It has come to my attention that some people reading this are underage for the R rating I have put on this fic. Therefore I will now be posting a warning at the top of ever chapter that I find exceptionally unsuitable for minors. Please Make a note of them and act responsibly! Also I am going to ask anyone under the age of seventeen to please leave now.
Disclaimer: See Chapter One
Legend:
'……' thoughts
"……" speech
Enter the Wolf's Den
By: wolf demoness
Chapter Five: The Avalanche
By the time the first winter storms came there were enough rebuilt houses in the village that every person had adequate shelter, though some families had to double up for the winter in a single home. Inuyasha, unable to work on the houses while the snow flew, had taken to wandering the forest in his free time. There wasn't much to do in the village and the silver haired demon was restless. There were some demons roving close to the village now that the humans did not range far afield. At first Inuyasha chased them all away, but as time wore on he realized that the weaker demons would not trouble the village so he allowed them free range within the forest's boundaries. The larger and more powerful demons he still sought out and evicted from their winter homes if he thought they were too close to the village. Sango and Miroku were greatly pleased at the half demon's work. Sango knew that even the more harmless demons could grow vicious as the winter progressed, game became scarce, and hunger set in. Sooner or later the temptation of sweet, warm, human flesh would grow too strong for the demons in the forest. It was best to sweep the area clean as often as possible.
Sango occasionally accompanied the demon into the woods to exterminate the unwelcome residents. But even she would not go out when the snow fell so thick and fast that she couldn't see her hand in front of her face. Inuyasha had the advantage here, his senses of hearing and smell being so acute as to allow the demon to track prey without the use of his eyes. His kimono and his demon blood provided some protection against the cold and it was a rare occasion that the weather drove the hanyou to seek the shelter of Kaede's hut. Kagome herself spent little time in the feudal era during the winter, but when she did there was always great excitement in the village. It was often that there were gatherings in the large communal hall at the village's center in honor of the Miko. The villagers needed something to divert them during the long winter nights and so they took turns hosting parties in the common hall. There was an abundance of food that year and the villagers celebrated their good fortune long into the cold winter nights.
Once when Kagome returned to the feudal era, Inuyasha was returning from a day spent hunting in the lands around the village. He brought fresh meat for the village that night and several fur pelts from smaller animal demons he'd exterminated that day. Kagome was horrified at the hanyou for killing the little demons. She argued that they were so small and cute, how could they possibly prove a threat to the village? They didn't even have jewel shards to make them vicious. Despite the intervention of Sango and Miroku the young girl refused to be dissuaded from her righteous indignation. Kagome pointedly told Inuyasha to stop killing the little demons and when he declined a rift began to open between the two.
It couldn't have come at a worse time either. With nothing to occupy their time the villagers eagerly seized on the argument between the two. Kagome and Inuyasha had attained a certain stardom in the eyes of the villagers and as is natural for human kind, the people of the village frequently swapped gossip amongst themselves about their celebrities. Inuyasha was the savior of the village and had been admired throughout the fall. But, popular though he was, Kagome was a heroine to the village. She was the reincarnation of the priestess Kikyo; a guardian still remembered in song and in the oral tradition of the village. On winter nights the children would gather around the communal hearth to hear the old men tell tales of Lady Kikyo's bravery and sacrifice. In short, what chance did Inuyasha, a relative newcomer to the village only recently looked on with favor, have against the love of the people for Kagome?
The oldest men and women still remembered the days in which Inuyasha was looked upon with fear and hatred in the village. The leaders of the village had grown to adulthood listening to the tales of how the wicked demon had tricked and slewn the Lady Kikyo. Though the villagers now came to see a changed demon in their midst and the old tales were proven false, old habits are hard to break and old hatreds die harder still. Soon the village became polarized against him. Inuyasha was not warmly received at the gatherings the villagers had, no matter that he kept the village safe from attack and brought fresh meat to their tables. Mothers, who had once allowed their children to play with the hanyou and sent them to him for help in their lessons, kept their children back when he entered the room. Thought the members of the small company of jewel hunters tried to include him in the feasts and Kagome herself would ask him to sit beside her, unfriendly glares would soon drive the silver haired young demon back into the wild. Perhaps Kagome could have diffused the situation, but she was rarely there. Kagome spent a great deal of time at home in her era and so when she came back to the feudal era, on rare occasions, she just assumed that Inuyasha had done something to upset the villagers. Never did it enter her thoughts that their one small had been the source for an avalanche of malice directed at the hanyou.
Things continued to worsen. At first Inuyasha would eat in the hall, perhaps speak a little with Miroku, or Sango, or Kagome if she was there, and then retire into the forest for the night. Until one night he came into the hall looking particularly rumpled and exhausted, glanced around at the uninviting looks directed toward him, turned and was gone. After that he took to eating with Kaede in her hut. Eventually the demon would disappear for days without a word to anyone. Each time he left the span of time that passed until his reappearance would lengthen.
