Chapter 8: Talks and Rice Cakes
"I still don't believe it. She'll fool nobody!" fumed Kagome. "That… that woman, pretending to be me?" She had been so close to using another w-word.
"Oh, you'll be surprised," Sesshoumaru said. "Kikyou is a talented geisha, and hence a talented actress."
"So she'd fool even you?" teased Kagome.
"No. But I would have no way to disprove that Kikyou was you. Your stepmother could hide her in seclusion. And I wouldn't be able to charge in demanding to see her."
"No, it wouldn't be proper," mocked Kagome with a grin.
"No, it wouldn't," he said, quickening his pace.
Kagome hurried after him, trying to get used to her shoes. After walking in boots for so long she was finding it hard to walk along in the high heels of ladies' wooden clogs.
The more she caught up to him the more he quickened his pace. Finally, irritated, Kagome tugged his sleeve. "Must you walk so fast? Some people have cumbersome shoes, you know!" she said.
Sesshoumaru looked at her like she was a fool. "Miss Higurashi, people are already staring. You're supposed to walk a few paces behind me. I wouldn't keep speeding up if you would just walk like you're supposed to."
She glared at him. "Like how? A lady's tottering steps? A geisha's seductive sway? A samurai's swaggering march?"
"It's not like you ever acted the lady anyways," he muttered.
Kagome ignored the remark. "So why am I coming with you to visit my house, if I can't let people know I'm me?" she asked sarcastically.
"To give everyone there a good scare. To let your stepmother know that you haven't disappeared off the face of the earth. And after that, she'll consult with Naraku, and he'll come up with another half-witted plan." Which Sesshoumaru looked forward to thwarting.
They reached the main gate of the Higurashi mansion, where the guards told them to wait while they announced their arrival.
"I thought any visitors of equal or higher rank were to be let in immediately," Kagome whispered.
"The rules in your residence have changed," Sesshoumaru informed her. "Any visitors of equal or higher rank will be first announced, and only let in by your stepmother's orders. Anyone of lower rank will not be admitted unless arranged beforehand." This was one of Lady Higurashi's failed attempts at snobbery, for the general sentiment from the lesser nobility to this new house rule was that of disgust.
The guards at the gate took the opportunity to apologize to Lord Sesshoumaru. "We have orders," they said.
"How insincere," Kagome said, glaring at them.
Sesshoumaru sent her a look telling her to shut up.
She shrugged.
A man arrived from inside the house with a retinue of servants. "We apologize for the wait, Lord Sesshoumaru. Please, come in."
Sesshoumaru nodded and swept into the courtyard beyond. Kagome made to follow, but was stopped by the man.
"I need to see if you are carrying weapons," he said apologetically.
A smile lit up her face as Kagome recognized the man. "Orders… can be changed, Kotsu-kun," Kagome said, choosing her words carefully. Kotsu-kun. She was one who'd made the nickname up, and was the only one he allowed to use that. The other unfortunate people who'd tried to address him by that had been soundly thrashed.
His eyes widened. Before he had finished bowing and stepping aside she had already grabbed his arms and stepped inside.
"Dismissed," he told the rest of the servants, who all looked puzzled but said nothing.
When the last one had disappeared Bankotsu spun her around in a little circle gleefully. "Where've you been?" he asked. "How did you get away?"
"Long story," said Kagome. "But I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about our meeting."
"Of course," he said. "What type of a loyal servant do you take me for?"
"The best kind. How have you been?"
Sesshoumaru appeared next to them. "You do know I don't tolerate my maids flirting with other men," he said with an air of sternness, with a hinted look across the courtyard. A few servants were staring at them.
"I am so sorry, Sesshoumaru-sama" Kagome said, bowing deeply and exaggeratedly. She stuck her tongue out at him.
"Come on," he said. "Our hostess will be here anytime soon."
"My third cup of tea," grumbled Kagome, "and they still haven't arrived yet."
"This is how things are done, lady," Bankotsu said politely. "But I could ask the servants to prepare a meal, if you like."
"Please do," Kagome said.
"Someone's spoiled," Sesshoumaru said.
"Oh, but I'll say you were the one that wanted food," Kagome said. "It wouldn't do to boss the servants around, especially when I am only a servant myself."
Bankotsu smiled. "Do you think you can finish eating before the mistress comes?"
