Disclaimer: Inuyasha and all of its characters are property of the brilliant Takahashi-sama and I claim no ownership of them.
AN: Congrats to the winners of round 16, InuLover and Husbandsangel, with the correct answer of They are Pack. This chapter is dedicated to you and I should send you the link for your banners tomorrow. Round 17: "It is time to punish my mate." Good luck everyone.
Chapter 20
Waiting until Jaken and the others had disappeared from sight, Kagome turned and began the trek back to the other village, not looking forward to seeing what she knew would be there, but it had to be done before they could being working on rebuilding. And she knew that the sooner things were completed, the sooner everyone could start living again, herself included. As much as she wished to never return to the village again, her job was not yet complete.
And once again, she was the only one she could risk sending until she was sure it was safe. Stopping at the edge of the tree line, Kagome paused to close her eyes, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself. Deciding not to put things off any longer, she opened her eyes after only a minute or two and stepped through the dense forestry, able to smell the burnt wood the instant she stepped into the clearing. Putting the still lingering stench of burning flesh out of her mind, Kagome allowed her powers to spread out from her body, searching every inch of the village for any remaining darkness.
"Everything seems to be alright," Kagome commented out loud to herself, more due to the fact that the silence was beginning to unnerve her than actually needing to vocalize her thoughts. Glancing around the ghost-town village one last time, she turned and began making her way back to her own, silently praying that the following days would go by quickly and soon be forgotten, though she knew there was no real chance of that ever happening.
Hearing voices coming from in front of her, knowing it meant she would soon be home, Kagome steeled herself and broke through the tree line surrounding her village. As she did, she could feel all eyes turning toward her in question, but paid most of them little mind and made her way over toward her group surrounding a campfire. "We're going to begin clearing out the debris. When Jaken returns, can you have him start making the tools with the other villagers?" she inquired turning toward Kikyou who nodded her head in agreement.
"Sango make sure we had enough food to last us the next few days at least, but over estimate since quite a few of us will be working away most of the days and will need more energy," she warned her and after receiving her second nod of agreement, gave them a quick smile before turning her attention to the villagers behind her. "I need every man not currently working on a task to come with me. Women are welcome if they want to join us, but we will be clearing the rubble and it will be a daunting task requiring physical strength.
"Also some of you may not be able to take the sight of the village right now, so any feint of heart should remain here. Everyone who is coming, follow me," Kagome instructed before turning and making her way back toward the village yet again. At the very least this time, she knew she wouldn't have to deal with the silence. Already she could hear some of the men following her grumbling about her actions, but wisely choose to ignore them.
Once they had broken through the tree line, she turned back to get their attention, ignoring their gasps and insulting grumbles. "Get into groups of three or four and begin moving the burnt wood and debris away from the village. We'll be starting a pile over there," she began, gesturing to where she was referring to, "There is no more plague in the village, so you do not have to worry about getting infected and the sooner we get this done, the sooner we can start rebuilding."
Having said all she wanted to, Kagome turned and began making her way toward the ruins of the closest hut and promptly followed her own instructions. It wasn't until she was on her way back from dropping off the first burnt log, that she realized the villagers were all still standing exactly where they had been when they first arrived. "Hey get to work. I realize you are not happy about this, but I only did what needed to be done to protect the rest of you.
"And I know you do not want to spend more time in my village, so get to work and we will have yours up and running again as soon as possible. But I will tell you this now, I will not be doing all of the work. Each of you need to carry your own weight as well," she insisted, ignoring yet another comment about how there was no reason for her to burn down the village in the first place and how she had done so, so it was her responsibility to rebuild.
Figuring playing the good cop wasn't going to work, Kagome mentally calculated how much work each of them needed to do and set to work on getting her own share done, completely ignoring the fact that they continued to remain as is. An hour passed and then another as she worked under the heat of the sun, her share becoming smaller and smaller while the rest of the village remained untouched. Still she did not falter, worry about the group of men insulting her behind her back, making sure to be just loud enough she could hear them.
Dropping her last log onto the pile, Kagome dusted off her charcoal covered hands and began making her way back toward the group of villagers, a large, confident smile adorning her calm face. "My share is done and I am going back to my village to rest. The rest of you have work to do," she told them yet again as she moved to walk passed them, only to stop at the last moment to call over her shoulder, "Anyone who does not do their share will not be joining us for dinner tonight.
