CHAPTER SEVEN
*
The village was just like dozens of others Kagome had been in, but somehow this one gave her the creeps. In the dark, smoky interior of the inn, she kept glancing at sullen-faced farmers, wondering. Wondering if one of them had shot down the unarmed woman in the woods, and left her poor baby to die out there.
They had left the baby with Shippo and Kirara, back at the campsite. Fortunately the little half-demon was fast asleep, worn out by crying. Inuyasha had left the campsite before the others, still unwilling to look at the baby. Kagome wasn't sure why.
Miroku was sitting still, sipping his drink. He glanced around the room, examining each man's face. None of them look particularly welcoming, he thought. It might be hard to get news of any recent demon-human children from them... or then again, it might not.
"I hope Inuyasha remembers not to come out," Kagome whispered.
"I think the possibility of being identified as the dead woman's lover will give Inuyasha ample reason to stay hidden," Miroku said. "Wrongly identified, pardon me. But he did say that he might be nearby, to listen."
A faint thump from the ceiling made Kagome jump.
Miroku finished his drink and got up. Without an invitation, he sat down at a nearby table of farmers and said smoothly, "Pardon me. I am a simple travelling monk, searching out those who have been corrupted by demons. My name is Miroku."
"He can mix lies and truth without even blinking," Sango whispered to Kagome.
"Yeah, he's really good at it," Kagome whispered back.
One of the farmers, a guy with a nasty scar marring his eyebrows, grunted. "Have away with you. Our village has no demons near it. We've killed 'em all, one way or another." He sounded proud of that.
"Really?" Miroku said, rubbing his chin. "You are truly fortunate, then. I have been to many, many villages and have found few that weren't plagued by demons of one sort or another."
"Well, we ain't," a skeletal farmer said blearily.
Miroku appeared to consider this. "Well, that's quite a relief. I had heard some certain stories about a young woman I thought might need my help. Has your village had any recent births of children with... oh, well, demonic characteristics? Anything unusual?"
The room fell silent. The innkeeper, a fat bald man with an apron, turned bright red and seemed about to yell at Miroku, when Scarface announced proudly, "Aye, but no longer."
"No longer?" Miroku asked. "Might you explain further? I am VERY eager to hear what happened."
"We don't rightly know," Scarface said ominously. "But we got most of it from her maid. The girl blabbed it all when we caught them, and begged not to be hurt. We already knew about the demon."
"Demon?"
"Aye. A rich landowner was married to a pretty little peasant girl; she was all but sold to him, and he worshiped her even though he was almost old enough to her grandfather. Anyways, about ten months back he was killed by some damned demon, leaving the poor girl a widow. Well, we all showed her kindness, 'specially when we found out she was havin' a child.
"She seemed real torn up about it, so we left well alone and tried to be real kind to her. Well, when the baby's born, she locks herself in her big house, hardly sees nobody, and when she does leave it's only with her baby kept with her maid. We all thought she was still grieving over losing her husband. What any decent girl would do.
"Well, one day a lady-"
"My wife," a pudgy farmer announced, raising his cup. "The gods bless her."
"Yes, praise Buddha," Miroku said impatiently. "So, what happened?"
"His wife was bringing in some dumplings, so she went inside and found the woman holding her baby in a blanket. She tried to keep it hidden. But when the blanket accidently fell off, Oji's wife saw the creature. Monstrous thing with a mouthful of fangs, razor-sharp claws, bone-white hair -- and a dog's ears. Horrible thing," Scarface said with relish, warming to his tale.
Kagome stiffened as a faint scratching came from the roof. I really hope Inuyasha doesn't try barging in here, she thought fearfully. He had a way of getting involved in fights.
"I see," Miroku said grimly. "So this man's wife told the other villagers about the demon baby."
"Yep! We went after her through the woods, determined to kill her runt and make her suffer for bringing ill luck on us. But she got away -- though we cast a few good arrows after her. Serves her right."
The sound of a tile shattering could be heard from one of the windows. The innkeeper frowned and glanced outside.
"And her maid told all to us. The night her husband died, he came by and found her with a demon lover. He challenged the beast and was killed by him -- of course, the treacherous slut didn't tell us about that part. The demon didn't come 'round much after that, she said, and he'd stopped about six months before. He was some kind of dog demon." Scarface took a sip of sake, leering. "They'll be a lesson to anybody who dallies with a demon. We'll kill 'em and their spawn, that's what."
"Thank you very much," Miroku said blandly. "You've been very helpful. I think it's time I and my lovely companions were leaving." He stood up and went back to Kagome and Sango's table.
Kagome glanced out the door, as a blur of white and red shot into the treetops and vanished.