"Of course," Kagome said airily. "I haven't eaten for two days."
"Very well then," he said, snapping his fingers. A servant appeared. "Bring out three dishes," he ordered.
"Only three?" Kagome pouted.
"Now, my lady. We wouldn't want you to get fat, would we?" Bankotsu asked.
A maid arrived with a tray of food. Bankotsu grabbed the first one, a plate of fish, and began filleting the fish skilfully with chopsticks.
Kagome thanked him and started eating, occasionally passing him a piece.
"What?" snapped Kagome, seeing Sesshoumaru's look of disgust. "You don't share with your friends?"
"We don't eat with servants," he said. "And we fillet our fish ourselves."
"Lord Sesshoumaru, I believe you have it wrong," Bankotsu said respectfully. "Lady Higurashi and I are friends. If I fillet her fish, it is out of friendship, not duty. If she shares her food with me, it is her decision and not her obligation to reward a servant."
"Exactly," Kagome said. She picked up a piece of fish and offered it to Sesshoumaru.
"Want some?" she asked sweetly.
Lady Higurashi leapt up as the messenger arrived. The arrival of Lord Sesshoumaru had thrown her off completely, and she had quickly dispatched a missive to Naraku asked for advice.
"Naraku says to entertain Lord Sesshoumaru, but be sure to bring your daughter out, to show him you've taken her back," reported a runner. Naraku would surely have kicked himself if he met Lord Sesshoumaru's maid at the moment.
"Alright then," the woman said. "Kik – I mean, Kagome; Naraku has instructed us on what to do. Let's go greet our guest."
Kikyou nodded. "And our excuse for taking over an hour to meet him?"
The stepmother thought for awhile. "Umm… you and I were outside, looking at shops like at mothers and daughters do. We arrived home only a few minutes ago and came immediately to greet our guest."
"Excellent," said Kikyou. "Let's go then… Mother."
Kagome looked up, in the middle of her last dish, and saw her stepmother hurry in, closely followed by Kikyou.
"I am sorry for the delay," she said, rather insincerely, noted Kagome. "Ki- Kagome, dear, greet Lord Sesshoumaru."
Kikyou took the cue right away and bowed deeply. Kagome stared, until her stepmother glanced her way, when she quickly dropped her gaze. It became painfully aware in the room that while Kagome was only a maid, she had a pair of chopsticks lifted towards her mouth.
Thinking quickly, Kagome popped the food in her mouth, chewed quickly, and swallowed.
"No poison, my lord," she said quickly, before bringing a mouthful to Sesshoumaru's lips.
He glared at her, but allowed her to feed him anyways.
Kagome could've sworn she heard Bankotsu sigh in relief.
"I have never seen your maid before," the stepmother began, attempting small talk.
"I found her just recently," Sesshoumaru said carelessly.
"She looks decent," the stepmother said. "Lift your head, dear, I want a good look at you."
Kagome lifted her head slightly. Kikyou gasped in recognition, before controlling herself.
Sesshoumaru feigned nonchalance and appeared to be in his diplomatic conversation mode. The stepmother looked as if she wanted him to leave and never come back. By the time Sesshoumaru decided to spare the poor woman by taking his leave she was shaking like a tree branch in the wind.
"Bankotsu, show our guests out," the stepmother squeaked out.
He nodded and slid the door open.
Sesshoumaru had already gone out on the street but Kagome dawdled behind.
Before the main gate, Bankotsu hesitated and looked at Kagome.
"Do you know your late father had a will?"
She looked surprised. "He made one? I was told he was too sick to even say anything before he died."
He looked grim. "The lord was. But that didn't mean he didn't anticipate his death. He made his will about a month before he died. It -" He paused. "Didn't Sesshoumaru tell you about it?"
"Huh? No… he probably wouldn't know about it."
"Probably," Bankotsu agreed, though Kagome knew he was lying. "Well, I hope I see you soon."
"Me too," Kagome said, hugging him tight before hurrying out on the street.
"You know, it isn't proper for young ladies to be so close to men," Sesshoumaru lectured. "Especially one of your status."
Kagome coughed. "Well, he's only a loyal servant. We grew up together, practically."
"Even more so why you should keep your distance."
She rolled her eyes. "Don't give me your etiquette lecture. I know what should and shouldn't be done."
