Dying to Live
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.
Sango's hair hung around her face like a pair of rumpled black curtains as she leaned against the splintered shoji door. From where Miroku sat behind a rather battered writing desk, she looked very tired, and the dark patches under her eyes had a sort of sickly green appearance in the dim light. He felt similar marks forming beneath his own gray eyes, as he peered lovingly across the room at this tousled mess of a girl. It was still so early. It couldn't have been more than four and a half incense sticks burnt since the beginning of the day; Kagome would have called it "4:30 a.m."
"I'm so sorry, Miroku," she pouted as she dragged the door shut and shuffled across the room. "That's three days in a row now! I don't know why I've been so sick," she whined as she collapsed back into her bedding. By her pillow sat the wooden bucket Miroku had awoken to find her hurling into.
"Not at all, Sango, dear. I'm just starting to get a little worried about you," he responded, while trying to suppress a yawn.
"It's gotta be something about the food here, or something I picked up from one of the other guests, because it didn't start until we got here," she said as she pulled the blankets up to her chin. Miroku thought that she looked very cute, despite the fact that the sight of her getting sick was still fresh in his mind.
"Miroku, let's get out of here, today," she pled again for the sixth time in two days. "I'm telling you: I don't think the inn keeper keeps things up very well."
"Yes, but what if you're sick, my love? It could be a while before we reach another inn. And if it's something that needs to be treated at by a doctor, we don't want to travel too much farther from Nagoya," Miroku reminded her.
"I know, but I'm not sick! It's just this place…" she groaned, but as she allowed the last bit to trail, Miroku knew that sleep was about to reclaim her.
For the next hour Miroku sat up at the little desk penning sutras. Sango and he had been on their way to Mt. Hiei for about a week now. As he worked on a sutra designed for paralyzing trolls, he thought about how long they had talked about one day making this trip. They had looked forward to visiting the enormous temple that guarded Kyoto from the north and the hot springs located around the area. It was because of this advanced planning that they had been able to leave very early the morning after Naraku's funeral ceremony.
But then Sango got sick after just four days of travel, and Miroku started to wonder if they hadn't set out a little too carelessly. He hadn't even packed any herbal remedies. And it had been too late when he realized that most of the leaves had fallen from the trees, meaning that the nights were getting too cold for sleeping outside. They had been stuck at this somewhat tattered inn for the last few days expecting Sango's illness to pass quickly, but as the monk sat groggily watching the dancing flame of the candle before him, he decided that tomorrow they should back-track to Nagoya and see a doctor… Sleepily, he yawned. Perhaps, he could crawl back under the covers beside Sango and catch another hour of sleep…
However, just as he stood, from outside their room came the loud clattering of the enormous shoji door, which served as the main entrance for the entire inn. Unfortunately, he and Sango had received the room closest to the main door because the inn had been otherwise full when they arrived. So for the last few days, Sango and Miroku had suffered the inn keeper's loud, gravelly shouting as he sent one exhausted traveler after another back into the cold, away from the crowded inn. Expecting more of the same, Miroku preemptively covered his ears as he made his way to bed.
Despite the sound being muffled by his palms, Miroku still heard the sand-papery strains of the old man's hollering. Unable to turn back the covers without at least one free hand, the monk uncovered his ear just in time to hear a younger, pleading voice.
"Sir, please!" the voice of the boy began. "I beg of you not to turn us away! Can't you see how cold and badly injured she is?"
"I can see that alright!" the old inn keeper barked. "Which is more reason for me to turn you out! I don't need woman beaters staying at my inn!"
"What? Sir, I swear to you, I didn't do this to her!" the boy responded, sounding desperate at the accusation. "She fell-"
"No better!" the craggy old man cut him off. "Then that means that you're careless and can't look after your women properly! Now, get out of my inn!"
Now, Miroku was standing right behind the paneled shoji, wondering if he should open it.
"Sir!" the boy still begged, his voice cracking.
"Now out, before I push you out!" the old man threatened, his large, pock-marked nose just barely inches from the youth's face. But the boy did not move. Just then, the hush of a shoji door calmly slid open broke some of the intensity.
When Miroku stepped into the hall, he barely noticed all of the guests leaning out from their doors, peering at the scene. In fact, when Miroku first spoke, he even failed to recognize the boy.
"There you are, my boy!" Miroku exclaimed, moving toward the youth like he knew him. As he moved closer, Miroku noticed the girl draped over the boy's shoulder: her face was swollen and covered with dark bruises and scratches. He had to admit, she looked very badly beaten.
"But, by Buddha! What happened?" Miroku questioned loudly. Then, before opening his mouth to explain, the boy gave Miroku a meaningful look. Suddenly the monk recognized him. Still, Miroku, didn't give Kohaku a chance to explain the girl's injuries. Instead, he stepped between the inn keeper and the young demon slayer.
"Good inn keeper, please forgive the hassle this has caused!" Miroku apologized loudly and deliberately. "When I checked in, I should have mentioned that I was waiting for another party!"
"What?" the old man fumbled, still trying to grasp the monk's involvement in this situation.