******
Two days before the high priestess' Kaede's birthday celebration Kagome came through the Bone Eater's Well with bags of decorations and presents for the old woman, who was her sister in her previous incarnation. Arriving in the village proper Kagome spotted a familiar figure hurrying through the snow toward the village center. "Sango! Hey, Sango!" Kagome called out. The demon slayer halted and raised a hand in greeting. When Kagome drew near the woman she said, "Can you help me with these bags?"
"Of course. What is all this Kagome?"
"I brought decorations for Kaede's birthday party and I picked out some really great medical books for her present."
"My you certainly have brought many things with you," the dark haired woman exclaimed.
"Oh, you know me. I can't resist a party. It's going to be so much fun, don't you think Sango?"
"Well, yes. The whole village is in an uproar making preparations," she said as the two began to head for the relative warmth of the village's main hall. "I think that Lady Kaede is a bit overwhelmed by all the attention though."
The two stepped into the hall and deposited their things in a corner and went to warm themselves by the fire. "Well, how often is it that a person turns sixty?" Kagome asked as she accepted a cup of tea from an old woman that'd been tending the fire. "She needs some kind of celebration."
"True," the demon slayer agreed taking a cup for herself and thanking the elderly woman at the fireside.
"Everyone is coming, right Sango?"
Sango thought for a moment then answered, "Everyone from the village, yes."
"Who's missing?" Kagome asked. Sango looked up startled. "I take it someone is missing or you would have just answered 'yes.'"
The older woman placed her cup on the ground in front of her and sighed. "We haven't been able to find Inuyasha for some weeks. I don't know if he knows about the party or if he thinks that he's not welc…"
Kagome interrupted Sango by saying, "Oh, that's just like him to disappear at a time like this. Why doesn't he think of someone else for a change?"
"But, Kagome, I don't think you understand. Inuyasha…"
"Is being stubborn and refusing to do something for someone who has done so much for all of us. You watch, I bet that he knows the party's tomorrow night and he just doesn't show up because he doesn't want to."
"Oh, Kagome," the demon slayer sighed. She did however notice that the old woman by the fire was listening a little too intently to the conversation so she tried to distract the young Miko. "Kagome, tell me how is that boy you've been seeing?"
"Houjo?"
"Yes," the demon slayer smiled encouragingly. "Have you 'gone out' with him recently?" Sango asked, over emphasizing the modern term that Kagome used to describe courtship in her time.
"Oh, yeah. He took me to the movies last Saturday and then we went out to dinner at this new café that opened across the street." Kagome continued on in this manner for some time.
******
Meanwhile in the forest Inuyasha, who was indeed aware of the approaching festivities, was working hard to finish his present for the old priestess. He'd hunted down several low-level demons that were renowned for their thick, velvety soft fur pelts and was in the middle of fashioning a warm cloak for the old woman, who was in dire need of one, if the state of her winter gear was any indicator. In his youth, in his father's house, he'd helped his mother and her ladies make the garments worn by the royal household. He'd had a lonely childhood. As a half demon prince in his father's court he could not attain the anonymity others in his position enjoyed and it was not in his father's nature to end the harassment the small boy suffered from the courtiers. To do so would have shown weakness on Inuyasha's part and made him an even greater target than he already was. Therefore, the young boy often took refuge with his mother and her handmaidens. As such he had early on acquired the skills of a talented seamstress.
The Lady's cloak was lined with the fur pelts he'd prepared for the garment and the outside was made from a bright auburn silk he'd traded for at another village. The buttons that would fasten the cloak across the lady's chest fit into bright silver loops made from his own hair. The silver glittered in the light like precious metal, but unlike the metal it so resembled these loops would neither tarnish nor weaken over time. They were virtually unbreakable. Inuyasha also used his own hair as thread for the garment to ensure that the stitching would never unravel or need to be resewn. The cloak was long and would be loose on the old woman so as to afford her maximum protection from the cold without impeding her movements. He was nearly finished with the garment and had acquired some wrapping and ribbon to decorate the gift. He hoped Kaede would like it. He was very fond of the old woman after all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N:
1) Didn't you wander how his kimono gets fixed after every battle? ^_^
2) Thank you so much everyone who reviewed! I was so happy to find all those emails in my box! I'm glad you all are enjoying this I really do love writing these little stories for you.
3) Sorry this is so short. I wasn't going to update until Wednesday, but I really am concerned about that note I put at the top of this. I don't want anyone reading this who shouldn't be. I apologize if I have offended anyone, but the rating is there for your protection! I know that sounds hokey but it's true and my conscience is bothering me so much about this that I've even considered deleting my account on FF.net. I don't want to add to the moral degeneration of minors, even though I know that I'm not a major contributor to the problem with the little stories I write.