, the hanyou continued, “We’ve just heard two different versions of what happened. What does your mirror show?”

Nodding once, Kanna bent over her mirror. The surface fogged over, then cleared to reveal the image of a group of the weasel youkai being chased from a ruined field by some obviously angry farmers.

The room was silent. Clearly, those assembled were waiting to see how the hanyou would respond to the information. Although he could sense the unsettled atmosphere, it had no real effect on Inuyasha: the steadying presence at his side radiated approval and pride at his decision to use Kanna’s mirror to determine the truth of the matter.

The hanyou glared at the small knot of youkai. “I don’t know how this got started,” he snarled. “I don’t care. This is what’s going to happen. You will keep away from this family’s fields. If you don’t,” he said, baring his fangs and flexing his claws, “We will hunt you down until there’s nothing left.” He gestured at the assembled members of his household. “Even though a few of us are away right now, we have more than enough power to deal with the likes of you.”

As the disgruntled youkai turned to leave, the hanyou spoke to the farmers whose fields had been damaged. “Do you have enough seed to replant your crops?” At the man’s silent nod, he continued, “If there’s any more trouble, let anybody connected to this household know. We’ll take care of it from there.”

The room emptied slowly, many of the villagers standing around in clumps to discuss Inuyasha’s handling of the disagreement. Though his hearing was inhumanly acute, the hanyou could only detect snatches of the various conversations. Although the general consensus was favorable, the only opinion that mattered to him was that of the person sitting next to him.

Sensing his uncertainty, she reached out and took his hand. Her eyes shone with love and pride. “That was brilliant! I would never have thought of using Kanna’s mirror to find out what really happened.”

He very much liked her thinking that he was so very clever, but he was unwilling to mislead her, even by not speaking. “I wish that’s how it happened, but it’s not. I was looking around trying to buy a little time, and I just happened to see her stand--” His voice faded away as he noticed the two silent figures still standing at the rear of the room.

Kagome followed his gaze. “Mama? Souta?” She leaped to her feet, running to meet her family. “Is it Saturday? I must have lost track of the time.”

Although the hanyou’s robust health was a source of intense curiosity to the woman, she made no mention of it. “I thought as much.” She looked around at the large--now empty--room. “Kagome, what is this place? And what,” she continued, “Just happened here?”

Kagome looked from the hanyou to her mother and sighed. Obviously, this was going to take some explaining. “Inuyasha, could you show Souta around--maybe introduce him to Kaede?”

Two months ago he would have turned defensive, demanding to know why she wanted him out of the way. Now, he caught the silent plea in her eyes and understood that she needed him to keep her little brother diverted so she could have an adult conversation with the older woman. He nodded slowly, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Good idea,” he murmured. “I’ll see you in a while.”

As the male half of the group departed in the direction of the village, the girl turned to her mother. “Can you stay for the weekend, or do you have to go back right away?”

“Souta needs to be back in school on Monday, but we could stay until tomorrow afternoon.” She looked around again. “Now, what is this place?”

Kagome shook her head. “Remember how I told you that Inuyasha brought the plans we were working on back here so that he could get an early start on them as a surprise?” At the older woman’s nod, she continued, “Most of the village and people from all over the region came to help out…and not just humans, either.” She grinned again. “Some of the youkai and hanyous who helped out live here now--you’ll have to meet them before you go home.”

They started walking through the large, airy structure. Kagome wanted to change clothes, so she decided to give her mother a quick tour of the premises. “As you can see,” she said, “We have plenty of room if you want to stay--only five of the eleven bedrooms are occupied.”

The woman just stared. “Eleven? Don’t you think that’s a little…much?”

The girl blushed furiously. “It’s not really like that. Myouga-jiichan--he’s a flea youkai who used to work for Inuyasha’s father and now advises him--made the changes. He decided that a prince needed a home more appropriate to that position.”

The woman stopped in her tracks. “A…prince?” Her voice was faint with disbelief.

Kagome laughed. “I know--that was my reaction, too. The weird part is that it’s true in a strange kind of way. His father ruled a significant part of the country--what they call the Western Lands right now--and his mother was the only daughter of a prominent human nobleman. The thing is, he’s really uncomfortable with the whole thing: he lost both his parents when he was little--a few years younger than Souta, I think--so he never really learned a lot of the stuff he needed to know to be able to pull it off.”

