InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Shattered ❯ Unsightly Child Part 2 ( Chapter 2 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Snowflakes drifted silently down to tuck the earth into a blanket of white. Inuyasha watched their enchanting swirling patterns, and felt nothing except the wet chill of his damp clothes against his body. The fire-rat robes may have been fireproof, but they did nothing to guard against water, and he was soaked from being out in the snow.

Winter had come too quickly, and food was almost impossible to find. Cold and hungry, his mind drifted to happier times, times with his mother, before she had died. He was suddenly consumed by loneliness, and the longing of a child for his mother’s arms. He began to cry, feeling helpless and vulnerable, lonely and afraid. For the first time in a long time, he felt like the child he was.

Holding his arms tightly, he got up and tried to bring feeling back into feet so cold they had gone numb. He trudged away through the snow, wiping tears from his face before they froze to his cheeks.

Fumiko sipped her tea, enjoying the warmth it brought to her hands and face as the steam rose from her cup. The place was quiet and empty, the only noise coming from the crackling of the fire in the center of her home. She placed a piece of firewood near the flames, pushing it in with a stick towards the depression in the floor, stopping when it dropped and she heard it hit the rest of the wood with the hiss of falling of ash. She rose, giving the flames a wide berth, and walked towards her door, pulling down her coat and taking her walking stick as she prepared to go outside. A cold gust of wind blew in snow as soon as she opened the door, the shock of cold causing her to shiver. She stepped outside and closed the door, quickly walking towards the nearby hut where she kept Nana. Her fingers touched the wall of her house, brushing off snow in lines as she felt her way along.

Nana bleated miserably as she walked into the small hut. She made soothing sounds, scratching the goat affectionately. She began to feed the animal, and then froze. She turned towards a corner of the hut, listening to the sound of shallow breathing.

“Who’s there?” she asked, quelling the fear she felt rising in her. There was no response. She tentatively stepped towards the source of the breathing when she heard a childish whimper. She froze, and then rushed to the corner, kneeling down.

“Inuyasha?” she whispered as she touched him, gasping at the icy coldness of his skin. She hooked an arm beneath his shoulders and standing, pulled him up on her shoulder, and walked back to the house.

Inuyasha woke from dreams of the warmth of his mother’s arms to the slightly less comfortable, but much more present warmth of blankets and a fire. He blinked slowly, his eyes focusing on his surroundings as his mind struggled to wake up. He blinked again, and then sat up quickly. He went blind for a moment, his body unprepared for the sudden movement after a long rest, and sat still in his dizziness until his vision cleared again. The light of the fire hurt his eyes until they adjusted, and he made out the feminine shadow near the flames. His heart jumped, remembering his dreams of his mother, but it quickly died as Fumiko turned, her sightless eyes gazing at him.

“You’re awake,” she said, without dropping her stare. Inuyasha didn’t reply. She turned back towards the fire, and picked up a bowl of rice, setting it beside where she sat, just where Inuyasha could see it. Inuyasha stared at it, the hunger he had forgotten about pinching his stomach once more.

Fumiko picked up her own chopsticks and with a whispered “itadakimasu,” began to eat her own meal. She chewed slowly, listening, until she heard a quiet rustle of cloth and then the small sound of the ceramic bowl being lifted off the floor. She smiled to herself, and then swallowed.

“I’m afraid all this poor blind woman has to offer is some rice and pickled vegetables. I hope it’s enough.” There was no answering sound except Inuyasha’s chewing. “Chew slowly and drink some water,” she pointed towards a pitcher that held water for drinking “or else you’ll make yourself sick, after going hungry so long. You were so light to carry I wondered if you’ve eaten anything at all since we last met.”

Inuyasha swallowed, looking down at the bowl. It was true, he hadn’t found much else to eat in those few weeks. He managed to find some wild roots, caught a small hare, and found some shriveled vegetables that were tossed away at the edge of the village, deemed unworthy for human consumption by those much less hungry than the small hanyou. He was already considering the edibility of insects when the snows came, too cold and too soon.

Wandering, delirious from hunger and cold, he had found some shelter in the goat shed and stayed there, hoping the snow would stop falling and he could move on before the human owners found him and chased him away.

Had he recognized Nana, he probably would have taken his chances in the snow, rather than face Fumiko again. He had feared what the old woman would do - was her cry for him to come back simply a trick so she could trap him until she could reach the other villagers? Would she raise an alarm until they sent a party of “exterminators” to make rid of him? He, the half-demon monster.

But instead, the woman had brought him to her home, warmed and fed him, again. He had expected many things, but kindness hadn’t been one of them.

He picked the last grains of rice from the bowl, and reached for more vegetables. Fumiko picked the plate up, shaking her head.

“No more tonight. I told you, you’ll make yourself sick.”

Inuyasha growled, trying to scare her, but she just laughed. Frustrated and still hungry, he started to stand to try to snatch the plate, but the wooziness returned and he stumbled. Fumiko heard him fall, and frowned. She leaned over and felt for him, her hand finally alighting on his shoulder. Inuyasha was surprised at the gentleness of her touch as her hand lightly brushed up his neck as she felt towards his forehead. He had forgotten what human skin against his even felt like.

Fumiko frowned as she placed the back of her hand on Inuyasha’s forehead, feeling the heat there.

“You have a fever.”

“I’ll be better soon,” he mumbled. “I heal fast.”

Fumiko pursed her lips, thinking. “That may be so, but you need to rest for now.”

Inuyasha protested, but then didn’t fight when she sternly repeated herself. With food in his belly again, he was beginning to get drowsy, and the blankets he had been wrapped in had been pretty comfortable...

He curled back into his little makeshift bed, and soon fell back asleep.

Fumiko listened as his breathing steadied into the soft, familiar whisper of a sleeping child’s. Her heart ached for memories of her daughter when she had been so small, and of the grandchild that never was. Drawn to the sound, she crept over to where Inuyasha lay, kneeling next to him. She unconsciously reached for him, her hand brushing lightly over his blankets until it found his face. She stroked the smooth skin of his cheek, and swept the hair from his face. She froze as she felt an unfamiliar furry object in the tangled hair. She slowly traced the shape of a dog’s ear.

Inuyasha. Dog demon.

It was true.
Her heart pounded slightly, as tales told in the village of humans slaughtered by youkai echoed in her head.

Youkai or not, he’s still just a child, she thought, firmly. Suddenly the words Inuyasha spoke by the tree when they first met sprang unbidden to her mind. You’re old and blind. I could tear you apart in minutes with my claws.
A slight shiver of fear went down her back. She absently rubbed Inuyasha’s ear, and he turned slightly toward her, rustling the blankets.

“Kaa...san?” he mumbled quietly in his sleep. Fumiko’s heart melted and even the slightest bit of fear disappeared when she heard him call for his mother in his sleep.

“Kaa-san?” he called again. “Whatsa hanyou... kaa-san?” He began tossing slightly, apparently upset by his dream. Fumiko leaned over him, shushing him as she stroked his hair and ears once more. He quieted, falling back into deep sleep.

Fumiko felt her eyes sting as tears began to form. This poor orphaned creature... a hanyou, a child of mixed descent, completely alone... his parents dead and himself left to wander the forest like a beast.

And like a wounded animal, he had crawled to her door in search of comfort in the form of food and shelter, and she had taken him in.

“My poor stray puppy,” she whispered as she gently ran her fingertips over his sleeping face. “What will I do with you?”

I had really planned to finish this story in two parts, but I wrote some and really wanted to post it... so here this is. The next section will be the end of it, I think. Hope you enjoyed it. C&C is always loved.