Disclaimer: Inuyasha and all of its characters are property of the brilliant Takahashi-sama and I claim no ownership of them.
AN: Round 4 only has one winner, as no one guessed on , so congrats to Izzy on Dokuga for the correct answer of 'Painter in the Woods'. This chapter is dedicated to you :). I will be uploading your winner banner in just a moment and will send you the link. Round five: "I think I wanted you just as much as I couldn't have you." Good luck all :).
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Chapter 6:
"Good morning, Lady Kaede," Kagome greeted as the older woman crossed the threshold into her hut where Kagome was waiting for her. Kaede returned the greeting, though with none of her usual cheerfulness, which did not go unnoticed by Kagome and she turned toward the older priestess worried. "What's wrong?" she inquired concerned, seeing her face marred with annoyance. Kaede continued to grumble softly to herself, as she had been when she arrived, as she made her way over to the fire and took her usual seat next to it.
"Some of the villagers are having a problem with rodents and nothing we seem to do has been able to get rid of them. In fact, they just seem to be multiplying. I have spent this morning listening to everyone complain about them getting into the food storage, crewing holes into futons and constantly being under foot," Kaede explained with a sigh as she poured a cup of tea for both of them before handing Kagome hers.
"Strange, we haven't noticed any problem in our village and it's not that far away. I will talk to Sango about it though. Maybe she can use the same stuff she does to get rid of rat demons on them. I'll go talk to her now and let you know what she says," Kagome told her, taking a few sips of the hot tea before setting her cup down and making her way out of the hut. She would have preferred staying to finish it off, and talk more with Kaede, but figured it was better to get Sango started on the problem as soon as possible if she was able to.
Nodding her head in greeting to the villagers she passed, Kagome quickly made her way back toward their little village. Though as she met Sango on her way, she ended up not having to go very far. "I was just coming to see you," Kagome greeted with a smile as she stopped and waited for Sango to close the last few feet between them. "Lady Kaede says the village is having a rodent problem and I was wondering if you could use those smoke bombs you've used on rat demons before on regular rodents as well?"
"Yeah there should be no problem with it, in fact, it should be more effective on non-demon rodents since it is strong enough to work on demons. The only problem is I will have to pretty much smoke out the entire village, to make sure I got them all at once, and it won't be safe for the villagers to be there. I don't exactly have enough masks for everyone and the smoke isn't really safe for a large exposure. The villagers would have to leave for the entire day until the smoke had the chance to clear out," Sango informed her.
"Leave that to me, I have the perfect idea. I'll go inform Laed Kaede," Kagome told her with a smile as she turned and began heading back the way she had just come a few moments before. Sango watched her for a few moments before continuing on in the direction she had been going before running into Kagome. Kagome picked up the pace, wanting to relay the information to Kaede quickly, and soon enough, had arrived back at the hut.
Entering Kaede's hut once again, she found the elderly woman where she had left her and retook her seat next to the fire, picking up her still hot tea from where she had left it. Figuring it would not take her long to return, Kaede had left it there for her. "Sango says there shouldn't be any problem, but that everyone will have to leave the village while she's taking care of the problem. I was thinking that we could have a day long festival a little ways away from the village to keep everyone busy."
"That is a good idea, child. If ye would be willing to acquire some meat, it would be greatly appreciated," Kaede requested, knowing Kagome would soon ask if there was anything she could do to help, just as she always did. Kagome smiled at the older woman for knowing her so well before taking a few sips of her tea, savoring the slightly bitter flavor.
"Of course, I'll have the boys go out hunting later. The kids are going to be so excited when I tell them about the festival. It's been a long time since we had any festivities and they have been kinda down since the guys left," she told her with a slightly sadder smile, realizing she too had been a bit depressed since their departure, before turning her thoughts to the expressions they would have when she told them about it.
"I must warn ye, child, ye may run into problems during the festival. Already some of the villagers have complained about the number of demons living right outside of the village. Having them all in one place at the same time with the villagers may cause them to act out against the demons," Kaede warned her sadly. She knew everything Kagome's group had gone through to protect the villagers and just wished they would be a little more open to the demons.
"It shouldn't be too much of a problem, the villages don't mind Inuyasha," Kagome insisted before thinking about her words for a moment and deciding to clarify. "Well they put up with him anyways," Kagome said with a laugh, causing the older priestess to smile before becoming somber once again, wanting to make sure Kagome wouldn't be caught off guard if something happened during the festival.
"Aye, but it did take the villagers quite a while to get used to him. And ye must remember, child, not everyone is as accepting of demons as you are," Kaede reminded her softly as she picked up the tea pot and poured herself another cut before raising it in Kagome's direction, asking if she wanted more. Kagome declined with a smile.
"Well I guess you do have a point there," Kagome admitted, though the idea saddened her, she knew better than anyone that the average person's opinion of demons was not very good. "Would you mind warning the villagers that demons will be in attendance? I'll be there the entire time in case anything happens, but figure it might be a good idea to give them a heads up," Kagome decided and after receiving a nod from Kaede, she continued, "How long will you need to get everything set up?"
"We shall be able to have the preparations complete by tonight so we shall be able to start the festival first thing in the morning," Kaede replied and Kagome nodded her head with a smile. Giving Kaede a slight bow, she stood and began making her way out of the hut once again, heading toward home.