Waiting while the younger woman changed into a light cotton sweater and denim skirt, she said, “Well, from what I saw this afternoon, he seemed to manage pretty well.”

Her daughter shook her head. “I know, but it’s been really hard for him. He’s had nothing he could depend on but himself for a long time, and it’s been hard for him to learn to trust people.”

Gesturing around at the spacious sleeping quarters, her mother said, “It certainly looks like he’s come to trust you.”

“It took a long time. As recently as a couple of months ago he thought I might walk out on him if I found some human guy I liked better.” She shook her head. “That’s why he was always so rude, selfish, and downright mean--because he was afraid.”

They walked outside to visit the hot spring and the gardens. The older woman sat on the grass by the side of the steaming pool, trying to think of a delicate way to broach the subject. “He seems to be in exceptionally good health.”

Suddenly remembering the circumstances under which they had last parted, Kagome burst into tears, throwing her arms around her mother’s neck. “Oh, Mama,” she sobbed, “I was so scared!”

“Why?” Maybe something really had been wrong after all.

“You remember how I couldn’t sleep? I thought it was because I missed him, but every time I got to sleep, these terrible dreams started--that he was alone, and in pain, and might even die from it.”

The woman looked at her, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary in her daughter. “This kind of thing has happened before, hasn’t it?”

Kagome nodded. “A few times. Once we were all being attacked by a moth youkai that tried to absorb our souls by forcing us to live out our worst fears in dreams. There was a time when Naraku and Kikyou used a youkai tree to do the same thing. Both times Inuyasha was the only one who could bring us out of it. Another time, the well was blocked and I was trapped on the other side. We could talk to each other through the Goshinboku--that’s how I knew what I had to do to get back here. Just a little while ago there was another youkai--this one put us all to sleep so that it could feed on the powerful emotions stirred up by our dreams. Somehow we got into each other’s dreams and woke ourselves up.” She shuddered a little at the memory. “What does that have to do with anything?”

The older woman laughed. “Everything, actually. It’s no coincidence that you were born into a shrine family. I suppose it’s my fault for not telling you to expect this, but it never appears before puberty, and then you’ve been so busy--” She looked directly into the girl’s eyes. “Everybody born into your father’s family has had a little of it. Usually, it’s no more than lucky hunches and intuition. Every few generations, though, the ability appears complete and fully formed. I think,” she said, “That that’s how you were able to create the Shikon no Tama from your own body--and why you could be taken through the well in the first place.”

“And why I could wake up Inuyasha even though he was still sealed.” She nodded slowly. “This explains how I knew that something was wrong before Shippou ever told me.”

“That’s what I don’t understand. What was wrong--he seems fine now.”

The girl smiled sadly. “He is. The whole horrible thing was a sort of reaction to my being gone. It was bad--I wasn’t even sure he would survive to the end of the day.” She gave her mother a very carefully edited account of both the problem and its ultimate resolution. “Anyway, after I was back for a while, the symptoms disappeared. He’s been fine ever since.”

“Well,” the woman said, getting to her feet, “I’m glad you’re both all right. Why don’t we go and find them? I’m sure that Inuyasha must be getting a little weary of dealing with Souta by now.”

Kagome looked thoughtful for a moment. It was true that the hanyou was often impatient--even with the very young. It was, however, equally true that he had recently become much more forgiving. As she thought about it, she honestly couldn’t remember the last time he had taken his anger out on Shippou--or anybody else, for that matter. The closest he had come, in fact, was when he had threatened Myouga-jiichan for disturbing them. With a bright smile, she said, “Let’s go,” and led her mother off in the direction of the village.

They found the hanyou perched on top of a fence, watching the old miko teaching Souta the correct way to harvest, prepare, and use a few simple herbs. As the younger woman intertwined her fingers with those of her mate, Souta introduced his mother to his newest friend. The two women looked at each other for a few seconds, then Kaede broke the brief silence. “So you’re the one who gave us our Kagome.”

The other smiled. “And I guess I have you to thank for taking care of her injuries.”

The old miko shook her head. “What I did was easy. Anybody could have healed her body. I couldn’t help her wounded heart. I’m glad to see,” she said, looking past the other woman to the pair waiting by the fence, “That she managed to find someone who could heal it.”

