Wow, this is like the third one shot I've made within the last month! What can I say, the inspiration keeps coming. Anyways, this fic is based on a story I just read in English class called "The Open Window" by Saki. I thought it was amusing, to say the least, so I thought I'd come up with an Inuyasha version to entertain you all. Warning: OC-ness and plot changes that are absolutely necessary to the flow of the story, so don't complain to me about them. Enjoy.
…
Mr. Houshi patted his brow nervously with his sleeve, wiping away the little beads of sweat collecting on his skin. It suddenly seemed much too warm to be clothed in his elaborate monk's apparel. His Buddhist staff lay placidly at his feet, jingling every now and then as a hot breeze blew through the open hut door.
"So, Mr. Houshi, or may I call you Miroku?" the young woman before him was saying. Her tone was confident and self-assured, and it partly contributed to Miroku's unease. "You say you're new to this area?" The monk looked up at the speaker and smiled genially, hiding his discomfort. He'd never be purposefully rude to a beautiful maiden.
"Why, yes, Ms. Higurashi, I just arrived in this village a week ago. My wife was telling me how beautiful it was around here and I decided to see for myself.
"She suggested I stop by this area, since an old family friend of hers apparently heads the village. Ms. Kaede has been very kind to my beloved Sango over the years, so I thought I'd come by and thank her personally."
Kagome Higurashi smiled pleasantly, but her light brown eyes looked dull with boredom. The monk had hardly been interesting company these last few minutes. The man had simply shown up at her doorstep, blubbering about a friend of his wife's, and asked if he could come in.
On top of that, she was positive his hand had brushed over her rump just as he'd passed through the door. And even now, as they sat in the middle of the little wooden hut that was Kaede's and waited for the older woman to return from her trip to her herb garden, he'd brought only the dullest conversation imaginable to her.
Kagome smiled again and tossed her shiny ebony locks over her shoulder, noting how the visitor's eyes trailed over them before darting down to the rest of her body. "Yes, Ms. Kaede is a wonderful woman—very kind. She's been my guardian ever since—" And suddenly, Kagome's voice lost a touch of its confidence.
Miroku's brow furrowed as he watched the young woman carefully. He might have been imagining it, but it seemed her lip was trembling just the tiniest bit. He pulled at the collar of his clothes as another hot breeze blew in through the open door. I can't understand why she'd let all this hot air in; It's mid-summer!
Miroku shook his head, realizing there were more important matters to attend to.
"Is something wrong, Ms. Higurashi? You seem upset."
Kagome opened her mouth to answer, but all that escaped from between her lips was a quiet sob. She took a deep breath and seemed to be visibly composing herself. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go on like that. I was just remembering something dreadful…."
"No, please don't apologize!" Miroku was definitely concerned now. Before, the young lady had been all grins and suaveness; now she seemed one step away from an emotional breakdown.
Kagome smiled gently. "You seem like an honorable man, Mr. Houshi. May I tell you a story?" Miroku nodded eagerly, wishing to live up to this high praise if he could. Kagome turned her head to the side and examined the open door to the hut. "You must be wondering why we'd keep a door open this steamy time of year, especially near sunset when all the bugs come out."
Miroku nodded, honestly admitting his curiosity. Kagome closed her eyes and continued, "It all happened three years ago to the day. This story is always clearest to me on its anniversary, so you're lucky to be hearing it now. I had just arrived at this town with my new husband, a wonderful man named Inuyasha.
"We were welcomed by the village folk and had dreams of settling down comfortably and starting a family together. But then…." Kagome broke off again with a small sob, as if she'd remembered something too horrible for words.
"What is it?" Miroku asked, concern shining in his mahogany eyes.
"My husband loved to go hunting in the afternoon, and he usually would not return until sunset. One day, he left to go on his usual trip with my brother-in-law, Sesshoumaru, and another close friend, Kouga. I waited for them for hours, and then for days, but…"
Kagome's voice faltered again. "They never returned." At this, the woman broke down completely and began to cry, tears spilling from her eyes like tiny, sorrowful jewels. Miroku clasped a hand over his mouth in shock. "That's dreadful! Whatever happened to them?"
Kagome wiped her tear-streaked cheeks, somehow managing to look even more beautiful and replied, "No one is quite certain. The villagers searched the hunting woods, but they never found any trace of them… not a single body, or even blood-soaked rag."
Miroku's heart throbbed for the poor woman, noting her desolate state after having to tell such an emotional tale. "Please stop, Ms. Higurashi, before we're both left crying."
The woman managed a trembling smile. "But I haven't reached the end of my tale. Kaede is indeed a wonderful woman, but she has not aged well over the years. Inuyasha was practically like a son to her, and after he vanished…"
Kagome paused, as if considering her words. "She kind of lost touch with the world. It's as if she expects them to be back at any moment, even though it's been years since anyone has seen them.