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"Hey Jaken, can I speak to you for a moment?" Kagome requested as she made her way back into the village and found the toad demon trying to catch his breath after chasing after the children in a game of tag. Panting, Jaken glanced up at her and though he did not answer her, Kagome knew he was waiting for her to continue. "Can you take the boys out hunting? We could use a couple large game for tomorrow."
"What is tomorrow?" he questioned in between pants as he stared up at her in confusion. She gave him a secretive wink, before glancing around to make sure none of the children were within hearing distance and moved closer to him. Leaning down to whisper in his ear, Kagome missed the slight blush the covered his cheeks at her close proximity.
"We're going to hold a festival near Lade Kaede's village tomorrow, Sango's got to take care of a rodent problem and the village needs to be empty while she does it. I'm going to surprise the children with the news later, but don't want them distracted in their excitement while they try to hunt. Lady Kaede requested that we get some meat while she takes care of the rest," Kagome explained softly before raising back up to her full height.
"Very well I will see to it. I will leave Rin in your hands while we are gone," Jaken told her before turning and making his way over to where the children were still playing. Calling out for the boys to follow him, and telling Rin she was to stay with Kagome, Jaken began leading them into the dense forest surrounding their village, disappearing quickly. Annoyed at being left behind again, Rin made her way over to Kagome with a pout.
Before she had the chance to complain, Kagome smiled at her as she held out her hand to her and began leading her over to the fire where Sango and Kikyou were sitting in comfortable silence. Taking her seat across from them, and gesturing for Rin to do the same, she turned her attention to her. "Don't feel bad about being left out Rin, cause the boys are being left out of this conversation for now," she told her with a smile before turning toward the two older women.
"Lady Kaede has agreed to hold a festival tomorrow to keep the villagers out of town while Sango gets rid of the rodents. I have sent Jaken and the boys out hunting, as she said they would be needing meat, but that she will take care of everything else. All of us, will of course be going," she assured as she turned back to Rin and watched as the girl's face lit up with a smile.
"A festival? We get to go to a festival?" Rin questioned and Kagome nodded her head in response. "Can I get a gift for Lord Sesshoumaru?" Rin continued, once again receiving a nod. "And Master Jaken? And Souta-kun? And Ah-Un? And will there be dancing? And food? And flowers?" Rin demanded causing the three older girls to giggle at her enthusiasm.
"I'm sure I've got enough money for everyone to get however many gifts they want to. There will be dancing and food and most likely flowers as well," Kagome assured her with a smile. "Now I've got to talk to Sango about her exterminating the rodent problem and I doubt you would enjoy this conversation, why don't you go pick some flowers to bring with you tomorrow. Just stay within the clearing so I can see you, alright?" Kagome instructed and watched as she nodded her head vigorously before taking off in search of the aforementioned flowers.
"So what's the truth?" Sango inquired after making sure Rin was no longer within hearing range and turning back to Kagome. "I some how doubt you wanted Rin away from the conversation just to talk about the rodents," Sango elaborated, knowing that if Kagome hadn't wanted one of the children to overhear, the upcoming conversation was not going to be pretty.
"Lady Kaede told me she is worried about how the villagers will react to having so many demons at the festival with them. Apparently there have been some complaints about having our group so close to the village, especially with the demons we've added. She's worried they might cause problems tomorrow, but I am not willing to make the children miss out on this. Right now they really need a day where all they have time to think about is fun."
"I will help you play mediator tomorrow, between the two of us, I am sure we can keep things civil," Kikyou assured her with a soft smile. Even though the thought of going to a festival sounded like a great idea, she knew pressing the demons onto the villagers all at once would not be a good idea and would only lead to problems. But, at the same time, she understood why Kagome refused to relent on the idea. The younger priestess wasn't exactly known for letting people get away with discriminating against demons.
"I don't really see the villagers going against you two, they should know by now that with you two there, no demon is ever going to harm them, but I will also be there once I am done with the village. So I'll be able to help as well. I doubt we will have to deal with much more than a few scathing remarks though, the villagers know what we have all done for them, even if they are scared," Sango insisted in a calming voice, hoping Kagome and Kikyou wouldn't worry too much about it as they too needed a day of fun.
"Thanks guys," Kagome said with a smile, truly grateful for having them here with her. She knew she would never be able to go through a lot, if not everything she had, if she wasn't surrounded by close friends. Everyone thought she was strong, but truthfully, it was them that made her that way, because they were there to lean on and help pick up the slack. "Do you need any help getting your stuff ready for tomorrow?" she inquired as she turned her full attention to Sango, remembering there were still things to deal with before she could relax.
"Nope, I just have to grab the smoke bombs out of a crate in my hut when it's time to go. Until the boys return, you can relax," Sango assured her, somehow knowing what her friend had been thinking. Though truthfully it wasn't too hard to figure out, Kagome always worried over details that weren't her responsibility. Kagome responded with a smile before turning her attention away from her as she saw Rin making her way back over, a large bundle of flowers, far bigger than she should be able to carry, in her arms.
"Youbo-san, can I make flower crowns to give out to everyone tomorrow?" Rin inquired with large 'puppy' eyes as she stopped next to her and gestured to the flowers. Kagome laughed at Rin's expression before nodding her head and patted the ground next to her. Smiling, Rin plopped down, dropping the flowers in front of her, before grabbing a couple and getting to work on the first crown. "Do you want to help?" she inquired as she glanced up at them, still smiling. A nod and two shrugs later, the girls each grabbed a few flowers from the pile and started on their own crowns.
