Chapter 5: Kaede's Story

"Thank you for offering to look the men over," said Miroku, bowing to the elderly miko who had offered to act as a healer for the recruits. It was so fortunate that the miko Kaede had been passing by the town and heard about their camp, and was willing to help them.

It would never have occurred to him that the miko had ulterior motives.

"Not at all," Kaede smiled. "It is my honour and duty to do so."

"Keh!" snorted Inuyasha. He didn't buy any of the miko-spiritual-healing nonsense; rather, he believed in not falling sick in the first place. "We're all healthy, thank you very much."

"It'll do no harm to have a miko look them over," argued Miroku. "Not every one has hanyou strength, Inuyasha."

In the end, Miroku won the argument, and Inuyasha sulked while Kaede made her rounds on the tents.

"First a miko, what next?" he grumbled. "A cook? Or maybe a nanny?"

Naturally Kaede made her stop at the girls' tent. Kagome and Sango were sprawled onto sleeping mats in the most unladylike fashion.

"How have you two been?" she asked, dismayed to see them looking so exhausted.

"Kaede! How did you get here?" The pleased surprise showed in Kagome's voice.

"We're doing very well, just a bit tired and starved." Sango added in answer Kaede's question. "The food's horrible here."

Well, what had these girls expected, signing themselves off to some male-run camp? Kaede sighed, and took pity on them. "Well, I'm sure I could always report to the commanders that the men show signs of malnutrition..." Kaede said, pretending to thinking hard.

"Please do," chortled Sango.

"I have a brother!" sang Kagome, eager to share the news.

"She's been ranting about it every second of the day since she found out," Sango told Kaede.

"A brother?" asked Kaede, shocked. "Who told you?" The servants had all been banned from speaking on pain of death.

"Wait, who told me?" Kagome fixed a questioning gaze on her old nurse. "Kaede, do you know something?"

The old miko tried to look away, but Kagome wouldn't let her. Kaede sighed again. "I really shouldn't be saying anything. The mistress gave us instructions not to..."

"What mistress?" demanded Kagome. "My step-mother? The one that threw us out?"

"Hell, Kaede, she's not in control anymore," added Sango.

"Well, still... we swore an oath..." Mikos did not just renege on oaths so easily. Kaede tried to make them, understand.

"To hell with oaths! Please, Kaede...?" wheedled Kagome.

The miko rolled her eyes. "Ok, but just this once. You're never going to take advantage of me again." How could she help it? Kaede had nursed Kagome from infancy as her lord's daughter; anything Kagome said was law, despite Kaede's best attempts to teach the girl the right way of doing things.

She took awhile settling herself on the floor. When Kaede was comfortable, she began her tale.

"Your mother, Kagome," she started, "died when you were a few months old. Many thought, and still think, she was murdered, but at that time there was no evidence to prove it. She was buried with appropriate ceremonies and processions.

"Then, a vicious lady appeared in the courts of my lord Higurashi. She first appeared sweet and demure. He was too busy grieving – he paid her no attention. Incensed, she held you and your brother, and threatened to kill you two if he didn't marry her.

"And marry her he did. Not long after the wedding, your father left for a month-long conference in the Western Lands. I told him to take his son along," sighed Kaede. "But he didn't want a three-year-old son following him to an important daimyo meeting. I can't blame him. If I were asked to bring a child along to say... a prayer gathering, I wouldn't.

"Your stepmother had yet to conceive, but she wasn't worried. However, when she would bear a son, she didn't want any other male heirs standing in the way. She took the opportunity to get rid of your brother. He was sent to a monastery, where the priests were sworn to secrecy. One however, told your brother his true heritage. The priest was later killed, but the damage was done. From that moment in time, your stepmother knew that her place in the Higurashi estate was threatened.

"So, when your father died leaving her childless, and no male heirs were found, she outright panicked. She sold you so she could forcefully take what belonged to you and your brother."

"How very complicated," Sango said.

"You mean, how scandalous," corrected Kaede. "Who's the one you think is your brother again, Kagome?"

"Miroku," Kagome replied swiftly. "He was in Gion the night we escaped, at the party. He must've been looking for me. Right after that him and his hanyou friend appeared here. And he has the mark of all Higurashi descendants."

"The priest? Well, your brother did grow up with priests... It would be natural for them to apprentice him as one."

"He's not a very good priest," Kagome said somewhat petulantly, and even Sango had to nod. "He goes to teahouses to drink with geisha."

And Kaede simply had to smile.

Before she left, Kaede reported back to Miroku and Inuyasha's tent.

"Miko-sama," Miroku said with a brilliant smile that would have melted even the most pure miko's heard. Kaede could see why Kagome said her brother wasn't a very good priest.

"All the men are sound, for the most part." Kaede put on her most serious face. "They do seem a bit... undernourished, though. I would suggest better food."

"Your advice is noted," said Miroku. "Are you, by any chance, a native of Western Japan?"

"Indeed," replied Kaede, delighted. "How did you know?"

"Your accent," he answered. Kaede spoke in a very distinctive, if not archaic form of speech.