"So either stop acting like children and do the same amount of work I have done, or go hunting yourself. Anyone who does not finish their work and does not show up for dinner, will no longer be welcome staying at my village. I have no problem helping those who aren't too lazy to help themselves, who are willing to carry their own weight, but I am tired of being blamed for saving all of your lives.
"I did not bring the plague here, I stopped it from spreading. I spent two weeks watching over people who were slowly dying, burning their bodies and burying them. All of this I did with no sleep and very little time to rest. I suffered through their insults and their accusations because they were scared and in pain, you have no excuse. You all are lucky enough to have survived and instead of thanking me, you treat me like I caused all of this.
"Well news flash, I didn't and I will no longer put up with your crap. Mumble under your breath, insult me, give me dirty looks all you want, just do your part at the same time." Even as she prayed she had gotten through to at least a few of them, Kagome continued on her way without looking back. Soon as she had arrived home, she made her way over to the campfire, accepting the cup of tea Jaken offered with a smile.
"The tools are well underway and should be finished by tonight. I sent the boys out hunting again and am expecting them back any minute. How are things going over at the village?" Jaken inquired after a moment, giving a slight nod to Kikyou and Sango who sat down nearby having started toward them the moment they noticed her return. Instead of answering at first, Kagome drew in a few long, deep breaths.
"Well my share of the work is done, however, the men are probably all still standing around twiddling their thumbs, just as they have been since we arrived a few hours ago. I got tired of wasting my breath and decided to just do my share and get out of there. You can only stand people burning holes in your back for so long and you know what? I'm done. No more misses nice girl, oh no, Kagome is done playing the welcome mat.
"These villagers have walked all over me for the last time. I don't mind the insults or the glares or the blaming me for stuff I had no control over, but you see that?" Kagome inquired as she gestured toward the group of women villagers who were currently working on making tools before turning back to her pack. "See that? That is why I prefer being a woman, we can multitask. They blame me, they insult me, they glare at me, all the while, still working. But the men?
"Oh no, no they can't do anything while they are busy making me out to look like a murderer all because I couldn't cure something that won't have a cure for another 500 years, if even then!" she screamed before taking a deep breath and beginning again, "I get that they're upset, I really do, but what more do they want from me? I have nothing left to give. I'm already stretched as thin as humanly possible.
"I am weak and tired and still I am doing my share, but they can't even clear a few ruins. No more, that's it. No more good cop, time for bad cop." Seeing the confused looks she was receiving, Kagome explained, "It's a trick police officers do in my time. When they have a suspect in custody, sometimes one cop will play the good guy and his partner the bad guy. One talks calmly and patiently, acts like the guy's friend, the other yells and screams and treats him like crap.
"But that's not the point, the point is it's time for bad cop Kagome. And I've already told the men that if they don't do their share at the village, then they are not eating dinner with us. And if they do not eat dinner with us tonight, then they are no longer welcome staying here. We are all busting our butts taking care of them, getting their village ready to rebuild, feeding them, putting our lives on hold just for them and they couldn't be more ungrateful."
"Now that's the Kagome we know and love," Sango joked after a few moments of silence had passed over the group, causing everyone to laugh. "Truthfully, we were all wondering how long you were going to be so passive, it wasn't like you. The villagers seem to forget that we're only human, well some of us anyways," she paused to look at Jaken, "and that there is only so much we can do. I wouldn't worry too much though, the thought of getting no food should get them moving."
"I hope so, the plan is to start rebuilding tomorrow, which can't be done until the debris is clear. I don't want to have to push things back for those who are doing their share, but I also don't want to do the others' parts either. Who knows, maybe my luck will finally turn around and when I go to check later, they will all be working," Kagome prayed out loud, not really believing there was a chance for that to happen, but still wishing all the same.
As Kagome stood silently, watching the villagers secretly from behind the safety of the trees, she couldn't help but breath a sigh of relief. The men she had left back in the ruin village were now all working, perhaps not as quickly as she would have liked, but they were clearing away the destroyed huts and that was really all that mattered to her. Glancing up toward, what little she could see through the trees of, the sky she noticed the sun would soon be setting which would mark the time for dinner.
Not wanting them to miss out on eating, now that they were finally listening to her, Kagome made her way out of the forest and began helping to clear the first hut she came to. The villagers currently working on it gave her a strange look and she shrugged her shoulders informing them, "It's almost dinner time. It'll get finished faster if I help and as I said before, I don't mind helping those willing to help themselves."
