InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Short Straw ❯ Chapter four ( Chapter 4 )

I'm having a lot of fun coming up with things for this story. On most of my other stories, it's for the most part touch and go, so it takes a while to put out chapters. But I'll be popping chappies out rather quickly here, since I have so much stuff planned. Hee! I'm sure this is a rather boring story right now, but I'm having fun with it, and I promise it will get interesting really quick!

Thanks for reading, everyone! JA!

The Short Straw

By Flamingwillows

Chapter four

"A girl with a gentle temperament- that's what I want." Koga squinted against the sun. "One who won't throw fits at a man."

"The woman ain't been born who won't throw a fit." Miroku gave his brother a pointed glance.

The brothers were riding back to the ranch in the mid-afternoon sun. After church they'd had lunch with Reverend Kaede, who'd done her best to talk Koga out of his determination to find a wife.

`What about love?' the old woman had asked, running her hands through her almost white hair. Though he'd been loath to admit it, the question had given Koga a pause. It had made him think of the bonds between his mother and father; of the way they'd seemed to complete each other. After her husband's death Koharu had carried on, but there'd been something missing, a light that no longer shone in her eyes.

But love like that is a rare thing, he told himself. And he couldn't afford to spend his life hoping he'd be lucky enough to find such a thing for himself. Besides, he was a little too old to be chasing after dreams like that. If he hadn't found a great love by now, he wasn't likely to find it, especially with the ranch demanding most of his time. Even if he wanted to go off on some wild-goose chase to find a woman he could love, he didn't have the time for it. No, a marriage based on more practical considerations would suit him just fine.

"You see any likely looking girls?" Miroku's question dragged his thoughts back to the present. His eyes slid over to meet his brother's gaze. "There were pretty girls there. If I'd known there were so many pretty church-going girls, I might have been more inclined to pay my respects to the Lord on a regular basis."

"Careful. You don't want to find yourself at the wrong end of a father's shotgun." Koga paused, then grinned. "Of course if you did, there wouldn't be any reason for me to get married."

"I've got no intention of doing anything foolish," Miroku said, dashing any hopes he might have had. "Though, from the looks of some of those girls, I'm not sure it'd be such a hardship to take one to wife. That redhead wasn't hard on the eyes, and a bit of temper might make life interesting. A little fire can be a good thing."

"In a horse, maybe, but not in a wife. My life is interesting enough."

"What about the dark one? The widow?" Miroku asked next. "She was easy on the eyes."

Koga considered Sango Kurata briefly then shook his head. "Kaede says she lives on her own. A woman who's been living on her own is likely to be set in her ways. I want a girl who's willing to get set in my ways."

"How about the one with the red eyes?" Miroku suggested. "Can't say I'd mind looking at that one over the breakfast table."

"Too young." Koga dismissed Kagura out of hand. "Besides, I'd bet my last dime there's a streak of mean in that one that'd make a man's life pretty unpleasant. And a girl that pretty probably spends half her time in front of a looking glass, admiring her own reflection." He sighed. "What I want is a girl who's not so young that she's got her head full of romantic notions but not old enough to be set in her ways. Pleasant enough looking that it won't be hard to go about the business of having sons with her but not so pretty that she'll expect me to spend all my time admiring her. She's got to be strong and willing to work."

"That's quite a shopping list," Miroku said. "You see a girl you think might live up to it?"

"Kagome Higurashi," Koga said.

"Don't remember meeting a Kagome Higurashi," Miroku said after a moment. He frowned at the endless vista of prairie ahead of them. "She wasn't the one with the nose like a buzzard, was she?"

"No." Koga shot him an irritated glance, though he couldn't have said just why it annoyed him that Miroku didn't remember the girl. "She was the one standing next to the girl with the red eyes. The cousin."

"The one wearing the god-awful hat," Miroku said, making the proper identification.

"Her choice of headgear don't interest me." Koga said shortly. Privately, he promised himself that the first thing he'd do when they got married was burn that hat.

"There ain't much to her," Miroku said, just as he had when Koga had asked Kaede about her.

"I'm looking for a wife, not a pack mule." Koga said irritably.

"Need some of the same qualities in both," Miroku said. "Strong and steady, even-tempered-" He caught his brother's annoyed look and broke off, but there was nothing repentant about his grin. "Course, I've never seen a pack mule I wanted to share a bed with."

"Pack mule's got more sense than to look at the likes of you," Koga said.

"So you thing Kagome Higurashi is the one?"

"I won't know till I've had a chance to talk her a bit more."

