Time Enough (Chapter 5)
by Iron Raven
editorial assistance by Lachesis-chan
Disclaimer: Inuyasha and company aren't mine. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi-sama. I've got no idea what Mama does, or did, nor what Kagome's Otou-san did. Or even if he is dead. Hopefully we find out some day. Hotaku and his ancestors are mine.
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"Please, Hotaku, listen to me. Kaede-sama is sick, just like your daughter. I know about this illness. My people's medicine can control it as well as Kaede's, and better." Fists curled in frustration, Kagome stood outside the woodcutter's hut, trying to stare down the much larger man.
"They are strange. No one has ever seen anything like them." Nervously glancing at the white haired demon at the young woman's side, he fought the urge to shake a fist in Kagome's face. "How do I know it's safe?"
"Feh! Kaede is using Kagome's medicines, ain't that good enough for ya? She just needs to sleep, or she'd be telling you the same thing." Blowing a loose strand of hair from his face, Inuyasha readjusted the arms he had crossed across his chest, while he balanced impossibly on the end of Hotaku's adz handle, the head driven into a log that was being cut into planks to replace part of a shed that had given out in the recent snows.
"Kaede-sama is really that sick?"
"Yes, Hotaku. That is why I'm taking care of people right now. She just needs sleep and warmth for a few days. She may be a miko, but this affects old people the worst."
"Someone says that the demon was seen running into the night last night, carrying you and Kaede-sama. Maybe she's dead, and you are hiding it." Puffing his chest out, he glared at Inuyasha in pure challenge. After the miko and the headman, the woodcutter was one of the most respected in the village. He was the one who knew the forests better than all but the demon, and it was his axe that provided much of the village's warmth. And his father had been left fatherless before his fifth year, when the hanyou destroyed the old temple, trying to steal the Shikon no Tama.
Oh, no. Brushing blown snow from her hair, Kagome thought for a moment. "We took her to my people to be sure of what this is. That's all." Smiling as sweetly as she could, she turned to face Inuyasha. "We brought her home this morning, didn't we, Inuyasha? It wasn't easy, chasing Shippou out of the hut so she could sleep."
"Huh?" Kagome, what are you talking about. The old bat is still in your time. "Feh, the brat is probably in there now, making trouble."
Smirking, Hotaku bounced slightly on the balls of his feet. "Fine, then let me see her."
"Alright. Just let me go in first to make sure she is ready to see people." Turning on her toe, she trudged through the snow, leaving the haughty man to catch up. "Inuyasha, make sure Shippou isn't bothering Kaede, and that she's ok, please? If he's there, I need to talk to him."
"Feh. Whatever." What are you talking about? Kaede is in your time. And why do you keep mentioning Shippou? For him, it only took a few seconds to reach Keade's hut. Within, Shippou was drawing absently, while Miroku warmed his still sensitive hands by the fire.
"Kagome-san, no one saw Kaede return this morning." Having recovered from having his bluff called, Hotaku had caught up with her, and was matching her step for step.
"That only means no one saw Inuyasha bringing her home." They continued on their way in silence. As they reached Kaede's hut, she paused. "Let me go in first, to make sure it's alright."
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"Yea are telling me that yea honestly believe that THAT would work? Chicken feet and dog hair? To keep out locust youkai?"
"It is not traditional, but others have had it work well enough that it should be tried." Crossing his arms defiantly, Jii-chan straightened as much as his back would let him. "And how would you keep them out?"
"Not with chicken feet and dog hair." Snorting in exasperation, Kaede glared at the man before her. "Any proper ward will work, even if it is naught but ofuda made with plain ink on poles through the crop. I've been a miko for over forty years! I know what would work!"
"And I have collected the works of magicians and wizards from all over the world, going back five hundred years! And they all say you use chicken feet and, or dog hair to improve magical inks!"
"Crazy old man!"
"Stubborn old woman!"
---
"I'm going, I'm going. Foolish wench." Glaring back at the door that had slammed behind him, Inuyasha shook his head angrily. "Get in there! You wanted to see her."
Carefully trying to stay as far away from the angered demon as he could, Hotaku mounted the steps and slowly opened the door. "Lady Kaede?"