Turning back to the task before her, Kagome began making her way around the village, helping each group to clear a few loads from their piles, completely losing track of time until she noticed Jaken was making his way over toward her. Realizing the sun was already setting over the horizon, she knew before he began to speak what he was there for. "Supper is ready, miko-san. Should I ask them to hold off for a bit?" he inquired as he glanced around and saw how much work they still had to do.
"No we'll be right there," she decided before turning her attention back to the village men. "Alright everyone listen up!" she called out, continuing once she had everyone's attention, "Dinner is ready and if all of you will promise to come back as soon as it's over, we can go now. However, we need to finish this up tonight so we can start rebuilding tomorrow. The others have already made the tools we will need. So I'll leave it up to you.
"Eat now and come back after dark or finish up and then go eat. I'll let them know to keep our food warm if you chose the latter." And instant later they began to speak in unison, choosing to eat first. "Very well, but the moment we are all finished, we are coming straight back," she warned them before turning toward Jaken, giving him a slight nod and making her way back toward her village with the others following close behind.
"The women wanted me to inform you that the first few sets of clothing are finished and that you can hand them out whenever you wish. There are three shirts and pants ready," Jaken told her as they continued to walk toward home and with a nod, Kagome began to think of ways to pass them out. Originally she was just going to start with the men that needed them the most, but judging by the status of their clothing, pretty much all of them were in need of new clothes.
Arriving home, Kagome made her way toward Kikyou and Sango to help them continue to pass out supper before sitting down with her own share once they were finished. "We're good on food for the next few days, even with the extra need from those working at the village. Water maybe a problem, but I already plan on heading out first thing tomorrow for more. Our biggest problem right now is the dishes, everyone here is busy with the tasks we gave them, so it's up to us to do up everyone's. Which is fine, we can handle is, as long as you don't want us doing anything else tonight," Sango joked as she sat down next to Kagome.
"No that's fine and if you want, save me a share to do as well. I can get to them as soon as we finish up at the village, which shouldn't be too much longer. And no, after that, we're done for the night. Everyone's going to need to get to sleep early since we're starting to rebuild tomorrow and even if you aren't over there, there will still be plenty of things that need to be done here. Also I'm going to need to snag a few of your women workers, I'll need them to pass out water at the village."
The pack soon fell into silence, each more interested in the plate in front of them rather than holding a conversation and it wasn't long before Kagome had finished, once again rising to her feet. Glancing around the clearing, she saw that most of the men were finishing up as well and decided to give them a few more minutes while she got started on the dishes. Walking around, as she gathered up those that were empty, she decided on the best course of action for figuring out who would get the first sets of new clothing.
Handing off the plates she had collected to Kikyou and Sango, since her group was now finished eating, she gestured for them to follow her and began making her way back toward the ruined village. Soon as everyone was there and making their way toward the huts they had been clearing before dinner, she called out loud enough for everyone to hear her, "I have been informed that three sets of clothing have been finished.
"And since you all are working in groups of three, the first group to clear their hut, will receive the clothes. You may begin!" The men simply stared at her in silence for a few moments until she smiled to let them know she was serious and set to work, moving much faster than they had been earlier in the day. Hearing a twig snap behind her, Kagome turned to find Jaken walking toward her, his yellow eyes on the men scurrying about rather than on her.
"Considering the problems you have had with them today, is it really a good idea to reward them for such behavior, miko-san?" Jaken inquired as he stood beside her, not unaware of the fact that they did seem to move much faster than he would have expected them to. For a moment, Kagome remained silent as she watched them work in satisfaction before finally turning her attention completely on Jaken with a smile.
"I am not rewarding them for their bad behavior, more for the ability to work passed their anger toward me and do their share. I learned a long time ago, that people tend to work better when there is something in it for them. And I don't believe it's simply greed, like most people do. I just think that when people have something to look forward to, it makes them happy and happy people work faster. And I did think about giving it to the other men, those that went hunting and such since I haven't heard of them giving you guys any problems.
"But truthfully, these guys need them more. Their clothes are getting ruined much faster than the others and this is our problem group. Things will be a lot easier for all of us if I can put them into a better mood. And if all it takes is them realizing that there is something in it for them, other than a village that I myself burned to the ground, than my life will be a lot easier," Kagome admitted before turning back to the villagers as one group started to cheer.
"I see we have a winner," she called out with a smile, clapping for the group while the others looked on with grumbles. "Alright everyone, let's get this finished up so we can go to bed, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. You three, see Kikyou when we return to the village and she'll give you guys your prize," she informed them before turning her attention back to the huts that still needed to be cleared and began helping out yet again. A few moments later, she realized even Jaken had come down to help.