TO BE CONTINUED
*
The village was just like dozens of others Kagome had been in, but somehow this one gave her the creeps. In the dark, smoky interior of the inn, she kept glancing at sullen-faced farmers, wondering. Wondering if one of them had shot down the unarmed woman in the woods, and left her poor baby to die out there.
They had left the baby with Shippo and Kirara, back at the campsite. Fortunately the little half-demon was fast asleep, worn out by crying. Inuyasha had left the campsite before the others, still unwilling to look at the baby. Kagome wasn't sure why.
Miroku was sitting still, sipping his drink. He glanced around the room, examining each man's face. None of them look particularly welcoming, he thought. It might be hard to get news of any recent demon-human children from them... or then again, it might not.
"I hope Inuyasha remembers not to come out," Kagome whispered.
"I think the possibility of being identified as the dead woman's lover will give Inuyasha ample reason to stay hidden," Miroku said. "Wrongly identified, pardon me. But he did say that he might be nearby, to listen."
A faint thump from the ceiling made Kagome jump.
Miroku finished his drink and got up. Without an invitation, he sat down at a nearby table of farmers and said smoothly, "Pardon me. I am a simple travelling monk, searching out those who have been corrupted by demons. My name is Miroku."
"He can mix lies and truth without even blinking," Sango whispered to Kagome.
"Yeah, he's really good at it," Kagome whispered back.
One of the farmers, a guy with a nasty scar marring his eyebrows, grunted. "Have away with you. Our village has no demons near it. We've killed 'em all, one way or another." He sounded proud of that.
"Really?" Miroku said, rubbing his chin. "You are truly fortunate, then. I have been to many, many villages and have found few that weren't plagued by demons of one sort or another."
"Well, we ain't," a skeletal farmer said blearily.
Miroku appeared to consider this. "Well, that's quite a relief. I had heard some certain stories about a young woman I thought might need my help. Has your village had any recent births of children with... oh, well, demonic characteristics? Anything unusual?"
The room fell silent. The innkeeper, a fat bald man with an apron, turned bright red and seemed about to yell at Miroku, when Scarface announced proudly, "Aye, but no longer."
"No longer?" Miroku asked. "Might you explain further? I am VERY eager to hear what happened."
"We don't rightly know," Scarface said ominously. "But we got most of it from her maid. The girl blabbed it all when we caught them, and begged not to be hurt. We already knew about the demon."
"Demon?"
"Aye. A rich landowner was married to a pretty little peasant girl; she was all but sold to him, and he worshiped her even though he was almost old enough to her grandfather. Anyways, about ten months back he was killed by some damned demon, leaving the poor girl a widow. Well, we all showed her kindness, 'specially when we found out she was havin' a child.
"She seemed real torn up about it, so we left well alone and tried to be real kind to her. Well, when the baby's born, she locks herself in her big house, hardly sees nobody, and when she does leave it's only with her baby kept with her maid. We all thought she was still grieving over losing her husband. What any decent girl would do.
"Well, one day a lady-"
"My wife," a pudgy farmer announced, raising his cup. "The gods bless her."
"Yes, praise Buddha," Miroku said impatiently. "So, what happened?"
"His wife was bringing in some dumplings, so she went inside and found the woman holding her baby in a blanket. She tried to keep it hidden. But when the blanket accidently fell off, Oji's wife saw the creature. Monstrous thing with a mouthful of fangs, razor-sharp claws, bone-white hair -- and a dog's ears. Horrible thing," Scarface said with relish, warming to his tale.
Kagome stiffened as a faint scratching came from the roof. I really hope Inuyasha doesn't try barging in here, she thought fearfully. He had a way of getting involved in fights.
"I see," Miroku said grimly. "So this man's wife told the other villagers about the demon baby."
"Yep! We went after her through the woods, determined to kill her runt and make her suffer for bringing ill luck on us. But she got away -- though we cast a few good arrows after her. Serves her right."
The sound of a tile shattering could be heard from one of the windows. The innkeeper frowned and glanced outside.
"And her maid told all to us. The night her husband died, he came by and found her with a demon lover. He challenged the beast and was killed by him -- of course, the treacherous slut didn't tell us about that part. The demon didn't come 'round much after that, she said, and he'd stopped about six months before. He was some kind of dog demon." Scarface took a sip of sake, leering. "They'll be a lesson to anybody who dallies with a demon. We'll kill 'em and their spawn, that's what."
"Thank you very much," Miroku said blandly. "You've been very helpful. I think it's time I and my lovely companions were leaving." He stood up and went back to Kagome and Sango's table.
Kagome glanced out the door, as a blur of white and red shot into the treetops and vanished.
TO BE CONTINUED