Chapter 9
They remained quite as they walked down the road. It had been several minutes since he had left them to scout ahead. The silence was starting to bother her. It wasn't like she wasn't used to it. She had spent a lot of time alone since her father had left. It was just that now that there was someone to talk to she couldn't bare it. After a moment longer she finally decided to break the silence.
"He really isn't scouting, is he?" She turned to look at the older girl.
"Well he…" Sango struggled to find what to say.
"He went to convince the rest about having me with you, didn't he?" She returned her attention to the road ahead.
"Yes… he did. But I don't think there should be a problem. Kagome-chan really liked you."
Sango still couldn't believe how perceptive this young girl was. 'How old is she anyways?'
"How old are you, Mayumi-chan?"
"I'm six. But I'm going to be seven soon!" She turned to face her and smiled.
"Your very young still."
"I'm not a little girl." She murmured.
"I never said you were. You seem very mature for your age." Mayumi smiled
"Sango-chan? How old are you?" She hoped she wasn't being to forward.
"Me? Well I just turned seventeen awhile back."
Sango returned her attention back to the road they were on. 'Seventeen… I was sixteen when I first met them. Can't believe its going to be a year since…' The memories of her family caused her sadness.
"Seventeen." Mayumi thought it over.
"Is Kirara still asleep?" She looked at her cat friend still in the girl's arms.
"Yes… Do you know how old Miroku-sama is?" She couldn't help but giggle at her reaction.
"Houshi-sama? I…Why… I mean I don't know. I've never asked him before."
She avoided looking at her. Mayumi for her part had made up her mind to ask the questions she had held back the first time. 'She did answer my questions before. And beside, I need to know as much as possible about the people I'm with.' She looked up at the older girl that was trying to avoid eye contact.
"Houshi-sama? Do all of you call him that? Should I?"
Sango stopped and so did Mayumi. 'I never really noticed. But I'm the only one that calls him that. Others do, but not in our group.' She remained silent a moment longer before answering.
"I think it's ok if you call him by his name. Kagome-chan and the others do. I… just want to be respectful." The last words sounded more like a question to her.
"I don't want to disrespect him. I'll start calling him Houshi-sama too."
"No, its ok you can…"
"Thank you for telling me. I was never really thought much about things like that. My father…"
She paused and lowered her head. She had always felt alone whenever she remembered him, but not this time. She turned to look at Sango and smiled softly. Sango returned the smile and decided to take this time to change the subject.
"What did your father teach you?" They began to walk once more.
"Well, he taught me how to look for food in the forest. He also taught how to defend myself. Oh and he also started to teach me how to read and write. And…"
Mayumi's face lit up as she told of all the things she had learned. Sango seeing this decide to ask her to explain each thing in detail. As she continued to listen she realized one thing. Mayumi was probably going to win their wager.
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Miroku closed his eyes. He was starting to get a headache. 'Why must he be so loud and unreasonable? Its not like I'm asking for much.' He remained quiet as Kagome took over for him.
"Would you rather have her wandering around by herself?"
"I don't want her with us. She'll just be another we need to look after in battle. Just leave her with the family and let them worry about her."
"She'll just run away again. Then what?" She looked at him angrily.
"Its not our problem! I don't know if you noticed but we are not babysitters. We are hunting down a powerful demon."
Inuyasha remained firmed in his decision not to let her come with them. 'I'm not going to be responsible for that brat's life. I already have enough with looking after Shippou and her.' Miroku rubbed his brow as he spoke.
"Look Inuyasha, I'll be responsible for her safety while she is with us. She won't bother you or get in your way. You have my word. Besides the next village is five days away."
"What if she wins your dumb wager? She'll still decide to be on her own. So what is the point?"
"We don't know that yet. And even is she does, we must try." He kept his eyes closed.
"Feh… Ok but she doesn't go further than the next village, no matter what. Do you both understand?" He crossed his arms and looked at his two companions.
"I knew you would come around."
Kagome smiled at him. And after a moment hugged him, making him blush. He slowly pulled her away when he saw Miroku smiling at them.
"I don't know what your so happy about. Your now responsible for her safety and you better do it. And whatever you have planned you better get on it soon. They are almost here. I can hear them coming."
"Come on Shippou lets go greet them." Kagome grabbed the small fox.
Both watched as Kagome ran down the road to meet them. After she was out of sight, they turned to each other.
"Should we continue?"
"We still have some time before we lose the sun. But lets set camp for today. Tomorrow we'll make up what we lost today." With that said he left to find their campsite.
