CHAPTER 2: INVITED THE WILD IN
"They won't tell you fairytales
Of how girls can be dangerous and still win.
They will only tell you stories
Where girls are sweet are kind
And reject all sin.
I guess to them
It's a terrifying thought,
A red riding hood
Who knew exactly
What she was doing
When she invited the wild in."
(Girls of the Wild, Nikita Gill)
The village is as quaint and provincial as Kagome could have ever imagined, even if she was trying. The buildings had swaying thatched roofs and softly puffing chimneys, hanging out of windows were drying towels or flowerpots. The air was bright and full with birdsong and laughter and lowing cattle. It looked like a peaceful little town, not somewhere that, thirty minutes away, there were violent bear demons waiting to eat them. Thought she could definitely see the signs of hardship on the people that lived her, the tired eyes, the gnarled hands, the weathered skin – at the same time she could see how happy and content they were.
She had stopped dead as the girl who found her (Akiko, she had introduced herself on their walk) walked her to the main street and Kagome took it all in. "This is… it's so nice here," she breathed in surprise.
Akiko grinned at her. "Thank you, miss! We try our best!" She reaches out to tug on Kagome's arm. "Now, come on, I promised you a place to stay." Kagome follows her gentle pulling as placidly as a cow following at the end of a rope, her mind too full of taking in her surroundings to argue. When Akiko finally stops, Kagome stumbles at the abrupt lack of motion. "Here we are!"
The sign over the door reads "Halfway Inn." It's the largest building on the street, three stories high, which is one of the tallest buildings Kagome had seen in any village she'd been to in the Feudal Era. Every time the door opens a spill of raucous laughter and the smell of freshly baked bread spill forth, making her ears perk and her mouth water.
When Akiko drags her inside and calls out, "I found a miko in the woods!" every conversation in the room stops immediately and all heads swivel in their direction. Akiko merely grins at the attention, her missing tooth flashing, but Kagome pales and waves hesitantly.
"Um… hello?"
"Come on! I'll get you something to eat and you can show me some more of what's in your weird bag!" She grinned over her shoulder at Kagome, the bright, pink barrette that the miko had put in her hair flashing in the lantern light.
Kagome laughed at her enthusiasm, forgetting about the stares of the tavern's patrons. "Alright, alright!"
It's not until Akiko has Kagome settled at an out of the way table in the corner, nearest to the kitchen door, with a bowl of stew, a steaming loaf of bread, and a cup of wine in front of her, that the two young ladies are joined by an older couple. Kagome can see at once that they are Akiko's parents. She had her father's face and hair, her mother's features and eyes. And they sit on either side of her warmly and easily, smiling down at her in a way that makes Kagome immediately miss her own mother. "So what has our daughter dragged home today?"
Kagome choked on a spoonful of stew. When she's caught her breath, she manages to wheeze out, "I'm so sorry to impose – "
The father chuckles lowly, but it is a pleasant sound, warm and welcoming. "No, no, no, you misunderstand. Akiko here," he reaches out to ruffle his daughter's hair, "has a habit of bringing home those in need of help. Falcons with broken wings, horses with swag backs, lost children – " He arches a brow at Kagome who cannot help but smile back.
"Or miko's who have been chased off course by bear demons?"
He nodded with another chuckle. "Just so."
"Well, we are glad you are alright, child."
"Kagome," she supplies and Akiko's mother nods.
"I am Sakura, and this is my husband Tsume, and you are welcome in our inn." When Kagome's eyes widened, she laughed. "Oh, did she not tell you that?" She gestured and, though her hands were wrinkled from work, the motion was still graceful. "Yes, this is ours, and you, like all our daughter's rescues, are welcome here." Kagome nods her thanks. "So what brings you here, other than the bear demon?"
"Oh. Well, I was looking for a friend of mine who I thought came up this way. A monk…" Her voice grows hopeful. "Maybe you've seen him. His name is Miroku…"
There's a light of recognition in their eyes and Kagome feels hope swell up inside her. "Yes, that man did come through this way… about… five or six days ago." Tsume shrugged. "He headed up to the next town where a demon had gotten ahold of one of those magical jewel shards and was causing problems."
"Where do I go to meet him there!"
He blinks at her loud, excited outburst. "Well, he was only there for a few days, came back through this way, made a scene in the tavern hitting on several women. He left that night, back the way he came from."
"Oh." Kagome slumped into her chair, not noticing the concerned looks the trio sent each other back and forth. "Then I came all this way for nothing."
"It's not such a bad place to be," Akiko said softly, "if you have nowhere else to go."
Kagome sighed and rested her chin on her hand, staring across the table at them. She smiled. "No, you're right, it's lovely here. I just hadn't seen my friend in a while and was looking forward to it." Her eyes crinkled as her smile brightened. "So tell me what else is there here? You seem so happy for there being demons nearby."
"They do not usually cause problems. In fact, our neighboring village, a day or so walk from here, where your friend went, is mostly demons."
It was Kagome's turn to blink in shock. "A whole village? But how does that – "
"They are mostly less violent breeds, but, in the end, they are mostly the same as humans, living their lives, raising families. But they know, mostly, with few minor instances, to keep in line, since the Lord of these lands is so close nearby."