By this point, Miroku already had the door to his and Sango's room open and had ushered Kohaku inside. Bowing dramatically, Miroku added, "Please, feel free to charge me the extra fee for another two guests later! But for now, I beg your pardon." And with that, he shut the door with a snap.
:
Despite all of Inuyasha's wishing, the next three days slipped by quickly. Though Inuyasha did not even enter the village long enough to reject Kaede's foolish plans, let alone accept them, the children reappeared at the hut. However, this time they arrived just before dusk, bearing burning candles of white wax in ornate golden holders. All three children's faces were painted with ceremonial make-up and solemn expressions. While the boys now wore black and white silks and black pointed hats, the small girl now wore a vestment of pure white embroidered with white maple leaves. Her lips were colored red and her hair was bound with white ribbons and flowers.
Stepping barefoot out of the house and down into the yard, Inuyasha also realized that the children were not alone but accompanied by a procession of at least twenty others. At the head of the group stood a few young miko, all dressed like the first, holding clusters of silver purification bells. Next stood a rank of young men holding staffs and dressed as apprentice priests, followed by a modest palanquin, and a group of five or six soldiers.
Eyeing the soldiers apprehensively, Inuyasha knelt down so that he could be eye level with the girl. Softly, he began, "Listen, honey, why don't you and your little friends just run off back to the village now? Tell Kaede I appreciate what she's doing, but I can't—"
"Begging your pardon, Inuyasha-sama," Inuyasha flinched a bit at the honorific, "but Lady Kaede anticipated your resistance, and told me to respond by saying that Inuyasha-sama does not have a choice. Someone must return the Shikon Jewel to the shrine, and it must be you." Then, glancing discreetly to the side she shrewdly added, "And the soldiers will see to it."
Now the shock of the soldiers' presence at last caught up with Inuyasha's amazement at the incredible wit possessed by such a tiny girl. As he rose again, the little miko's face looked up imploringly into his. "Alright, let's just go get this over and done with fast."
"Inuyasha-sama, doumo arigatou gozaimasu," she replied, bowing respectfully. "Now, if you would, there's a palanquin—"
But Inuyasha interrupted, "Hey, I said I would come, but there's no way I'm letting a bunch of kids carry me around on that thing. I can walk just fine!"
She sweetly acquiesced with a bow.
Led by the three children, Inuyasha allowed himself to be brought into the procession behind the group of young priests, but in front of the palanquin. In high-pitched quavering Japanese, one of the priests at the front of the rank issued the ceremonial order to proceed. The young miko began to shake their bells with coordinated broad, sweeping arm motions, while the priests struck the dirt path rhythmically with their staffs. The clacking of the horses hooves added to the music of their movement.
To Inuyasha, the evening had taken on a dream-like quality. The entrancing tinkling of the bells reminded him of the muffled sound that falling snow makes on otherwise silent winter nights. It made him feel as if he was some place very far off, sleepily buried in a pile of that whispering snow. He now realized how accurately this image seemed to describe the past week; the days had blurred together, leaving him slow and unfocused. With Kagome gone, and Sango and Miroku away on a pilgrimage to Mt. Hiei in the West, Inuyasha had suddenly felt very isolated. After five years of traveling around the country with the same people, he had forgotten how he had once lived alone for so long. With a twinge of anxiety, he kept wondering why this ceremony could not wait until Sango and Miroku returned. They did not even know yet that Kagome had gone home forever….
When the procession finally appeared over the hillside at the edge of the village, Kaede was already waiting. Even with her one eye patched, the old shrine maid recognized Inuyasha's blood-red haori from half-way across the village. That's my girl Komiko-chan! I knew ye could do it! Kaede silently thanked the feisty little miko she had sent to fetch him.
"Lady Kaede, begging your pardon," came a woman's voice. One of the village women had come up beside Kaede.
"Ay, Mrs. Sato, what do ye need?" Kaede asked, turning toward the woman.
"We have finished preparing Inuyasha's chambers," Mrs. Sato explained, "and the men have almost finished clearing and decorating the concourse leading onto the shrine grounds. Also, Mrs. Asao notified me that Lord Taka has nearly finished his evening meal at the headman's house."
"Very good, Mrs. Sato, many thanks," Kaede replied, but the woman did not leave. "Is there something else, Mrs. Sato?"
"Well, yes, there is actually," the woman confessed, as she fumbled with the hem of her yukata. "Lady Kaede, some of the other villagers and I have overheard some of Lord Taka's guards complaining about Inuyasha's participation in tonight's ceremony. They think it is bad form to allow a demon into a village where their master is staying. Apparently, his Lordship also has some reservations about allowing even a half-demon the sacred honor of handling the Shikon Jewel.
"I'm sorry!" Mrs. Sato cried when she finished. "I must seem so impertinent, but I just thought that you should know!"
"No, no, Mrs. Sato. Please do not be alarmed!" Kaede said to reassure her. "It's very understandable that Lord Taka has some concerns. We must not forget that Lord Taka has put forth a great deal of money and effort to honor our village and to expedite the safe return of the Jewel for our own protection. That is why I would not have invited Inuyasha to join us if I was not reasonably certain of his cooperation."