The answer was, for him, almost jovial. “It’s only right,” he said, “Since I’m the jerk that hurt her in the first place.”

The two women exchanged a knowing glance--they had both seen that only together would either of the young people finally achieve a measure of happiness. Kaede gestured at the boy, who had wandered off to talk to Momigi and Botan. “There’s power in him. Not exactly the same kind as Kagome--more quiet and gentle, maybe.” The old woman spoke quietly. “He may have the makings of a good healer--he seems to have a good sense of where people are hurting.”

The boy’s mother nodded slowly. “He’s always been very sensitive, especially to emotional pain. He’s been a huge help in figuring out what’s been bothering Kagome these past months.”

The girl reddened as she realized that her mother had used her brother’s gentle nature against her. “Mama! You didn’t!”

The older woman smiled sadly. “What choice did I have? You were in pain, and you wouldn’t talk about it. Even if I couldn’t help you, I had to understand why you were so miserable--I knew it wasn’t just some adolescent thing.”

Kagome thought about it, remembering how her mother had given her the first aid kit to treat the hanyou’s wounds after their battle with Yura. She thought of the story her mother had told her about the silly fight she and the man who would one day become Kagome’s father had had the day before he proposed. That had given her the resolve to return to Inuyasha even though he had just made a commitment to protect Kikyou. “Mama,” she said, “You’ll never know how much the things you told me helped--they gave me the courage to do what I knew was right, no matter how scared I was.”

By that evening, the two visitors had met many of the villagers and all of Inuyasha and Kagome’s household who were present. Any reservations they might have had about Kagome’s future here were quickly laid to rest--not only were her unique talents respected by the people around her, but she was obviously greatly loved by those with whom she had chosen to spend her life. Nobody, her mother decided, could hope for more than that.  

The two women sat in the hot spring, thinking about the events of the day. Noticing that the other had grown unusually quiet, Kagome turned to see the faintest hint of sadness on her mother’s face. “What’s wrong, Mama?”

The woman smiled sadly. “It just occurred to me that my little girl is now a grown woman with a life of her own. Your father,” she said, “Would be glad to know that so many people love you.” She reached for the robe she had left at the side of the pool. Pulling a small ledger from a pocket, she said, “Your father and I began this the day you were born. It was going to pay for your wedding one day, as well as providing you with a little start-up money for your new life.”

The girl looked at the last figure in the book, eyes wide. It was a huge sum! With a flash of the intuition that had been growing steadily more accurate ever since her arrival in this world Kagome suddenly understood that the other woman’s vague sadness was mostly due to a lack of closure: although she had in a sense moved on with her life, she had done so without any of the traditional “rites of passage” that eased the transition for those left behind.

She handed the book back to her mother, explaining that she would prefer that the older woman hold on to it for a while longer. “Come on,” she said, grabbing a couple of towels from the side of the pool. “Let’s get you and Souta settled in--you two have had a really long day.”

Later that night she lay in bed, unable to sleep. The brief flash of insight Kagome had experienced regarding her mother had given her a lot to think about. To the hanyou who lay at her side, all that was detectable was a faint hint of sadness apparent in her scent. Reaching out, he pulled her to him. “You miss your world so much?”

Looking up from where she rested her head on his chest, she said, “No, it’s not that.” Trying to keep her voice level despite the lump in her throat, she told him of her conversation with her mother and the strange feelings it had caused.

His arms encircled her in an unbreakable circle of warmth. “What kind of traditions could possibly make it any easier for the people involved?”

Seeing that he was genuinely curious, she sat up a little straighter, leaning against his shoulder. “Oh, all kinds. When somebody finishes school, there’s a big graduation ceremony and party. It’s the same when people get married or move away to take a new job--I guess,” she said, really thinking about it for the first time, “It’s really all about giving the people you’re leaving one last happy memory so they can look back and remember something good and not hurt so much.”

He nodded slowly. It was kind of like what he had tried to do for himself when he had hugged her so fiercely before pushing her back through the well to her own world. That sweet memory, coupled with the knowledge that she was safe, had not erased the pain of separation. It had, however, lessened the torment enough to allow him to go through the motions of his life.

It suddenly occurred to him that this was probably the same kind of pain that Kagome and her family were going through. He began to get the very barest beginnings of an idea. He would definitely need some help with this….