The wheels in her head turn and she tries to remember if that should mean anything. Not really, if this village happened to be located in the Northern lands, but if she happened to be in the Western lands… "Sesshomaru?"
They all three gape at her. "You know our Lord?"
"Uh… well know is probably a strong word, but yeah, kind of." None of them had seen Sesshomaru in… over a year? He'd vanished from the fighting without notice and they had not seen nor heard hide or hair of him ever since. They hadn't even heard rumors of him being involved in anything. She didn't miss the fights he and Inuyasha wound up in, but she did miss seeing that sweet, little girl Rin from time to time.
She frowned a little to herself as she mulled something over. Perhaps he simply grew tired of the battles or the needless bickering. He did not need the Shikon no Tama to be strong, so perhaps he was merely biding his time, governing his lands, while he waited for others to do the work before the final battle. Perhaps, that was his play. Maybe… maybe he would help her back to Kaede's village and all the others.
"Can someone take me there?"
"Why are earth would you want to go there, child? The Lord is…" Sakura looked away. "He is a good lord, he keeps these lands clean and our borders safe. But… but I have heard rumors of his castle, of great beasts that live there and devour trespassers, of ghosts of his victims laughing through the halls. People who go there do no come back except to die a slow, poison-fueled death."
Kagome blinked and pouted. That didn't sound like Sesshomaru. Okay, maybe the thing about poisoning trespassers was true. But he didn't seem the type to live with wild beasts or have a haunted castle. No, the rumors must be (mostly) wrong. "That doesn't sound like the Sesshomaru I know."
"Then you know a very different Lord Taisho then we do."
She smiled, just a slight quirking of the corner of her mouth. "Maybe I do. He will know the way back to my village, since I travel with his brother. So I must go and ask him for help. Is there an escort I can beg off of you?"
Sakura and Tsume glanced at each other, before he spoke, speaking over Akiko who was surely about to offer her own services. "I'm sure we can find someone in the morning. But now it is late and we will have a room prepared for you, so you can rest tonight, for your journey on the morrow."
The next morning dawns clear and bright, the perfect day to walk, unannounced, into the castle of one of your brother's enemies. But there is no question that Sesshomaru will know the easiest and fastest way for her to return, because, though she knew she had come from a southern direction, she did not know the name of the road she had walked on or the river she had followed. She wasn't even sure how far off course she was from them, what with her reckless run through the forest yesterday. So with no Miroku here, Sesshomaru was her best hope.
Down in the tavern, Tsume, Sakura, and Akiko were waiting with a gnarled, old farmer. He looked about a hundred years old and had a crotchety expression plastered across he wrinkled face. He frowned at her approach, and banged his gnarled walking stick against the floor with a thump.
"Hello! You must be my guide! I'm – "
"Kagome!"
The shout of her name is accompanied by a swirling gush of wind blowing into the inn, blowing up a storm of papers, and clattering chairs and patrons over in a tornado guest of wind. When the breeze dies down and everyone blinks their eyes clear, standing in the open doorway, grinning at her roguishly, is a very familiar face.
"I thought I smelled my woman."
She can't stop the roll of her eyes. "Hello, Koga…"
He stalks across the room towards her, heedless of the whispered gossip permeating the room, the whispered conversations about who he is. "What are you doing so far up north? And with no mutt?"
"Nope! Just me!" She grins at him and his smile widens in return.
When he's standing in front of her, he places one hand on the wall beside her head so he's leaning around her, crowding her space. "Well then… lucky me."
"Indeed." Him leaning so close should bother her, but nothing about Koga had ever really bothered her. She saw him as harmless because, minus that time he kidnapped her, he'd been a perfect gentlemen. For the era, anyway. "Actually…" She brightened considerably. "It's great that you're here!" He leered, leaning in closer. "You can get me to Sesshomaru's castle in no time!"
He blinks his baby blues at her. "… What?"
She's excited by this prospect now since it will save her, not just time, but a walk with that curmudgeon. "Yeah! I need to get to his castle so he can show me the way back to Kaede-san's village!"
"But… I can just bring you back?" He's so confused that he's not even trying to cop a feel, just blinking at her in abject bewilderment.
"Oh, no, that wouldn't work at all! See, I want to show everyone that I'm fine on my own – "
"But you're lost."
" – and that I can make my way on my own. If you bring me back that'll be like I lost – "
"And Sesshomaru helping you back doesn't count?"
"- but if I could get Sesshomaru to point me the way – "
"I could do that though?"
"- and the best part is, I can see Rin and make sure Sesshomaru is okay, since, even though he won't say it, Inuyasha has been worried about him lately – "
"That doesn't sound right."
"- and this way I'll come back safe and sound and with information!" She smiled at him gaily. "And besides – if you don't help me, I'll shoot those jewel shards out of your legs and leave you here!"
Her smile doesn't waver, her gaze is steady, and Koga gapes at her. "Uh… yeah. Sure thing, Kagome. That sounds… like a plan."
"Great! When can we leave?"