Chapter 16: Sons of the Fathers
The kitsune tried to fend off his wife's hands while glaring at his laughing friend at the same time. Unfortunately, all he managed to do was make the situation more undignified.
"Shippo! Hold Still!" Souten yelled. Shippo meekly obeyed her, which caused his observer to laugh even harder.
"Yes Ship, be a good little fox and hold still!" Inutari mocked. Shippo cast a glare at the quarter youkai, which was hardly effective since he was currently being berated by his wife.
"I'm going to beat you," Shippo warned him. Souten gave a sharp tug at his collar.
"No you're not," she said, "If he gets really annoying, I'll do it for you."
"Your wife certainly is vicious, isn't she?" Inutari asked with laughing eyes. Shippo nodded his head in agreement. Souten poked him in the ribs as she finished strapping on the armor. She stepped back and gave her husband a satisfied grin.
"How does that feel?" she asked. Shippo moved his arms experimentally. Most of the armor covered his torso, but there was also light armor plating on his arms and legs. Totousai had designed it to be durable and light. It felt strange to be wearing the extra weight.
"He looks like the Tin Man," Inutari cracked, referring to a movie he had seen as a child on the other side of the well.
"I think he looks handsome," Souten said as she kissed Shippo's cheek. The kitsune winked at his friend as he wrapped an arm around his wife's waist and pulled her to him in a passionate kiss. Which of course, is slightly difficult if both parties are wearing armor.
"Yuriko kisses better," Inutari piped up, referring to his human wife. Souten threw a stray piece of metal plating at him.
"Don't you have anything better to do Inutari?" she asked.
"Nope," he answered cheerfully. Shippo eyed his friend and realized that he was already dressed for battle. Inutari wore the same type of armor as his father over his green haori. His sword hung at his side and the quarter youkai already had his quiver of arrows strapped across his chest. His mother's bow rested across his lap.
"Where's Yuriko and Takara?" Shippo asked. Inutari's daughter was only three years old.
"Father and I decided to send them south to Edo. We figured they could take refuge at the Higurashi shrine." Shippo nodded his head. He and Souten had sent the twins and Namu south as well with Hachi and a few trusted friends. A sharp rap on the door drew their attention as Inutari's older sister walked in. She wore a matching set of Inutari's armor over her white haori and also had a sword hanging at her side. However, she didn't wear a quiver of arrows, lacking the skill with them that her brother possessed.
"It's time," Amaya said. "Chen Ju is approaching the Kiba pass." Shippo and Inutari looked at each other for a moment before grasping each other's shoulders.
"Good luck Tari," the kitsune said.
"See you later Ship," the other man cracked back.
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"After the war, we couldn't find Takara's body anywhere," Inuyasha said quietly. Miroku and Yahiko had been listening silently to the hanyou as he talked about his son and the war. Inutari...
Inuyasha remembered his son painfully. His son had inheritated his mother's cheerful personality and always seemed to be able to light up any room he went into. Inutari always seemed to look on the positive side of things, just like Kagome had.
Yahiko sat silently as he thought about the young Takara.
"I remember my mother telling me once about her grandmother," the boy began hesitantly. "She said that my great-grandmother had lost her memory as a child. My mother had said she'd been an orphan."
Inuyasha looked up sharply at him.
"Your great grandmother?" he asked.
"Yeah," Yahiko said. "Mother always told me how youthful her grandmother looked for her age."
"What happened to her?" the hanyou asked. Yahiko paused before answering.
"She died before I was born, when the Meiji Revolution was first starting. She died in a fire."
Inuyasha looked crestfallen at this news. Yahiko looked down at his feet.
"Well," Miroku said gently, "I suppose that answers that. I suppose this would make Inuyasha your great-great-great grandfather."
Inuyasha and Yahiko stared at each other for a long time.
"Yeah," Yahiko said with a sudden lump in his throat, "I guess it does."
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"You know Kenshin, in some bizarre way, this makes you Yahiko's distant uncle," Sano said. Kenshin looked up from scrubbing the deck. The swordsman hadn't considered that.