"Can you speak the dialect, then?" asked Kaede in surprise.

Miroku nodded. "A fair bit..." He wondered whether or not to ask this old miko about his sister, remembering that mikos often travelled from household to household to heal, and consequently also to share the gossip. "Tell me, have you heard of the Higurashi household?"

"Quite a bit, yes," Kaede said cautiously.

Miroku paused. "Do you know that they recently sold a daughter to -"

"An okiya in Gion?" Kaede nodded. "Yes, indeed."

"How did the servants feel about that?" asked Miroku.

The miko seemed to ponder her answer. "Well, naturally, none were too pleased. But most accepted the fact, and moved on."

"I see." This would make Miroku's task harder than ever, if none of the Higurashi servants would speak out. He had thought about questioning them... but servants were always loyal to the current head of household, which unfortunately was the manipulative Lady Higurashi at the moment.

"Miko-sama..." Miroku stopped her as Kaede headed towards the exit. "Was there ever any gossip about another Higurashi heir?"

Kaede eyed Miroku with a small smile. "Why, Miroku-sama... I think you know the answer to that."

"Just where do you think you're going?" hissed Sesshoumaru.

Jaken halted in his tracks. He had thought Lord Sesshoumaru was in his bedroom... apparently not. "D-does Sesshoumaru-sama require anything of me?"

"An answer," growled Sesshoumaru. "Why do you keep running off for days at a time?"

"I..." Jaken faltered.

Did the toad think that a whisper, a rumour of a recruit camp, would never reach the ears of the Lord of the Western Lands? And did the poor fool think that he could get away with sneaking off for days at a time without announcing it?

"Tell me you didn't start a recruiting factory for useless men," Sesshoumaru said silkily. Silkily, dangerously, it was all the same.

"Well, milord..."

"Foor..." cursed the lord. "Take me there."

From the little of what Sesshoumaru could see, Jaken's job of recruiting had been terrible. This considering that Inuyasha and Miroku had done something to whip them into a lopsided shape. Some looked ready to be almost low-grade samurai; others looked like they might need a bit more training. These were men a human lord might use in battle, but Sesshoumaru would never consider trusting any of them into his ranks of officers.

Moreover, these human men stunk of dirt and sweat and unwashed bodies, and Sesshoumaru cringed internally. He wondered how his brother could stand the scent. However, the hanyou did seem to step very gingerly through the tents, careful to avoid certain men in particular.

So far the taiyoukai hadn't said a thing, which raised Jaken's hopes a little.

"You like, my lord?" he asked eagerly.

"No," he said, careful to squash the toad's ego. Sesshoumaru didn't need a retainer, much less a retainer like Jaken.

"They aren't a bad lot," said Miroku, feeling a tad sorry for Jaken. Jaken's next sentence, though, erased all sympathetic feelings towards the toad.

"They would've been better if you were more competent in training them," snapped Jaken.

Sesshoumaru glared at the toad. "I would have rather you never started the job at all."

Jaken seemed to cower.

"Sesshoumaru!" Inuyasha came over, and nodded awkwardly at his older brother. "What brings you here?"

"Business as usual," Sesshoumaru said shortly. Picking up the toad's mess. Rather, he had a meeting with the shogun nearby, and Sesshoumaru wasn't about to show up on time for the likes of Naraku.

Yes, he was here... killing time.

As he started to leave, he dropped his voice and turned to Miroku, his tone full of that imperious quality which Houjo or Kouga didn't possess.

"Give you men a short while to soak in the river, will you?"

"I see your point," said Miroku, holding his nose as a small of group of men passed by.

Sesshoumaru watched his cup of tea lazily, trying to put up with Naraku's long speech. The gist of which was that Naraku wanted to form a alliance with Sesshoumaru.

"Why weaken yourself by allying with lords like Houjou and Kouga, Sesshoumaru-sama?" asked Naraku, his voice oily and slick.

"I never said I was going to," Sesshoumaru said coolly.

Naraku took this as a good sign. "So, work with me. Help me get want I want, and you will, in turn, be granted the things that you want."

"And what do you want?"

The shogun smiled patiently. "The throne of Japan, of course."

"If I recall, the shogun was to stay out of the contest," Sesshoumaru suggested mildly.

"The emperor is dead, Sesshoumaru," Naraku said easily. "Who cares?"

"Our traditions are still alive," returned Sesshoumaru.

"Honestly." Naraku tried to control his building anger. "Don't talk to me about traditions; you've disregarded more of them than I can count."

"Well, taking into consideration the limitations of your intelligence..." Sesshoumaru eyed Naraku. "My answer to you, straightforward and blunt, is, if you want the throne, step down from your shogun seat and resume the rank of a daimyo lord."

Of course, Naraku would refuse. Yes, the daimyo were eligible for the throne and the shogun was not. But Naraku had hardly any lands in his own right as a lord. Without his shogun post, Naraku sould have very little sway in the the politics of the day.

"That's not an option!" yelled Naraku.