"I don't know, Koga. Marrying is a serious business." The laughter died out of Miroku's eyes, which were a similar clear blue to his brother's. "Maybe this ain't such a good idea, after all. Maybe we ought to just forget the whole idea and try another housekeeper."

If he'd thought about it, Koga would have said that he wanted nothing more than to give up the idea of finding himself a wife. And here was Miroku, saying he should give it up. He opened his mouth to agree that it was a dumb idea from the start and that they should put it behind them. Then he found himself remembering Kagome's big brown eyes, the shy smile in them and heard her voice saying that she'd lived in Black Dog six years, four months and twelve days.

"I said I was going to find a wife and that's what I'm going to do," he heard himself say stubbornly.

Out of the corner of his eye, Koga saw Miroku's surprised look. Since he was no less surprised himself, the last thing he wanted to do was talk about his decision. He nudged the gray gelding into a canter, effectively putting an end to their conversation. For some reason, the idea of having a wife just didn't seen as bad as it once had.

The Wednesday after he and Miroku had attended church, Koga found himself driving the buckboard into Black dog to pick up supplies. He hadn't expected to find himself back in town so soon and was irritated by the necessity. But since their last cook had decided that California's winters would suit his old bones more than the biting prairie winds, Koga and Miroku had been sharing the duty and it was Koga's turn to make the trip. He heard the tinny sound of a piano from the Gold Dust Saloon as he drove past and decided he'd stop by for a drink before making the long, dusty drive back to the ranch. It wasn't much consolation for a wasted day but it was better than nothing.

They had to find another cook, he thought irritably. Or a wife. His eye narrowed as his attention was caught by a particularly ugly hat- a familiar hat. The woman wearing it was walking briskly down the boardwalk, the skirts of her blue dress swaying invitingly. As Koga watched, she pushed open the door of the general store, and he allowed himself a grin. Maybe this trip wouldn't be such a waste of time, after all.

When her aunt Kikyo had sent her out to buy a length of linen for new towels, Kagome had welcomed the chance to get out in the spring sunshine. And going to the general store would give her an opportunity to make amends to Hojo for her blatant inattention to him after church on Sunday. When Reverend Kaede had brought the Sukanami brothers over to be introduced, Hojo had been promptly and somewhat rudely forgotten. She couldn't expect to draw a proposal from him if she ignored him just because she'd been introduced to another man. Even if that other man did happen to be the most attractive-

But that wasn't the point, she reminded herself. Even if Koga Sukanami was the embodiment of every girlish fantasy she'd ever had, she was no longer a girl. She was twenty now and it was time to put away her childish dreams There was no knight in shining armor to come riding out of the prairie and sweep her off to a better life. She was going to have to build that better life for herself, and Hojo offered her the best hope for a new future.

So she'd put on her favorite dress, a dusty blue cotton that suited her coloring much better than Kagura's castoffs, and she'd put on the ugly hat Hojo had thought suited her. She'd wondered briefly if she could really be contemplating spending the rest of her life with a man who had such horrid taste in millinery, but then reminded herself that there could be worse things. Like living any longer with her aunt and uncle.

Drawing a deep breath, Kagome pushed open the door. She immediately had the urge to turn tail and run, but the little bell above the door had already given away her presence. Hojo was stepping out from behind the counter his face wreathed in a smile.

"Kagome, what a pleasure to see you again so soon. What can I help you with today?"

Kagome gave him her warmest smile. "My aunt was hoping you'd have some good linen toweling. We've just finished spring cleaning, and she'd like some fresh towels to finish things off."

"I have just the thing. Got it from St. Louis not two weeks ago." Kagome followed him as he went to find the requested item. Looking at his scarecrow thin figure and neatly combed hair, she tried not to picture a pair of broad shoulders beneath a plain black coat and a head of unruly dark hair in need of a cut.

"Best money can buy," Hojo said proudly as he lifted a bolt of fabric onto the counter. "Your aunt won't find any better, even if she went to Denver."

"It looks like just what she had in mind." Kagome murmured. Her eyes were drawn to a bolt of royal blue grenadine. The rich deep hue would suit her coloring better than her cousin's brightly colored castoffs. She reached out to finger the soft material, picturing it made up in a simple gown with a minimum of decoration, with perhaps a touch of lace at the neckline and wrists to soften the severity of the cut.

"That's much too dark a color for a young lady such as yourself, Kagome." At Hojo's comment, Kagome let her hand drop away from the fabric. "Something in a softer shade, perhaps. My late wife favored pinks and the softest of blues." He seemed to suddenly realize to whom he was speaking and flushed a deep shade of red. "I hope you don't mind me mentioning my wife."