"But your behaviour shows otherwise," he said calmly, shutting her up.
The panic mounted at the Higurashi household.
"He knows! He knows I'm an impostor and he brought her here to prove it, I just know it!" cried Kikyou.
"I don't think Lord Sesshoumaru knows." Lady Higurashi looked pale. "He acted all lordly with her. I think that's how she ran away; first, she ran towards his lands, then found a job in his palace. There's no way he knows."
"Impossible! She's been gone but three weeks. If she did find a job with Sesshoumaru, Kagome would have started off a low-ranking maid. Low-ranking servants don't accompany their masters on visits to other nobles," cried Kikyou anxiously.
The stepmother ran her fingers through her hair. "Who knows? You know how sneaky and resourceful that little wench is. She probably slept with him or something."
Kikyou laughed bitterly. "I wish. She would've saved me a lot of trouble if she were that willing to part with her innocence. There was a battle between the okiya mother and her for days on the issue of selling of her mizuage; and she won."
"So what do we do now?"
Kikyou looked grim. "We cannot tell Naraku that Lord Sesshoumaru has Kagome. We will just have to bide our time."
"You know, this is actually fun," Inuyasha said, scrutinizing a rice cake. They were pouring over a colourful selection of confections, each equally tempting. A patient stall vendor waited for them to make their choices.
"I know," Kagome agreed, feeling light and comfortable in an airy haori outfit. She officially detested wearing armour. "I wonder why Sesshoumaru said he wanted to talk to Miroku and San – I mean, Kohaku…"
Inuyasha couldn't care. "Who would've thought Sesshoumaru would be so nice? Telling us to stay out of his way for the rest of the day; giving us fifteen silver nuggets to spend on tea and cakes. I mean, how dense is he when it comes to practical matters? Fifteen silver nuggets can buy silver cakes. You can buy a fourth-class courtesan at the Shimabara district for one nugget. And even those girls are elegant."
"Ha, but Shimabara is in Tokyo, isn't it?"
"Whatever. It's not like I would spend a whole silver nugget on a woman, however elegant," snorted Inuyasha. "Rice cakes are so much more fulfilling."
Kagome was insulted, but didn't show it. After all, she had been a geisha. "Yeah. Hey, try this one," she said, picking out a plump white cake, beautifully dusted with rice flour.
"Ok," Inuyasha said, handing over a coin to the vendor. He chewed it. "Red bean stuffing? Commonplace… but delicious," he added, chomping the rest down quickly.
"Your turn," she said easily, fingering her leather drawstring pouch of money.
"This one," he said, choosing a powder green one.
It was a fun game they were playing. One person chose the cake, the other person ate it and guessed at the flavour.
Kagome fished out the correct amount of coins, handed it over, and took the cake from Inuyasha.
"You gave me a hard one," she complained, chewing slowly. "Umm… green tea with a peanut stuffing."
The vendor said it was right, and Kagome picked a pale yellow cake.
"Corn! Yuck…"
"Nonsense! It's delicious!"
"Boy, you need serious help in your food preferences."
The vendor interrupted. "Actually, it was mung bean…"
"The palace staff will bring dinner in a few minutes," Sesshoumaru said.
"Umm… ok…" Kagome said, feeling slightly apprehensive. Sure, she was supposed to be a boy, but still. Her first instincts told her to protect her waistline. There was still a sweet taste from all those rice cakes in her mouth…
"I'm full," complained Inuyasha.
Sesshoumaru eyed his brother. "How many rice cakes did you eat? Surely fifteen taels don't go far…"
Miroku's jaw dropped. "Don't go far? Don't go far? Sesshoumaru, are you crazy? You could buy solid silver rice cakes with that much! You know, in the Shimabara district, a courtesan of the fourth rank can be bought for only one tael? And that is, a courtesan who is fully accomplished and trained by experts."
Sango frowned at the Shimabara comment, but added her own ideas. "Fifteen taels will buy you a new sword, top-grade… Though you would have to purchase your own materials."
"So how many cakes did you eat?" demanded Sesshoumaru. He knew Inuyasha was a glutton at heart, but surely his brother had more control.
"The whole stall," Kagome said weakly, torn between feeling sick and laughing Sesshoumaru's lack of knowledge.
"And a whole street of stalls," added Inuyasha. "And buckets of tea to wash it down."
"And a steaming corncob each."