"This one supposes you may have a point, that he does," Kenshin admitted. He plunged the dirty, rough cloth back into the soapy water.
"Kenshin?"
Kenshin looked up to see Namu standing above him.
"Yes Namu?" he asked. The young hanyou hesitated before asking.
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
Kenshin smiled warmly at the young man.
"This one could use some help with this cleaning, that he could. There are some more of these over there" Kenshin replied as he held up his cloth and pointed. The young hanyou retrieved one and came back to help.
"Where's your dad and sister?" Sano asked.
"Megumi's showing them some medicinal herbs," he answered.
"What about Jaken?"
"Kaoru's telling him some stories."
"Stories?" Kenshin asked warily. Namu paused long enough to suddenly grin at the human.
"She's telling him stories about you and Sanosuke."
"Oh great," Sano groaned, "What's she telling him?" The hanyou shrugged his shoulders before answering.
"I don't know, but I heard them laughing. I also heard the word 'circus' and 'Cannon Girl'," he said. Sano and Kenshin's eyes widened in horror.
"She isn't..." Kenshin said.
"I'll bet she is..." Sano growled. Sanosuke ran into the house yelling at Kaoru. He ran back outside with a flare of fire chasing after him. Jaken stepped in the doorway and brandished his two-headed staff. Sanosuke shook his fist at the miniature youkai at a safe distance in the yard.
Kenshin chuckled softly as he ignored the arguing Jaken and Sanosuke. He looked at the young hanyou, who was intently scrubbing the deck.
"Namu?" Kenshin asked politely. A fox ear twitched as he looked up.
"Yes Kenshin?"
"Please forgive this one for prying, but why don't you and your father get along?" he asked cautiously. Namu slowly stopped scrubbing as he stared at his now soapy hands. As Kenshin waited for a reply, he looked up as Sanosuke stomped back to his seat. Namu paused as he was about to answer. Kenshin noticed this and realized why.
Sanosuke and Shippo had become good friends in the short time they had known each other. Namu was afraid that Sano would tell his father what he said. Kenshin waved Sano away. Sanosuke raised an eyebrow. The red head mouthed the words 'I'll tell you later.' and turned his eyes to Namu. Sano stood up then.
"I think I'll go see what that drug pushing wench and that damn fox are doing," Sano announced, referring to Megumi and Shippo. He strolled off in their direction, whistling softly to himself. Kenshin turned back to Namu.
Namu watched the retreating Sanosuke for a moment before answering.
"My father abandoned me," he said quietly. Kenshin set down his cloth.
"Is that so?" he asked kindly. "And how is that?" Namu stared down at his hands again and blinked back tears.
"He left my mother before I was born. I think she loved him until the day she died." Namu looked up at Kenshin. "She died when I was thirty-eight. I know that seems old to you, but I was only about seven or eight in human years." Kenshin listened quietly to him as the hanyou continued. "I went searching for my father after that and found him three years later. He hadn't even known I existed," he finished bitterly.
Kenshin pulled the cloth out of Namu's hands and led him to the wooden steps. They sat for a time before he finally spoke up.
"This one doesn't know your father very well," Kenshin admitted, "But from what this one has seen, he doesn't believe that your father would willingly abandon you, that he doesn't." Namu sighed at that. "Sometimes," Kenshin continued, "Some people aren't meant to be together. Perhaps your father realized he didn't love your mother the way she loved him. It may have been more hurtful to her if he had stayed and pretended a love he didn't feel, that it would."
Namu swallowed a lump that was rising in his throat. Kenshin asked him gently then about his mother.
"Her name was Kaoru," he answered softly. Kenshin blinked in surprise.
"Kaoru?"
"Yeah."
Kenshin smiled warmly at him.
"That is a strong name, that it is."
"Are you saying that because you love Kaoru?" Namu asked. Kenshin reddened suddenly.
"Oro?"
"Well don't you?" Namu asked. Kenshin's face reddened a few more shades.
"Ah...this one thinks very highly of Miss Kaoru, that he does," Kenshin said instead. He quickly changed the subject.