"Not at all. It's only natural that you think of her."

"Yes, but life goes on, and I've put aside my grief and am looking forward to the future."

The fervent look he gave her left no doubt that he was hoping the future he looked toward included her. Looking into his muddy eyes, Kagome felt her heart sink. Was she really contemplating spending the rest of her life with this man? At most, she felt a mild liking for Hojo. Could a happy marriage be built on so little?

She was saved the necessity of having to answer either him or herself by the jangle of the bell over the door. It rang again almost immediately and the harsh tones of Yuka Kurosaki admonishing her son echoed through the store. Hojo glanced over Kagome's head toward the front of the store.

"Are you in a hurry, Kagome?"

"Not at all. Please take care of your other customers, Hojo. I'll find plenty to occupy myself." She was relived when he hurried back toward the front of the store. Perhaps if she didn't have to look at him, she'd be able to bolster her determination a little.

She heard Hojo greet Yuka, heard Yuka's son offer some whined complaint, the words indistinguishable. She reached out to finger the blue grenadine again. She had a little money, but it would be wildly foolish to spend it on a bolt of cloth when she already had perfectly fine dresses hanging in her room. But wouldn't it be wonderful to wear something that suited her, Kagome thought wistfully. In a dress like the one she'd envisioned, she wouldn't feel like such a little dab of a female. She'd feel elegant and almost pretty. Maybe even pretty enough to draw the eye of a man as handsome as Koga Sukanami.

At the sound of someone approaching she snatched her hand back form the fabric and turned, annoyed to feel herself flushing as if she were guilty of some crime. Koga stood not three feet from her, and Kagome felt her breath catch and her cheeks blush fiery red. She pressed one hand to her bosom, as if to physically still the sudden pounding of her heart.

Koga wondered why he ever thought of her as plain. The face beneath that god-awful hat was not beautiful by any means, but it was certainly not plain. Not with those big brown eyes that made him think of a fawn and that full mouth that seemed just about made for a man to kiss. Her flush deepened and he realized he'd been staring at her without speaking.

"Miss Higurashi. Reverend Kaede introduced us at church last Sunday."

"I remember, Mr. Sukanami." `As if I could forget.'

"A new spring dress?" he asked, gesturing to the bolt of grenadine.

"Oh, no." She glanced guiltily at the beautiful fabric. "I'm just here to buy new toweling for my aunt. We just finished spring cleaning and she wanted fresh towels.

"Spring cleaning." Koga remembered his mother's annual frenzy of cleaning when every rug had to be taken out and hung on a line to have the dirt beat out of it. The memory was superseded by an image of the layers of dust and dirt that covered her once tidy home, and he winced.

"If you'll excuse me, Mr. Sukanami."

Kagome started to step around him and Koga saw his opportunity to talk to her vanishing,

"I was wondering if I might ask your advice, Miss Higurashi."

"My advise?" She raised her dark eyebrows in surprise. "I can't imagine a topic on which you could possibly need my advice, Mr. Sukanami."

Neither could he, but it had been the only thing he could think of to say to keep her from leaving. Now she actually expected him to ask her something. He shot a quick glance around, looking for inspiration. He could hardly claim to have come in to buy new toweling. The coincidence would be too great.

"Curtains," he said abruptly, remembering the graying rags that hung in the kitchen window of the ranch house. "I . . .ah . . . wanted to buy fabric for curtains. I was hoping you could offer some suggestions."

"Curtains?" She looked surprised. "What kind of curtains?"

"For the kitchen," Koga answered with a promptness that concealed the fact that the idea had just occurred to him.

"To tell the truth, since our mother died, my brother and I have sort of let the place go a bit and I was just thinking it was time to put a little work into it."

At the mention of his mother's death, Kagome's face softened. It wasn't really proper for her to talk to a stranger like this, but she knew how difficult it was to lose a parent. And the idea that he cared enough about his mother's home went straight to her tender heart. She didn't think most men would even have noticed worn curtains.

"How big are the windows?" she asked briskly, deciding that propriety could be pushed aside, just this once.

Koga held out his hands to estimate the size, but Kagome's attention was drawn to the width of his chest. He was wearing a plain blue shirt tucked into denim pants, and the soft cotton clung to muscles no decent woman should be noticing. She blushed and dragged her eyes away from the broad strength of his body. What on earth had gotten into her? she wondered as she forced her attention to the task at hand and began looking for something suitable to make curtains.

