Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, or any nursery rhymes.

The Mother Goose Escapades

No. 21

Old King Cole was a merry old soul,

And a merry old soul was he;

he called for his pipe,

and he called for his bowl,

and he called for fiddlers three.

The great, impressive, and wholly remarkable Inu no Taisho was a figure to be reckoned with. The tricky thing about him was, being dead and all, that many were unsure of who he really had been, at this point. After all, it had at least half a century since he had passed on. Humans, who didn't like to remember such creatures as demons fondly, had made no record of him.

Kaede sought to rectify this problem. Well, what she considered a problem. Kaede had started this project as an amusement while the young group was away and she found herself bored without their antics. Plus she needed something to keep her aging mind strong. But it had grown into something of an obsession. Enough that she was now traveling uncomfortably over countryside, searching for clues on Inuyasha's father.

What she had been finding was that no one knew of the great taiyoukai; what's more, no one seemed to like to talk about him, or demons in general. The elderly miko sighed heavily. It wasn't like she hadn't anticipated this problem, she just didn't think it would be this drastic. With Inuyasha of course, she had anticipated this. He was as disagreeable as anything when Kagome was gone. And Sesshoumaru was never an option.

She found clues were pretty much nonexistent. She had started with that flea, Myoga, but he had been pretty tightlipped, surprisingly so. When it came to talking about how great Inu no Taisho had been, the pest would sing praises 'till his voice gave out. But when asked for specifics, she got nothing. It was as though everything had slipped the old flea's mind.

And now she found herself some five hundred miles or so away from her village, a distance she had never dreamed she would be. The horse pulling her cart was extremely skittish, and she was getting frustrated by her lack of results. The hot sun beat down on her, and finally in anger she pulled the horse off the dirt path.

Heaving herself out of her cart, Kaede lead the horse down to the river, then tied it securely to a tree. Moving towards the water, she knelt at the bank and splashed the refreshing liquid on her hot face. She then sat down rather ungracefully, and slipped of her sandals. Once she dipped her toes in, the old miko sighed in happiness. At least one thing was going right.

She thought about what she was trying to accomplish. And why it wasn't working. She needed to be in his Western Lands, she finally decided. She was simply too far away from his own home to find anyone who knew him, really knew him. With a groan, Kaede flopped back, thinking about how this was going no where.

"Are you alright?" a young woman's voice asked, concern etched into the words. Kaede sat up in surprise, blinking around for the speaker. She finally caught sight of a girl who looked the age of her sister, with the same graceful beauty. Her raven hair was pulled half back, allowing the flowing locks to float with the breeze. Twin black stripes graced her cheeks and she had a beautiful smile. Her skin was ivory, but Kaede was nervous about her eyes, which were a glazed looking crystal blue.

"Oh don't worry, I'm fine," the miko chuckled, taking in the white and black striped kimono, and the similarities between the black hair, white skin, and mixed dress. "I'll be along in just a moment."

"No rush," smiled the girl. "Just smelled someone I didn't know who sounded upset. I'm Michiyo, by the way."

"Kaede," the miko introduced herself. "Do you live around here?"

"No," came the response. "Simply visiting an old friend."

"Always nice," remarked Kaede, but Michiyo smirked. "What?"

"Well, he's dead." Kaede's jaw dropped, but curiously Michiyo made no comment. "It's not even really his grave. Just a place he liked to visit. When I need guidance, I come and visit it."

"I know you're not human," Kaede said. "So I'm assuming he wasn't either."

"Right on both counts," answered Michiyo. "I'm a tiger demoness. The eldest daughter of Byakko. The place I'm going was the favorite haunt of a great taiyoukai, the dog demon who ruled the West." Michiyo furrowed her brow at Kaede's gasp. "What, did you know him too?"

"No...it's just, I've been trying to get to know him." Kaede stumbled over the words. "I know his youngest son, and grew curious about him. How did you know him?"

"Oh, he and Father were old friends. Despite the distance, he helped train me, after Father thought I was a lost cause. At one point I was to marry his eldest son, but that never worked out. Sesshoumaru is much too conceited for me!" Kaede had to hold back a laugh at the taiyoukai's comment.

"Could I perhaps join you? I wish to have something to show for my troubles," Kaede asked, her voice a little more pleading than she would have liked it to sound. Michiyo looked thoughtful.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt. After all, you're an old woman. If you turn out to be traitor, you'll be easy to kill." A lethal grin covered Michiyo's face, and Kaede swallowed nervously. "Anyway, I could use the help. Normally I'm able to smell my way, but I'm afraid my recent kill has stifled my sense of smell momentarily. Blood is a rather strong scent." Kaede blanched at that, but nodded wordlessly. After a few moments, Michiyo looked impatient. "Will you help or not?"

"I, well, yes," Kaede answered, flabbergasted. A sudden thought struck her, and she looked more carefully as those glazed eyes of the tigress taiyoukai. Even though Michiyo was facing her, she wasn't looking at her. Feeling her eyebrows raise, Kaede realized that Michiyo had to be well trained in order to have lived this long without seeing.

"Then lets go. Inu no Taisho always talked about a forked tree somewhere around here. Take me there, and I can find the rest of the way." Kaede noted that even Michiyo, who apparently knew him quite well, still referred to the great taiyoukai by his formal title. Wonders never cease.

"This way," the miko said, noticing the tree immediately. After glancing at her horse and cart, Kaede sighed and untied the horse, leading the skittish creature. It shied away from Michiyo, who laughed. "It's here," Kaede said, and Michiyo touched the tree.