"Well, go beg the Higurashis then." Sesshoumaru couldn't care less with these petty alliances.

"And you'll regret it when they become my trusted advisors when I'm the emperor!" snarled Naraku.

"I'm sure I will."

As the taiyoukai rose to leave Naraku gritted his teeth in anger. For all people said of the Lord of the Western Lands being an emotionless person... Well, Naraku was positive he had heard sarcasm coming from the great Sesshoumaru himself.

"We do not stink," said Kagome indignantly. Sesshoumaru's missive had been quickly filtered through the camp, and Jaken was trying to get everyone to jump into the nearby lake right there and then.

"A bath," smiled Sango in bliss. Miroku had given the entire camp the afternoon off to 'get clean', as he put it.

"Pity we have to wait for the rest of those barbarians to finish soaking and start napping before we can go," sighed Kagome.

"And then the water will be filthy like hell," Sango said.

Kagome grimaced. "Hopefully not. It's a river, after all. Maybe new water will come flowing in."

Then the conversation turned to lighter topics.

"Did you sneak in a comb? God knows how much my hair tangles..." Sighing, Sango raked her fingers through her long hair.

"And where's the soap Kaede gave us? Tell me you didn't leave it behind," groaned Kagome.

"Damn. It's back in the tent, melting. I'll go get it."

"Ha, tricked you, I've got it here," grinned Kagome.

From the far side of the river the men started calling to them.

"You two! Are you crazy? Come in, the air's quite cold. The water is warm."

"Uhh... No thanks," Sango said, plastering a false smile on her face. "I'm enjoying the breeze."

"I'm enjoying it with her," Kagome was quick to add.

"Crazy," snorted the men playfully. When the last of them splashed out and went off to their tents to sleep, Kagome and Sango hopped down from their rocks and slid into the river.

"So when are you going to tell Miroku you're actually siblings?" asked Sango, splashing water over her face.

"This is probably the tenth time you've asked me," commented Kagome. "Let's see... When I have no choice?"

"Uh huh..."

"Pass me the soap, you're not sharing."

"Uh huh..."

"Sango!" muttered Kagome crossly.

"Uh huh..."

"Hey!" yelled Kagome, splashing water in front of Sango. "Wake up..."

"Sorry... muttered Sango. Her eyes were glued to the far side of the river. Kagome followed where she was staring... right at Miroku and Inuyasha.

"Gods, Sango!" sighed Kagome, ducking her friend in the water.

"What was that for?" gasped Sango, wiping water from her face.

"For making eyes at my brother!"

"How was I supposed to know him and Inuyasha would be bathing too?"

"Well, you shouldn't have looked, anyways."

"Well, I'm sorry, Miss Pure and Perfect," laughed Sango, "not everyone's so prudish as you." She dived underwater and pulled Kagome's legs from beneath her.

"God!" shrieked Kagome, spluttering as water filled her eyes and ears. Resurfacing, she glared at Sango.

"Uh oh..." muttered Sango.

"Miroku!" hissed Inuyasha. "You didn't mention there were going to be girls here." He pointed to a screaming, splashing mess not too far from them. They had to be girls from the village. Hopefully they hadn't seen them yet. The last thing Inuyasha wanted was to get beaten up by angry fathers and husbands.

"You got a point there," grumbled Miroku reluctantly.

"My point exactly," Inuyasha muttered.

"For shame," Kaede scolded for the hundredth time when she saw the girls again. "Bathing in the river!"

"Well, we had little choice," shrugged Sango.

"Besides, it wasn't like we were going to get robbed by yazuka mob members anytime soon," grumbled Kagome. "Miroku and Inuyasha were there too."

"What!" asked Kaede. "You bathed with men?"

"Hardly," said Sango airily. "More like, boys."

"Besides, they were like a hundred meters away," added Kagome.

The miko sighed.

"You two will be the death of me," she complained.

"We already are," giggled Kagome.

"Hardly. I can stand shocks better than you think," rejoined Kaede. "But let me tell you a little secret. Why Miroku and Inuyasha were using the river I don't know, but I do know they have their own private bath tub. Maybe you can borrow it sometime," she hinted with a wink.

And Kagome winked at Sango.

"That arrogant, son of a bitch won't help!" yelled Naraku. The meeting with that cursed Lord of the Western Lands had not gone very well for Naraku at all. "And excuse the pun. I keep forgetting he is a dog demon."

"Oh..." murmured Kanna.

"Tell me, is there a way to force him to help me?"

"None, my lord," whispered Kanna.

"Damn it. Well, is there a way I can make him lose the people loyal to him?"

"One, my lord."

"Well?"

"There is talk of an army..."

"Which one? Where is it? What... Oh never mind." Naraku knew he could find out easily if an army somewhere was forming. "What do I do with the army?"

There was no reply, and Naraku nearly shook the girl in frustration. She being silent assured him that she wouldn't tell any enemies his secrets. But that also meant that sometimes she wouldn't even talk to him.

"Do I attack that army?" questioned Naraku.

Kanna nodded slowly.

And two red eyes glowed in anticipation.