"She talks for hours sometimes about how she'll surely need to clean Inuyasha's red hakama when he returns, since he can never keep it clean, and how Sesshoumaru will look gloomy, as usual, but he'll smile when he sees she baked his favorite pie. And she never fails to mention how Kouga will surely be squabbling with my husband over who managed to catch the biggest game. It's all rather unsettling."
Miroku nodded uneasily. "Understandably so. The poor woman must have just been destroyed with grief."
Kagome nodded as well. "Yes, so destroyed, in fact, that every year, on the anniversary of their disappearance, she keeps our hut door open from afternoon to midnight, as if she expects them to come walking through at any moment. I know it was very kind of her to take me in after my husband's death, but I can't help but wonder if its healthy to live with one in such an erratic state of mind."
As if on cue, an old woman suddenly walked through the door of the hut, carrying a large basket of sweet-smelling herbs in the crook of her arm.
"Well, Kagome, I wish I'd known we had a visitor!" the woman said as she set the basket down and bowed to Miroku. The monk returned the polite gesture, smiling.
"Good evening, Ms. Kaede, you're just the woman I wanted to see!"
She grinned warmly. "Oh, really? That's fortunate. I thought for sure you were here to see my son, Inuyasha. I was afraid I was going to have to tell you to wait for him. He, his brother, and his best friend all went hunting not long ago, but they're sure to be back any minute now."
Miroku's smile became a grimace, as he wondered how he should respond. The delusional woman made no notice of how uncomfortable her guest had become, even as he struggled to think of something to say.
Before he could say a word however, Kaede had continued, "Of course, Inuyasha will be in no state to see a visitor when he returns. He always gets his hakama so dirty on these little excursions. And Sesshoumaru will show you no hospitality. Poor dog was always such a recluse. But don't worry, he'll soften up once I offer him some pie."
Miroku pulled at his collar again, becoming increasingly more nervous. Kaede continue to chatter on happily, "Inuyasha and Kouga act just like an old married couple. They squabble over the silliest things sometimes… Well, there's no need for you to hear it from me. You'll meet them yourself soon enough."
Miroku finally decided it would be best to change the subject. "Ms. Kaede, perhaps you remember my wife? Her name is…"
He was cut off as the old woman's eyes suddenly turned to the open door. "Oh, look, here's my son now."
At first, Miroku wasn't sure he'd heard her right. He glanced over at Kagome, hoping for some hint as to what she meant. He stopped short when he saw the expression on her lovely face. Kagome's eyes were riveted on something outside the hut's door and had become filled with dazed terror. Her lips trembled violently, and her skin was the color of ashy snow. The shaking spread to the rest of her body, as she seemed to become filled with heart-stopping horror.
With fearful reluctance, Miroku turned his own eyes toward the open door. Stepping out of the distant sunset like a golden nightmare were three shadowy figures. The first wore a bright red hakama that was indeed splattered with mud. The second stood straight and proud, like a monarch surveying a horde of peasants. He had the same golden eyes and white hair as the first, and they seemed to be closely related.
The third had pulled-back black hair and was gesturing wildly to a dead deer slung over his shoulder, obviously comparing it to the one slung over the first male's shoulder. Miroku's eyes widened to twin brown moons. It took him half a second to stand up, grab his staff, and race out of the hut with the fury of a bat from hell.
A moment later, the three men reached the cabin and strode through the open door.
"Thanks for leaving the door open for us, Ms. Kaede," Kouga said as he bent down and kissed the woman's cheek.
"Oh, you didn't think I'd forget my three favorite boys, did you?" the woman asked cheerfully as the other two followed suit.
Inuyasha turned to his wife and kissed her thoroughly. "I missed you while I was gone. Did you miss me?"
Kagome smiled distantly. "Very much so. That man wasn't very interesting."
"Who was that anyway?" Sesshoumaru asked in a monotone voice, clearly not caring about the answer. His gloomy face brightened when Kaede suddenly pulled a steaming pie from nowhere and placed it in front of his face.
"Yeah, and why'd he run away like that?" Inuyasha added, as he snatched up a slice of pie before Sesshoumaru could eat it all.
"Just some poor soul looking for a place to rest. I think you may have scared him away, darling. He was telling me just before you arrived about a time when he was a child when he was trapped in a cemetery at night. It was raining, and all these graveyard hounds started chasing him. He was forced to spend the night hiding in an open grave while the dogs howled and scratched and snapped their jaws at the mouth."
Kaede gasped. "That poor man! It must have frightened him terribly to see two dog demons approaching, after what happened to him. To think, chased by hounds as a child."
Kagome giggled and replied, "At least it gives us something to talk about."
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, nothing." She smiled dreamily.
Fiction on short notice was her specialty.
The end.