Third Time's A Charm- Chapter 5
'The woman was cheerful.' Inuyasha thought to himself in silent annoyance.
It was easy to tell by the brilliant smiled that danced on her face and the sunny looks she cast him every so often. She'd even let him sleep later then she had the previous day and didn't bother chiding to goading him when he got grumpy or irritable. Simple smiled indulgently which irritated him more then her humoring him did. And so while she was in the best of moods he was balancing on the blade edge of the worst of them. The bumpy motions of the horse beneath him carrying him ever closer to this village were not improving his mood the slightest. He finally snapped when she started humming happily.
"Will you stop that!"
She looked over at him and beamed, eyes dancing with laughter. "Not even you can damper my spirits today Inuyasha. So yes, if it will make you happy, I'll stop." He said nothing and she shook her head. "I told you, you don't have anything to worry about over my village." She paused and added. "It must have been hard, having the people surrounding you when you grew up despising you for something you couldn't help."
"I don't need no village. As if I care what they thought of me."
She smiled. "Sour grapes."
"What?"
She laughed. "Never heard the sour grapes fable? There was a fox who was walking along one day when he spotted the most ripe, plump, and delicious looking grapes he had ever seen growing on a vine that curled around a branch high up in a tree. And so the fox went over and jumped upwards again and again and again trying to get the grapes but could reach them. And so finally he stopped trying and turned up his nose declaring they were probably sour anyway then walked away."
He blinked at her in a rather perplexed manner. "What does that have to do with me? I'm not a fox in case you haven't noticed."
She rolled her eyes. "The point of the story is that we have a tendency to scorn what we can't, don't, or didn't have."
"I think you're full of it."
"I'm well aware of that Inuyasha my dear. You seem to-" She broke of then and reined in the horse a bit and a gentle smile spread again. "There. You can see it!"
Inuyasha turned and looked in the direction she was gazing. "The tops of pointed roves could be seen poking in the distance just beyond where the trees broke to give way to a huge, probably man made, grove. Akari let out a laugh and spurred her horse forward. Hair whipping out behind her as she glanced behind her once and winked at him.
"Race you."
Inuyasha blanched a bit. He had no intention of making this stupid beast go any faster then it already was. She must have seen that because she glanced back doubled around and smacked the creature on it's back side hard. The horse reared then shot forward following the woman's horse as she took the lead again. And Inuyasha held on for dear life, silently spitting curses at her.
The trees broke soon enough and Akari wheeled her mount till it blocked the path of his own making soft clicking noises. The animal reared again but stilled, pawing the ground then settled into a slow walk again. She smiled at him brightly, innocently as if his horse had took off of it's own accord and she had simply saved him.
"Not in a better mood I'm guessing." He growled at her and she laughed again.
"Lady Akari!" There was a loud scream of delight, a child's voice and the woman turned to see a small girl nearby.
Akari smiled and lifted a hand in greeting. "Mika! Go run and tell Ayako that I'm back and prepare for a patient."
The little girl smiled. "Yes my lady!" And turned running towards the houses a head screaming. "Miss Ayako! Lady Akari is back!"
Inuyasha flinched and steeled himself, eyes going hard gold as he heard the stirring inside the houses as people began to emerge, to greet Akari he assumed. The reached the edge of the village were the houses began, Akari still smiling and then doors open and people walked from them, those already out lifting their heads from the work they were doing to face them and Inuyasha's whole form jerked in shock and surprise, his limbs stiffening with confusion and disbelief.
At least ¾ of the villagers of the village, what he could see so far anyway.... were half-breeds.
"Lady Akari." A man stepped forward to take her horse as the woman dismounted swinging down of the creature. She smiled at him.
"What is it Keisuke?"
The half-breed kitsune cleared his throat a bit. "Yaeko and I have been waiting for you to return. We were hoping that...well you could perform the ceremony." He said setting his face in a serious frown as he gestured towards a human woman standing just behind him, blushing shyly.
Akari beamed. "Of course! It's about time. I'll need time to get settled and set up of course but I'm sure it shouldn't take to long."
He bowed. "Thank you my lady."
"Of course. Congratulations Yaeko." The woman just blushed more and murmured a thank you.
Akari finally returned her attention to him and gestured for him to get down of the horse as a human boy came to take the reins. He did and flinched when a number of eyes turned his way curiously and moved nearer to her involuntarily.
"What the hell is this?" he growled.
"This?" She smiled. "This is Mishima. The beautiful island that isn't quite and island. Come on." She reached out and took firm grasp of his arm and steered him forward.
He growled again, deeper. "These are half breeds."
"You don't say?" Her tone amused.
"Are you telling me this is a village for half breeds?"
"No." She said sternly, almost angrily. "This is a village for those who need a home. This is a village for those who are lost. This is a village of no judgments."
"You have human and half breeds living together." He said quietly.
"Is there a problem with that? Should it matter what they are? Oh I know it does. I've seen too much to know it does matter. Everywhere but here anyway."
"Why?"
"Here we are." She said ignoring Inuyasha's question as they reached a small hut. She pushed back the heavy flap of cloth that hung over the doorway and stepped inside. "Ayako?"
And someone tackled her.