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Soon the group was whole again and richer one more. After they had welcomed her, Inuyasha ordered them to start setting up camp. As they started to head to there assigned chores, Mayumi stood by quietly. Inuyasha had left to look for something to eat. As for Sango, she had left to fetch water. Kagome started to clear and set up where they were going to sleep. Miroku was about to leave when he turned to look at her.
"I'm going to get some firewood. Would you like to join me? Or would you like to help Kagome-sama here?" Mayumi moved towards him and whispered.
"I want to help but how does that prove that I can take care of myself?" She looked up shyly at him.
"Ah. I see. Do you want to start so soon?" He smiled at her
"Yes, please. May I set my own place? Like if I were alone."
He quietly looked at her. She was starting to believe that he would not allow her to do what she wanted. But after a moment he smiled once more.
"You'll need firewood too. Would you like to get some with me?"
"Arigato, Houshi-sama."
She bowed her head to show her gratitude. 'Houshi-sama? Guess she was brought up to be very respectful.' He looked at her for a moment longer.
"Lets get started."
They made their way into the forest. Time passed and soon the rest of the group had finished their chores. Inuyasha paced back and forth trying to get his mind of his hunger. But every time that he looked at the small boar that he had caught he would become more impatient. The girls had already prepared it. All they needed now was a fire.
"He is taking forever. How hard can it be to collect wood? Do I have to do everything myself?" Inuyasha sat down and crossed his arms around his chest.
"After it rains its difficult to find dry wood. You know this too Inuyasha. I'm sure they're be here in a little while."
Sango got up from where she was sitting. 'They are taking a bit long. Maybe I should send Kirara to see where they are.' She was about to tell Kirara to look for them when they heard laughter. After a moment they both appeared. Miroku held a large pile of wood in his arms, while Mayumi held a smaller one. They both seemed to be in a cheery mode.
"What took so long bouzo? We are all starving!" Inuyasha got up and took the pile from him.
"What did I tell you?"
Miroku looked at the young girl and winked. And to the older girls surprise, Mayumi laughed. Sango approached her smiling.
"Are you to making fun of poor Inuyasha?"
"No… it's just that Houshi-sama said that he would be yelled at and he was."
Mayumi giggled. Sango took a quick glance at Miroku to see how he had reacted to the way he had been addressed as. He simply smiled and left to help Inuyasha build the fire.
"You want help with those?" Sango was about to take the wood from her.
"Its ok. I'm going to start my fire now." Mayumi started to head towards the back of the camp.
"What?" Sango followed her.
"Oh…Houshi-sama said it would be ok if I set my own camp near yours. That way I can show you that I can take care of myself." She turned around and smiled.
"Oh… I guess that would be a good way to do it. Do you want help?"
"Arigato, Sango-chan. But I think I can do it myself." She turned and left.
Sango stood there awhile looking at her pick the spot she would call camp. 'She's really eager to win.' After a moment she walked over to Kagome. She was near the fire watching the meat cook. As for the rest, they laid around waiting for the food to be ready.
"Can I help you with something?" Sango kneeled next to her friend.
"Sure, you can…where is Mayumi-chan?" She looked up and didn't see her anywhere nearby.
"She is setting up her own camp over there."
She pointed behind them. Kagome turned around and saw where she was. She was in the process of starting her own fire.
"Why is she doing that? She doesn't need to…"
"Remember the wager we made with her? She really wants to win. And besides Houshi-sama agreed to let her do it." She talked as she watched their dinner roast slowly over the fire.
"Oh… do you think she knows how to…"
She kept looking at the small girl. At the moment she was having a hard time starting a fire. But even from where she was Kagome could see that she was determined to do it by herself.
"While we where alone earlier we spoke a bit about her past. From what she told me it sounds like she was well taught when it comes to survival. I doubt that she know all that there is to know. But she knows enough."
"Does Miroku-sama know this? If not you should let him know."
Kagome turned her attention to her friend. Sango was still looking into the fire when Kagome turned to look at her. 'The way she addresses him is very respectful. So why do I still refer to him as Houshi-sama? I mean we are all friends right?' Sango remained quiet as she thought it over. Kagome spoke up and startled her out of her thoughts.
"So where were you two this morning?" Kagome smiled at her friend.
"What? I…I mean nowhere. We went to the restaurant. That's all."
Sango looked away. 'Why did she have to remember?'
"Just to the restaurant? You two did take long. Did something happen between you two?"
Kagome was trying not to show her excitement. 'I just know something happen. And it must be good if she is avoiding eye contact with me.'
"Nothing happen Kagome-chan. You think the food is ready?" She poked at the meat trying to change the subject.
"Not yet. But are you sure there isn't anything you want to tell me Sango-chan? You can tell me anything."