Coughing, Kaede waved him into the hut. "Hai, Hotaku. Inuyasha says you think I am dead."
I did. "No, my lady. It is just disconcerting to not have you with us in our time of need." If he'd had a hat, the woodcutter would have been holding it in his hands. Instead, he wrung his hands, looking at the old miko and her student, their houshi ally also in the hut with them. Three holy people, the Kami must be watching.
Shifting, Miroku looked up from the bottle of the medicine he had wanted to use with Hotaku's daughter. Had been using, until the man smelt it. It did smell funny, almost unnatural. From what Kagome had said, and the way her medicines had worked in the past, he had as much faith in this as he did in herbs from Kaede or any other herbalist. "Eventually, she won't be able to be with us. That is why she is training Kagome. Have you ever known Lady Kagome to harm anyone? Her magic is different, but it is strong."
Shuffling his feet, Hotaku looked from monk to miko to miko. "No, we know Kagome-sama's heart is pure. It's just not what we are used to."
"It is alright be nervous around new things, Hotaku." A coughing fit cut off the old woman's speech. "But not to let that stop you from seeing change."
"Kaede's herbs are effective against winter sickness. But my medicines are at least as effective against it. It is a common sickness where I come from." Passing her mentor a clean scrap of fabric, Kagome stood and walked to the older man. "Please, let Miroku tend to your daughter. I have things I must take care of with my people. I need to make sure I have what I need for this village, just in case. Let him give her the medicine, and keep her in doors. Keep her away from people as much as possible, and give her plenty to drink. And tell us if you are unwell."
"I will, Lady Kagome. I'm sorry, Lady Kaede." Bowing, he then turned to the monk. "My apologies, Houshi-sama. If you would please follow me."
The two men left the hut in silence. Only after the door shut, and she counted to fifty, did Kagome allow herself to breath normally. "It worked."
Slipping from under the blankets, Kaede giggled as she hugged Kagome from behind, her tail twitching. "And Inuyasha said it wouldn't."
"Thank you, Shippou. Remember, this isn't a game. Kaede is very sick. I didn't know what else to do." Turning to face the kit in his true form, she smiled. "You were very convincing. Here, I brought these for you." Reaching into her coat pocket, she pulled out a bag of hard candies. "Share them with Miroku and Sango."
"I will. And if anyone needs to see that Kaede is still alive, I'll be here. I'll send a duplicate past them so they can see me, to." Grinning at his adopted mother, Shippou's eyes shown with pride with his own cleverness.
"Good idea, Shippou. Just be careful with them." Looking up the roof, Kagome raised her voice a little. "Inuyasha, come in here."
The dog boy's voice came from outside the front door. "Feh!"
"Inuyasha, are you off the porch?"
Inuyasha glared at the door. "Yea, why?" Stupid wench. You got lucky.
"I told you it would work. Sit boy!" Shippou giggled at the muffled curses outside the door. "Shippou, be good. I've got to check on the villagers. Remember, if anyone knocks, use Kaede's voice to ask who it is. And don't let them see your tail, stay under the blankets."
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"Well, no, my ofuda don't seem to work very well." Jii-chan blushed slightly. "They don't stop Inuyasha, and they didn't stop the Noh demon, but they do seem to stop other things."
"That is because yea did not charge them." Glancing across the living room, she studied the scrolls on the doorway. "Yea draw them beautifully, but they are unfinished."
"Unfinished?" But I followed the directions in the books exactly.
"Aye. Is this something else yea learned from your scrolls?" Seeing him nod, she reached to lift her mug of tea from the table. "May I see these instructions."
"Hai. I have a couple of sets, but I think only one really works." Shuffling into his bedroom, Jii-chan pulled several binders and books from his shelves. They were all reproductions of ancient tombs and copies of scrolls to delicate to ever hold again. Some he had bought, translations of gaijin magical texts, a few were traditional Japanese lore, while others he had copied from his own research. Returning to the living room, he set them on the table, and sat on the floor on the side next her's. "Here it is," flipping though a well worn binder, he found the method he thought was most accurate, "it is said this is from a Youkai Taijya miko from about your time, maybe a little earlier. It is said to have shielded those within from harm."
