This is the third of a series of fairy tale based one-shots.
It is rated T for the overall theme.
Disclaimer: I claim to own nothing. Do with that information what you will.
The answer to chapter two's riddle: Kagome had been free of the curse the entire night. She was the only flower not covered in dew.
Inuyasha the Smart
Long ago, in a village by the sea there lived a clever lad named Inuyasha. He had fallen in love with a maiden on the other side of the village named Kagome and the two were to be wed. On his way to visit her one day his Auntie Kaede smiled and asked, "Where are you off to today?"
"I'm off to see my bride; perhaps she has something for me." Inuyasha said as he flicked his silvery hair over his shoulder and went about his way.
When he arrived to his bride's home he found the young Kagome smiling brightly at him. "Oh my dear Inuyasha, did you bring me a token?" She asked twirling around on her heel before running up to him and hugging him tightly.
"I did not; I thought maybe you had one for me…" The boy replied, raising his eyebrow at the young girl while scratching the back of his head.
"Oh… well I suppose you should have this then." The girl mused handing the boy a needle. "Perhaps I shall see you tomorrow, for soon we shall be wed."
"Of course you silly wench…" The boy replied before receiving a firm plucking from his bride to be. She stuck out her tongue at him and didn't watch as he left. Inuyasha followed a hay wagon back across the village, but he tired of holding on to the needle his beloved gave him. So he set the needle in the haystack and continued home.
When the boy found his way home his auntie asked how his visit went. And when he told her of it and the location of the token Kagome had given him she scolded him. "Silly boy, you should have placed the needle in your sleeve, not in a pile of hay."
"Oh, that makes sense; I suppose I shall do better next time." The boy replied before he settled into bed awaiting the new day. In the morning he once again set off to his bride's home. This time he came upon her cooking. She smiled up at him having seemingly forgotten about his poor choice in words from the day before. "Oh my dear sweet Inuyasha, did you bring me a token?"
"I did not; I thought maybe you had one for me…" The boy replied again. Kagome frowned a bit before shrugging her shoulders and handing him a knife.
"Oh… well I suppose you should have this then." The girl mused before concentrating on her food preparation once more. "Perhaps I shall see you tomorrow, for soon we shall be wed."
"Of course you silly wench…" The boy replied before receiving a firm tug on his dog like ears that sat upon his head. She once again stuck her tongue out at him and did not watch him as he left.
As Inuyasha made his way home he realized that the knife was quite sharp and he didn't want to keep it in his hands, so he stuck it in his sleeve. Happy with his problem solving skills, he arrived home just before sunset.
And when his auntie asked him of his trip he proudly showed her his token, stuck steadfast in the sleeve of his new shirt. "Silly boy, you should not have placed the knife in your sleeve, you should have placed it in your pocket." She scolded before sighing to herself.
"Oh, that makes sense; I suppose I shall do better next time." The boy replied before eating his ramen for dinner and then being sent off to bed.
The next day mirrored the others. But this time he found his bride in the back of house tending to her livestock. "Oh my dear Inuyasha, perhaps today you brought me a token?" She asked still hopeful.
But he once again replied, "I did not; I thought maybe you had one for me…"
The girl let out a light sigh but promised to not lose faith in her future groom, such an action would be ungodly. She pushed a young goat towards him before making her way inside. "I suppose you should have that then… And I'll see you in the morrow…" She called over her shoulder not even bothering to listen to his response.
"Of course you silly wench…" The boy muttered under his breath, quite happy that this time his bride couldn't hear him. He picked up the goat and started on his way home.
Half way through the journey he became tired of the goat's erratic movements and attempts of escape. So he stuffed the poor creature in his pocket. The animal did fight most of the way but became strangely still when Inuyasha approached his house. As he removed the animals head from his pocket he saw why. The creature had been smothered.
And his auntie was not pleased with him for wasting such a good animal. She chided him and pulled his ear while saying, "Silly boy, you should have led the goat home on a string, not stuff it into your pocket."
"Oh, that makes sense; I suppose I shall do better next time." The boy replied before sitting in the fields and musing on his week. Surely, he promised himself, he would do better next time.
The next day he once again made the trek to his bride's home. This time he picked some roses on the way. When he arrived Kagome stood in the kitchen readying some meat for dinner. She turned on her heel and smiled when she heard him enter. "Oh my dear Inuyasha, today you brought me a token?" She was expecting nothing but she received a handful of roses. And though their thorns cut at her palms, at least he had tried.
"I thought maybe you too had one for me…" He said after the girl had placed the flowers in a glass vase.
"Oh well, I suppose you should have this then…" Kagome said softly handing the boy a generous piece of meat. "I'll see you in the morrow, yes? Our wedding day draws near." She said with a smile.
"Oh course you silly wench…" The boy replied before his bride flicked his nose quite harshly and refused to watch him go.
He made his way back across the village dragging the meat on a piece of string as he went. But he found as he got home that dogs had come and eaten the meat from the string and he was most disappointed.
His auntie scolded him when he told her of his tale. "Silly boy, you should have carried the meat over your head, not led it here on a string." She watched as the boy walked to his room with his shoulders slumped. Perhaps the tale his mother had once told her about the boy being dropped on his head was true. But alas, at least he would soon be wedded.
The boy arose the next morning and made his way to his bride's homestead, once again grabbing a bunch of roses for her. Their normal banter persisted and this time she gifted him with a calf before kicking him in the bottom for declaring her a wench and refusing to watch him leave.
And so he carried the calf over his head, and it promptly kicked him in the eye. He dropped it and it ran far away. He sighed before making his way home, his face downtrodden. When he spoke to his auntie of his day she gave him a sigh. "Silly boy, you should have led it to the barn and tied it steadfast there." She patted him on the head and sent him to bed.
The next day Inuyasha once again made his way to Kagome's home. Through the village he dragged himself before seeing his bride's face. "Oh my dear Inuyasha, what is the matter?" She asked.
"Nothing, perhaps you have a token for me?" Inuyasha asked.
"No, I shall go with you home instead…" She said before wiping her hands on her apron and following her groom to his home. But he led her past his home and to the barn where he tied her steadfast to a post. She was quite enraged but he ignored her before heading to his house.
His auntie smiled at him but it slowly became grim as he recounted that day's tale. "Silly boy, you should cast loving eyes upon her, not tie her to a post! Release her at once!" His auntie scolded as she pushed him out the door.
Inuyasha made his way back to the barn, once there, he cut out the eyes of all the live stock and tossed them at his now terrified bride. He cut her binds and yelled, "You are released!" The girl looked at him as though he was mad before slapping him right across the face and fleeing, not once looking back.
And that is how Inuyasha lost his bride.