"Arigato, Kagome-chan. But there is nothing to tell. Nothing happen between me and Houshi-sama."
She heard her friend sigh. She couldn't help but feel bad. 'I don't know why she wants to know what happened. It isn't like something happen. We just wondered into the forest and sat on some boulder. That's nothing.' A voice, that she wasn't sure if it was hers, spoke up. 'But it was something to you.' She shook her head trying to get the last part out of her mind. Kagome decided to give up for now and changed the subject.
"Well ok. But you should talk to him about Mayumi-chan. Even if she wins we can't let her wander alone. She is to young even if she can take care of herself."
Both of them turned around. Mayumi had finally started her fire. Miroku who hadn't been with her earlier was now sitting across her. Whatever it was they were talking about, it seemed interesting. At least that is the impression they got from Mayumi's cheery face.
"Looks like they are hitting it off. I wonder what they are talking about."
Kagome turned to her friend. 'Miroku-sama and Sango-chan look good together. But I wonder how it would look if they had kids.'
"Maybe you should go over there and join them." Kagome smiled at her.
"Me? I can't…I mean I just can't go over there. They… they could be talking about something that isn't meant for me." Sango turned back to the fire.
"Your right… Would you do me a favor, Sango-chan?"
"What can I do for you, Kagome-chan?" She turned to look at her
"The food is ready. Would you please go tell Miroku-sama? I'll tell Inuyasha and Shippou." She smiled.
Sango remained where she was. After a moment she quietly got up and started to head towards them. 'I can't believe she fooled me into this. I should have seen it coming. How can I be so naïve?' As she got closer she started to hear them clearly.
"I don't know. You could be lying." Mayumi looked at the man across from her.
"Lying is not part of the Buddhist way." He cheerfully smiled
"But a Buddhist monk wouldn't of done what you said. Would he?"
"You must remember I was only eleven when I did it. I wasn't really a monk until I was thirteen." He turned when he heard her approaching them.
"My dear Sango. How can we help you?" He smiled.
"I just wanted to tell you that the food is ready." She avoided looking straight at him.
"Thank you. Mayumi will you join us?" He saw her nod.
"Houshi-sama? You will let me help you look for food tomorrow right?"
"Of course I will. But I do want to ask you a favor. Please call me by my name. We are friends now. Aren't we?"
"I just didn't want to disrespect you. Is Miroku-chan ok?" She smiled at him.
"I don't know what I did to deserve such endearment. But if you want, it is perfectly fine with me."
He got up and walked over to her. He put out his hand. Mayumi quickly took it and stood up. They both turned to look at Sango. As they made their way back, Sango noticed how Kagome was looking at them. She couldn't help feel a bit embarrassed, so she slowed down. Up to that point she had been walking in between Miroku and Mayumi. As she separated, Mayumi noticed and turned to look at her. Miroku for his part continued on.
"Sango-chan, is something wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong I just…"
"Then lets hurry up." She grabbed her arm and pulled her along.
Soon it was completely dark. Everyone sat around the fire, except one. Mayumi had thanked them for the food and gone back to her own place. Once there she extinguished the fire. She then made her way up a nearby tree. The girls had protested to Miroku but he simply sat where he was. 'She as been doing this for a while. I don't think there is any danger.' The girls watched after giving up. Inuyasha, who was already up one of the trees near Kagome, stared at the young girl. He remembered how he had fallen often as a child. The only thing that had saved him was his strong half demon body. He was about to tell her to get down when he saw her reach a thick branch. There she sat down and opened the bag she had carried on her back. She pulled out the smalltantō and started to cut smaller branches nearby. Miroku and Sango turned to look at each other. 'Where did she have that tantō before?' They thought to each other then returned their attention back to her.
"What is she doing?" Shippou asked.
No one answered because no one was sure what she was doing. After awhile it became clear what she was doing. She was using the smaller branches to fill the gap between the branch she sat on and the one next to it. Soon she had what look like a bed built in between the two thick branches. They all stared in true amazement as she lay down to sleep.
"I've never seen that done before." Sango spoke in a low voice.
"It's amazing. Isn't it?" Kagome turned to look at her.
"I must admit I've never heard of anything like that." Miroku rested his back against the tree he sat under.
"Feh. It isn't that amazing. Now go to sleep. We are going to make up the time we lost today tomorrow." Inuyasha closed his eyes.
'Looks like Miroku is going to lose for sure now. That tree bed is a great idea. Wish I would of thought of it when I was young. Maybe I wouldn't of fallen so much.' He opened his eyes and looked in her direction. He smiled before closing his eyes once more. After a bit of conversation between the girls, the camp fell silent. Soon everyone fell to sleep.