Slowly reading the very strange scroll, Kaede squinted at the characters before her. "This is a rite used in the making of their armour. See, here..." Holding the papers so he could read, she traced it with her finger. "Yea have seen them rejoin after being torn, haven't yea."
"Hai." I am an old fool. They are right, nothing but a crazy old man.
"Who taught yea?" Looking at the titles along the edges of the folding scrolls, she found references to dynasties she recognized, and others with strange, alien sounding names. Rebai? Jones? What kind of names are those?
"No one. I could always sense demons, every where. They are all around us. I learned about miko from history class, and I started to research them." Sighing bitterly, he looked at the stately, one-eyed woman at his side. "So I am just a crazy old fool, aren't I?"
"Yea are not. Yea have the gift, not as strongly as Kagome, but yea have it." He will never be as strong as she is. But it is not fair that he should loose his path because he had no sensei. "Show me the other types of wards yea have found." Sipping her tea, she smiled at him. "And thank yea for inviting this stubborn old woman down here. It is nay as warm, but is more comfortable to these old bones to be on a proper floor."
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Trudging through a drift, Kagome looked over at her friend. "How are your feet, Sango?"
"They don't hurt as much as they did yesterday. I know it will never go away." Smiling at the young miko, Sango's eyes flicked to the hanyou on a nearby roof top. "So what do you think of your first day as a village miko? Everything you expected?"
Groaning, Kagome nodded. "And more. How does Kaede do it? It seems like everyone needs her attention. Especially the kids." Turning her collar up a little more, she followed Sango's eyes, and smiled at Inuyasha. "Still, it's good to know I can do more than find jewel shards."
This brings back memories.... He scratched behind an ear to hide the shake of his head. Kikyou was a better miko. But she was born into it. Kagome has learned so much so fast... He watched the two girls, his heart aching as he remembered the times he had done this with Kikyou. Kikyou had never complained, but she had also never looked forward to this. Kagome, despite her grumbling, was enjoying herself. She smiled and laughed and talked with the people. Kikyou had always held herself a little bit away, part of the village but not a member. Kagome, despite her strange ideas and clothes, was becoming a member of the village, even though she wasn't always a part of it. The ache got less and less as he realized that. Inuyasha's own voice surprised him when his thoughts slipped out. "This test matters, Kagome."
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Author's note:
In most agrarian societies, the woodcutter was an important person. Yes, other people cut fire wood and cleared land, but the woodcutter was also a woodsman and hunter. A forester, if you will. He knew the wilderness and it's ways, which trees were sick and those that were healthy. If land needed to cleared, his advise would have been taken quite seriously, at least if the lord or headman had a brain. If animals came around, he knew them, how to deal with them. If there is no member of that culture's warrior-class within a village, the woodsman was often called upon to organize any defense in case of bandits or marauders. (Although hunting weapons and techniques against trained soldiers with weapons optimized for killing humans, and used to working as team, doesn't always work very well. But you try.) Hotaku would be a very important man in the village, nearly as important in some ways to Kaede or the headman (whom we have never seen).
As for the man's hate, watch the 1st episode. The temple blew out, and there are good odds that at least one of the four guys who burst in just before hand would have died, and the rest of them would have been scared badly. Being an orphan in Feudal Japan would have been rough, from a social standing point of view. And in a feudal society with that kind of honor system, that would be socially crippling. As for age, if his daughter is around 10ish, then she would have been born when he was in his early 20s, and Hotaku would have been born when his father was the same age, so it is possible.
Oh, and an adz is something you use to make boards and planks if you are doing it all by hand. It looks kinda like an axe with the cutting edge turned 90 degrees, but there are some serious shaping differences, and it is actually swung TOWARDS you. Without practice, you could kill or cripple yourself easily.
I also couldn't resist Kaede and Jii-chan arguing over taumaturgical matters. She's feeling better. :) And I'm not convinced Jii-chan is nuts, I think he's just untrained. And it looks like something is going to be done about that.
Ribai: This is how Levi would translate.