"Do you enjoy living in town, Miss Higurashi?'

"It's certainly convenient," she said. She frowned at a length of blue calico before setting it aside. "But I've no particular fondness for it. When I was a child, I always long to settle in one place where I could have a garden and a real home." She stopped abruptly, embarrassed at having revealed so much of herself. But when she slid a quick glance at Koga, he didn't look as if there was anything untoward in what she'd said.

"You traveled a great deal?"

"My father did, and I traveled with him. I tried to make a home wherever we stopped, but there's not a great deal you can do with a hotel room." Her mouth curved in a rueful little smile.

So her father traveled a lot, Koga thought. And she'd always longed for to settle in one place. Well, he could certainly offer her a home and room for the garden she'd said she wanted. From the sound of it, those might be powerful arguments, if and when he proposed.

"I think plain muslin might be best, after all." She said, drawing Koga's attention to a bolt of the stuff.

"I'll have to find someone to make the curtains." He said.

Kagome opened her mouth to offer to do the work but closed it without speaking. She'd already been bold enough. If her aunt heard that she'd been talking with a man in the general store, particularly a man like Koga , whom her aunt had already earmarked as a possible suitor for Kagura, she'd never hear the end of it.

"Ayumi Mudou does sewing," She said instead. "She has a little house on the north edge of town and she does good work for a reasonable price." It had to be her overactive imagination that made her think he looked disappointed.

Behind them, the bell over the door tinkled, announcing the departure of Yuka Kurosaki and her obstreperous son. Though Kagome couldn't see past Koga's large frame, she could hear Hojo hurrying in their direction. She felt a totally irrational resentment toward him for interrupting. Not that there was really anything to interrupt, she reminded herself.

"Are you finding everything you need, Miss Kagome?" At Hojo's question, Koga reluctantly stepped aside to allow the other man to pass him. Hojo moved to stand next to Kagome, his weak eyes darting from her to Koga with suspicion. There was a certain possessiveness in the way he stood, a look only another man would recognize. Koga's gaze sharpened on Kagome's face, but if there was any reason for Hojo to feel possessive, he couldn't read anything in her expression. Something told him that any feelings of possessiveness were strictly on Hojo's side. The thought pleased him.

"If you'll cut some of the linen for me, I'll be on my way." Kagome said, giving Hojo a quick impersonal smile.

"I'll be with you in a minute, Mr. Sukanami." Hojo said as he and Kagome walked past.

"I'm in no rush."

The storekeeper's hand hovered a moment, almost touching the small of Kagome's back, and Koga was surprised by the annoyance he felt at the idea of the other man touching her. When Hojo's hand dropped away without making contact, Koga felt a satisfaction out of proportion to the moment. He followed them to the front of the store.

Kagome was vividly aware of Koga's blue eyes watching her while Hojo cut the fabric for her aunt. She told herself that she was not so foolish as to read anything into his interest. She'd just happened to be nearby when he'd found himself needing a woman's opinion. He'd probably have been just as happy to ask Yuka Kurosaki, if she'd been handy. But the brisk mental lecture didn't have any effect on her rapid heartbeat.

When the toweling had been cut and wrapped in paper, she gave Hojo an absent thank-you without really seeing him. Picking up the package, she turned to leave, her eyes catching Koga's.

"I hope the new curtains are what you wanted, Mr. Sukanami." She hoped he wouldn't notice the slight breathlessness in her voice.

"Thank you for your help, Miss Higurashi." He nodded and smiled at her, and Kagome hurried out before she could make a fool out of herself by collapsing at his feet.

Koga let his eyes follow her as she left, watching her walk past the big front window. It wasn't until she'd disappeared from sight that he turned his attention to Hojo. The suspicion in his eyes had deepened but Koga ignored it. Hojo had had plenty of time to make his interest known to the girl. If he hadn't done so, then he had no one to blame but himself if someone else moved faster.

Koga gave him the order for the supplies. He loaded a case of canned peaches and sacks of flour, sugar and other staples into the buckboard. It wasn't until they were almost done that he remembered the curtains he was supposedly anxious to have made. He didn't give a damn about curtains but, remembering Kagome's earnest help, he felt his conscience tug at him. Moving to the fabrics, he picked up the muslin she'd indicated. He started to carry it to the front of the store and then hesitated. Obeying an impulse, he picked up the bolt of blue fabric she'd been fingering. If he married her, he could give it to her. And if he didn't, well, then, he could give it to whoever he did marry.