Just as Mrs. Sato was excusing herself to return to the preparations, the procession arrived in the town square a short distance away from Kaede. To the west, the sun was just about to set. "Good evening, Inuyasha," Kaede called to the hanyou, as he unceremoniously broke rank and marched in her direction. "So, ye decided to come after all, did ye?"
"Old lady, you really must have a few screws loose, if you think I'm gonna go through with this thing!" he started to bellow even at several paces away. "And what's the big idea—sending guards after me?" he added as he pulled up beside her.
Kaede turned to walk, and he immediately fell into pace with her. "Have you considered at all how strange what you're asking me to do is?" the hanyou raged, "And what about me? Have you considered how it might make me feel to do this? Hey, aren't you going to answer me?"
"My, Inuyasha, I didn't think it was necessarily like ye to contemplate such ethics," Kaede replied, causing the hanyou to redden. "Listen to me, Inuyasha. The soldiers were not my choice. They are guards sent by the local lord himself, who is actually staying in the village tonight. A good number of people, Lord Taka included, are assembled in the village for this evening's ceremony. Without Kagome here and with no way to contact her, I had little choice when the local minister came to me earlier this week about the Shikon Jewel. And I feel it is only right that one of those whom last possessed the Jewel also be the one to return it to its rightful place. Don't ye agree, Inuyasha?"
"No, because that would leave only me, and I'm not doing it! I don't see why you can't just wait for Sango and Miroku to come back. One of them can do it!" he complained.
"I'm afraid not, Inuyasha. Lord Taka's ministers have made it very clear that they want the Jewel returned immediately," Kaede explained. "Besides, neither Sango nor Miroku played near as important a role in reassembling the Shikon-no-Tama as ye have."
"Well, I don't care! I'm not doing it!" Inuyasha shouted.
"Could it be that ye are scared to do it, Inuyasha?" Kaede pried.
"What? No!" Inuyasha spluttered, looking indignant.
"Then, why won't ye do it?" she questioned again.
"'Cause I don't feel like it, that's why," he stated, his arms crossed and his head tilted back defiantly.
"Well, now, that seems like an awfully petty—" Kaede began.
"Alright, alright already!" Inuyasha interrupted, stamping his foot impatiently. "I'll do it if it'll get you to leave me alone!"
"Ay, now that's the spirit, Inuyasha!" Kaede smiled, and she reached up to clap him on the shoulder.
Grimacing, he allowed her to touch him, and she led him to the front of one of the village's larger buildings. Inuyasha flinched when he recognized it.
"The public bathhouse! Uh-uh! No way, I'm good enough as I am!" he growled.
"No, ye are not! Now, in ye go!" and giving the half-demon a good shove, the fiery, old shrine maid pushed him off balance long enough for two of village's strongest men to emerge from the shadows. Together, this burly pair carried the wriggling hanyou over the threshold by his wrists and ankles.
Once inside, they traveled along several short corridors, mostly unimpeded since the other bathers had already scattered as soon as they heard Inuyasha's bellowed curses coming their way. With each passing corridor, Inuyasha could feel the humidity building, until at last they arrived at the main bathroom. To Inuyasha's despair, the two huge men managed to elbow the shoji door open without once releasing their hold on him. Here the air was thick with hot mist, which dimmed the lantern light, causing the room to be somewhat dark.
"Alright," the man holding Inuyasha's ankles began, "in a moment we're going to let go of you. Then please remove your clothes before you enter the bath. Now if you're ready to cooperate…" But as soon as the men released Inuyasha, it appeared that they had badly misinterpreted the hanyou's silence.
Within milliseconds the half-dog demon lunged forward crazily, "HELL NO! There's no way you're gettin' me—" But the scuffle had resumed, and after several minutes of determined pushing and shoving and rough handling, Inuyasha was at last sent sailing, naked, into the hot bath. Relieved at accomplishing this humiliating task, the men hurriedly gathered the hanyou's clothes and left the room.
Moments later, Inuyasha emerged splashing and shouting obscenities, which ricocheted off of the walls of the cavernous bath. Generally, this particular bath would have been shared by multiple men at once; however, Kaede had wisely reserved it for Inuyasha's sole use as a matter of politeness to the villagers and less so to the half-demon himself.
What the hell just happened? Inuyasha's mind raced as he struggled to cough up jasmine scented bathwater. The stuff was all in his eyes, too. Now furiously rubbing them with the heels of his hands, he thought, What the f-! Did I just allow those two stupid, human dolts to nearly drown me?
At last, the stinging in his eyes was subsiding. Feeling embarrassed by his sudden nakedness, he stayed crouched beneath the water up to his chin. He blinked twice very deliberately, just to be certain that his eyes really were clear. At first, it was hard to tell because the thick mists that hung everywhere gave the impression that he was looking at the room through translucent gauze.
Now that he could see again, his sense of panic abated to give way to frustration. Slapping the flat surface of the water with the palm of his hand, the soggy hanyou whined aloud, "Damn! Why couldn't I shake 'em off?"
At that moment, the answer came drifting into his view on the disturbed ripples of the foggy bath water. His own long, black locks came floating up to remind him: the moonless night. Then he understood. That sly, old witch…