"And a thick slice of watermelon."
"We donated a few taels to a beggar."
"And had rickshaw ride home."
"There's still about seven nuggets left over," Kagome said, tipping the money onto a table.
Sesshoumaru stared expressionlessly at the silver. "Well, use it tomorrow."
Kagome nearly choked. "What? Another day of stuffing myself sick with rice cakes?"
Sesshoumaru nodded curtly. Sango nodded sympathetically.
Sure enough Kagome and Inuyasha found themselves turned out by Sesshoumaru the next day onto the streets to amuse themselves while he attended to more important business.
"Here, poor dear," Kagome said, handing a package of rice cakes to a scruffy little boy. "Have something to eat."
"Well, that's the last of the rice cakes," Inuyasha said. "We must've bought all the rice cakes on sale."
"Definitely. So what do you want to do now?"
"Don't know… watch an opera?"
Kagome laughed disbelievingly. "You're an opera person?"
"No," he admitted.
"Well then, let's go do something else."
"Like?"
"I don't know. We'll look around, I guess."
And Inuyasha followed in wonder, wondering why his strange friend hadn't been born a girl.
"I checked up on what you wanted investigated," Sango said as she entered the room, bowing briefly.
Sesshoumaru nodded. "And?"
Sango began. "You asked for which of the Higurashi servants would still remain loyal to Kagome, and if needed, fight for her. Well, I told you straight off there was Bankotsu and myself. Bankotsu was promoted by Lady Higurashi to a very high, trusted level and commands almost all of the Higurashi fighters. He estimates a third of the men he commands would come to our aid if needed out of loyalty to the old lord. Also, seeing as another third of the fighters are samurai trained to follow orders, they will obey Bankotsu no matter how much they object. So we can count on almost two-thirds of the Higurashi force."
"But with Naraku's assistance, the Higurashi force left over will still equal fifteen thousand foot soldiers, four thousand five hundred samurai, a generous handful of ninjas and three thousand on horses."
Sango nodded gravely. "They will overwhelm Lord Kouga and Hojou combined."
"I think they will be able to decimate Bankotsu's men too." It was a possibility; the fight would be a close call and Sesshoumaru knew it would depend on timing and strategy.
"You are certain Bankotsu is loyal to Kagome," Sesshoumaru said icily.
"He is. He is also very loyal to any Higurashi in control. If he has to make a choice, my guess is that it will be Kagome over the stepmother, but if we don't get to him first, he may already start attacking on order," Sango said.
They would simply have to get to Bankotsu first.
"Any news of your sister?"
Miroku sighed, wishing Lord Sesshoumaru didn't sound so interrogatory all the time. "When you sent me investigating I doubted she'd be in Kyoto. They say she has been taken back into the residence by my stepmother, but that is hardly a plausible story. If they'd found her, they would've returned her in glee. The whole Japan would learn of it, and gossip."
So the priest didn't know, and it was obvious Kagome hadn't told him anything. Sesshoumaru would make she did it soon. "Never mind that matter; I need you to go back to the recruitment camp. Leave Houjo in charge, and summon Jaken to Kyoto. And also that woman Kagura… I presume you are familiar with her."
Miroku eyed the lord. "You have a plan," he said, "and you're not sharing it."
Sesshoumaru didn't deign to reply. "I expect you back by tomorrow, dawn."
Miroku sighed and left the room, making for the stables. Probably Sesshoumaru wanted Jaken and Kagura back for simple reasons. It would only be two more people to boss around…
"God, is this cute or what?" Kagome gasped, scooping up a soft white puppy with ears not unlike Inuyasha's.
Inuyasha cringed and flattened his ears against his head. He was beginning to think of his friend as seriously gay.
She, or he, looked thoughtful. "But I've got Buyo – my cat – at home. They'll fight; Buyo doesn't like dogs…"
Reluctantly she put the dog down. "Come on, Inuyasha, let's go somewhere else."
He watched the words form from 'his' perfect cherry lips.
He noticed the eyelashes, thick and curled, just like a girl's.
As Higurashi Kei walked, without his armour, the curves of his body showed through his clothes.
He had grace unlike Sesshoumaru's but like Kagura's.
And Inuyasha couldn't shake him from his head. He imagined that Kei was a girl…
And blushed bright red.
I, he told himself sternly, am NOT gay.