"This way," she said, and turned right. She walked to the bank, then kept going, crossing the river. Kaede hesitated, then plunged after her. With a little coaxing, the horse followed. They both crossed, and hurried after Michiyo, who hadn't waited for them. Like the animal, the girl loped through the woods, and Kaede finally clambered into her cart, allowing the horse to do the heavy running.

After what seemed like forever, Michiyo stopped, her head high, nose twitching. With a brief nod to herself, she turned left. Padding through the heavy underbrush, she paused, sniffing the air once again. The tigress turned towards Kaede.

"You'd better tie your horse up again. We're here." Kaede looked around at the underbrush, with no sign of life anywhere.

"Where is here, exactly?" The old miko asked as she crawled out of the cart and tied the horse securely to a tree. Michiyo shrugged, and pushed past some trees, indicating Kaede should follow her. The miko did, hesitantly. Her hesitation turned to awe at the sight before her. It was a little shaded glen, with a shallow stream running through, and a small cave off to one side. Delicate flowers grew throughout, and sunlight filtered through the tree branches, giving off a glowing look.

"Inu no Taisho always said it looked like magic in here," Michiyo said wistfully. Kaede turned towards her, surprised and patient. "He loved to come here to think. Said even I could find the place no matter what, the scent here is so magical. He always said this place was a home away from home. Nothing made him happier than embracing anything that was out of the ordinary."

"That explains a lot," said Kaede, thinking of Inuyasha's human mother.

"Anyway, he always did a lot of drawing over in the cave," Michiyo continued. "You might find what you want there." And with that comment, the tigress headed to the shallow stream, settled in the grass and dipped her toes in the water. Kaede gave her one last look before heading over to the cave. It was nearly overgrown, but the old miko pushed and pulled the plants down and out of the way. When faded sunlight finally filtered into the cave, Kaede peered in, and gasped.

"Did you find them?" Michiyo called out. Kaede nodded, before she remembered.

"Yes," she called back then, and looked in on the drawings again. It was as though Inu no Taisho was reminding himself of his life so that it wouldn't slip away. There was a drawing of him as a small pup, and one of him as an older demon courting an elegant looking dog demoness. A very small drawing showed him playing with a tiny pup, presumably Sesshoumaru. There was one of him visiting Totousai, and him receiving the two swords, bewilderment on his face.

"Oh my," Kaede breathed. There was one with him and a tiger demon, with three young tigresses playing musical instruments before them. There were homey scenes, with him eating quietly by himself, or with the dog demoness, or with his son. There were peaceful scenes, of him looking out over a vast landscape, or sitting with his feet in a small pond. There were also a few bloody fight scenes, most notably one with a huge dragon.

The feature within every single drawing was the smile on Inu no Taisho's face. No matter where he was in life, no matter what he was doing or who he was with, the great taiyoukai was happy to be there. From the pictures, if they were to be considered true, he enjoyed living, and enjoyed all that life gave him. It was a perspective Kaede had never really considered. The old miko examined the pictures further; out of all the thousands of pictures, and the hundreds of people that were painted within them next to or around the great taiyoukai, there were two pictures that captured Kaede's attention completely.

The first was of a young woman. She was standing underneath a full moon, with the moonlight casting a halo over her head. The expression on her face was so hopeful, so happy, and yet so guarded that Kaede was overtaken by the amount of detail in it. Her clothes were fancy, the aristocracy obvious. Out of everything, her eyes were the most stunning. Half closed, she was looking straight on to the picture's observer, and there was so much love in those eyes that Kaede knew immediately who this must be and who she was looking at.

"Inuyasha...your mother..."

The other picture that captured the elderly miko's attention was of the same woman, lit up by fire, an expression of half fear and half determination on her face. There was no question of the woman's decision to survive this life. She was focused on a small bundle in her arms, the only aspect visible of the bundle was a touch of silver. Scrawled underneath this drawing were the only words in the entire cave, 'Inuyasha'...

"Could he know how events would play out?" Kaede whispered to herself. "Could a being who loved life so much, love another enough more to give his own life for her survival?" What she was saying, Kaede didn't hear herself. It was as though there were a presence in this cave that left her breathless. Her good eye opened wide as she heard a whisper.

"Bless me miko, and my family..." Fumbling for a moment, Kaede finally knelt down and blessed the great Inu no Taisho and both his sons. Then she stood, looking cautiously around.

"Were you really this happy?" she asked the empty air. Nothing but an airy chuckled reached her ears. Kaede left the cave immediately, giving it no backwards glance. Perhaps Inu no Taisho really was immortal. The old miko wasn't surprised to see that Michiyo was gone. The tigress was too conceited in her own right. With one last look around the glade, Kaede pushed out of the bushes, back into the forest.

"I'll never find this place again," she sighed. "But then again, I don't think Inuyasha, or Sesshoumaru should see this. It wouldn't change their views any. But now I know. He followed his own path, and was happy with whatever he was doing. If only we could all be so lucky." Keade untied her horse, and after climbing back in the card, headed for home. Maybe she would practice her own drawing skills.

She would rather conclude her life like Inu no Taisho anyways. Much better to go happy with life, then bitter to the end, like her sister. Kaede hummed a little tune to herself, never once questioning in her mind how Inu no Taisho had gained such an extraordinary artist ability.

It was just one of those things that slipped the mind.

Author's Notes: Awesome, so here is my longest one ever! As well as the introduction of an OC, hope ya don't mind. I wanted to use this idea for a while, but I couldn't figure it out using the characters...I needed someone completely indifferent. So, yeah. I think it turned out decent? I like my portrayal of Inu no Taisho!