"Is that the only reason you are...unhappy with your father?" he asked. Namu blinked, realizing full well that the other man was trying to change the subject.
"No," Namu admitted. Kenshin waited patiently for him to continue. They heard a crash, followed by the sounds of an arguing Sano and Megumi, with a laughing Shippo in the background.
"My father..." Namu said, "I thinks he's ashamed of me."
"Because you are a hanyou?" Kenshin asked, knowing that it wasn't true.
"No, because...because I'm a bastard child."
"This one does not believe this to be true," Kenshin said. Namu looked at him questionally.
"Why not? He ignores me! I've spent more time with Inuyasha than with Him! Inuyasha's been more of a father to me than he ever has!"
"Could it be," Kenshin said gently, "That he feels guilt for not having been there for you?" Namu gave a snort.
"If that's true, then why does he ignore me?"
"Well, this one can not say for certain, but perhaps your father feels that having a hanyou for a father figure is more beneficial for you. After all, being a hanyou can not be easy, that it can't. Perhaps he believes that it's better for you to be with Inuyasha."
Namu stuck out his lip stubbornly.
"That doesn't mean he has to ignore me!"
"Do you ignore him?" Kenshin asked.
"What?" Namu asked in surprise.
"Your father, do you avoid him as well?" Namu stared at him.
"Sometimes...but only because I..." he trailed off. "Because...I feel like he's disappointed in me."
"You are disappointed with your father, is that correct?" Kenshin asked.
"Well, yeah..."
"Perhaps Shippo avoids you because he knows you're disappointed in him."
Namu's eyes widened for a moment, then turned his head away from Kenshin. Kenshin felt saddened by the pain between father and son. He realized that there wasn't much he could do. Father and son would have to do the healing themselves.
Kenshin placed a supportive hand on Namu's shoulder as he stood up. He left it there for a few moments before returning to his cleaning. The young hanyou sat still for minute longer before he too returned to scrubbing.
"Thank you Kenshin," he said. Kenshin gave him a smile before attacking the dirty wood with his cloth.
"You are not alone Namu, that you aren't."
"I know," he answered.
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Amaya reread the note from her father before handing it to her husband. Akio growled as he handed it to his father.
"So," Kouga growled, "Naraku lives again. And Kagura...Damn that witch!" The wolf fumed at the note in his hand. Of all the...
"Oh dear, oh dear..." Myouga moaned. The flea youkai jumped up and down in dismay.
"Feh," Kouga growled, "I guess we'll just have to kill them again!" Amaya layed a hand on her father-in-law's shoulder to calm him. She cast an amber eye to where her daughter lay sleeping in the corner. Kirara was curled protectively around young Izayoi.
"I wonder..." Akio froze in the middle of his sentence. Everyone sniffed the air and turned their heads to the right and stared down the Great Hall.
"You smell that?" Akio growled. A transformed Kirara was on her feet, growling dangerously. Her ears flattened against her head as her fur stood on edge. Amaya raced down the hall, followed by the two men.
"Kirara!" She yelled. "Look after Izayoi!" The youkai cat placed herself in front of the sleeping child. The others raced down the corridor and paused briefly.
"Where..." Kouga yelled. A poisoned shuriken flew out of no where and barely missed him. The wolf swore. Akio sniffed the air before making a turn down another hallway. Realization hit Amaya.
"They're in the shrine!" she yelled. She raced toward the family shrine with the men at her heels. She heard a scraping sound as a foul stench reached her nose.
"Gunpowder!" Akio yelled. Kouga shoved his daughter-in-law out of the way just before the wall in front of them exploded. Amaya coughed as she jumped back up and ran inside. It was empty. She tried to smell the air, but the scent of gunpowder had temporarily blocked all traces of the intruders.
"Damn!" Akio yelled. He kicked at the remaining portion of the wall. Kouga shared his son's frustration. Whoever had been here was gone now. A horrified cry from Amaya drew their attention to the dark haired woman.
"My mother's ashes!" She cried. "They took my mother's ashes!" Kouga and Akio stared at the empty space in the front of the shrine. Amaya was right.
Kagome's ashes were missing.