Hey! I'm back, Sorry for the very very long delay. I was working on some other stories, but also I got a job, so I haven't had much free time. To make it up, here's a few new chapters. I'll try to get back to updating a little more regularly! Love love!
Chapter 23: last laugh
Inuyasha hesitated outside the door for a moment. Kagome is gonna kill me, he thought, and Sango, she's gonna kill us both, after Kagome kills us both. He shook his head and let out a long suffering sigh, wondering why in the world he ever let Miroku convince him to stay in the village when all he wanted was to go home to his pregnant wife. But no. Now they were at a damn brothel, of all places. He decided that Sango might at least kill him less if he kept the monk honest for her. He stepped through the door.
Upon entering he heard the ghasps of several women, obviously directed at him. Without even glancing up he imagined horrified faces. He'd kind of forgotten lately that he looks scary, it seems especially to women. He was a half-demon, after all, but his home had a way of making him forget that fact. When he finally did glance up he was surprised to see six young women, all wearing genuine smiles, not horrified at all. They were each dressed up like there was a festival going on, and honestly, looked very pretty. He was actually relieved to see them looking so happy to see him, but only for a moment. Before he could get a word out he was practically tackled by young women, all fawning over his ears and thanking him and calling him 'our hero!' He made an involuntary and distressed noise as the women hung off of him, giggling about his being 'shy.'
His brain seemed to shut off completely for a moment, unable to do anything but blush and keep his hands to himself as he was showered with adoration. "Miroku! H-Help!" he finally got out, not even seeing his friend in sight. He looked back at the girls who were still saying things like 'oh my! Sooo strong!' and cracked a nervous smile. His eyes locked on one blue eyed girl who was pressed affectionately to his chest, wearing little flowers in her hair. "H-Hi…" He said, unsure of what else to do. All of them broke into another fit of giggles, their excited chattering only growing louder.
"Ah- I'm flattered, ladies, really, but I'm married- and-" A chorus of disappointed 'awww's ran through the group, though they didn't back off. "And very happy! So If you could just show me which way my friend went-"
"You must be Inuyasha." Called a voice, a bit older than any of the girls around him. He looked up at the same time as all the girls to see a more mature woman standing in a stairwell nearby.
"You Shohi?" He asked, extremely hopeful that she was there to save him. She nodded with a little smile.
"That's me." She said simply, leaning on the doorway as she took in the scene.
"Great, ah- can you call them off?" He asked pleadingly. He was really not used to this kind of attention, and while there may have been a time it would have been welcome, it was certainly not now. The woman did as he asked, telling the handful of girls to 'give em a break!' They all slunk off of him back to a pile of pillows from whence they came, pouting about losing the 'pretty Hanyo.' He immediately went over to the stairwell to join her, partly for the protection this Shohi lady seemed to offer.
"My guard dogs. They're a rough bunch, eh?" She joked, turning to lead him up the darkened stairway. He huffed, shaking his head and following her just as the shamisen music picked up again. She led him to a large room on the upper floor, lamps and pillows decorating the space. Miroku sat at a table near the center, calmly sipping on some tea, shooting him a wicked little smirk as their eyes met. Inuyasha decided he would pay, later. He sat next to the monk, trying his best to murder him with his eyes before he gave up, settling his gaze on the woman. She held a match to a lamp, brightening up the room a bit, giving a longing sigh as she did so.
"Ah, gentlemen, I cannot thank you enough for returning light to our humble village." She said softly, lighting another.
"I would imagine it's impacted your business." Said Miroku, watching her with a fond expression. The woman shot him a teasing glance as she sat at the table, pouring two cups of tea.
"Not at all." She said, passing a cup to Inuyasha. He accepted it, feeling like he could drink a lake after the smoke he inhaled. "My little business has been as prosperous as ever. We have no trouble at all working in the dark." Inuyasha almost choked on his tea at her joke, covering it quickly, though he couldn't stop the light blush. Women simply did not make dirty jokes- in his experience, at least. He didn't know how to feel about it at all, but she and Miroku laughed out loud. "Ah, Miroku, I've missed you. How have you been?" She asked, leaning over the table a bit.
"Very well, I must say. I have not only a wife to look after me, but three lovely children, and a shrine to keep." He said proudly. The woman looked shocked by the revelation, but no less happy.
"Oh! How wonderful!" She squealed, clapping excitedly. Inuyasha was happy to see him bringing his family into the conversation. It was a relief to know they were really just here to chat, though, with how chummy they seemed, he doubted their history was altogether innocent. He wouldn't ask, but so far he didn't see the need. They seemed like old friends, nothing more. They talked for a little while longer about Sango and the kids, trading pleasantries until Inuyasha had all but stopped listening. Eventually the conversation shifted to why they had really stopped by.
"Ah, so you need a way to avoid making little ones with your… mate?" She asked, fixing her gaze on Inuyasha's, unsure what he would call his lady, being half demon.
"And wife." Miroku corrected.
"Both? How interesting. A human then?" Inuyasha nodded, making her smile as she placed a hand beneath her chin, clearly fascinated with him. "So you're hoping to avoid a pregnancy?" Inuyasha finished his drink before answering, looking to her soft grey eyes. Even being a bit older than the other girls, she could easily outshine them all. Her hair was long and black, but worn back in a complicated style, common for ladies of her profession. She wore almost no makeup except a bright red on her lips, but it wasn't like she needed any. She was all together gorgeous, wearing a slinky kimono that just teased at her bare shoulder when she moved, which she seemed to be doing constantly.
"Trying to avoid any more. She's pregnant already." He grumbled, making her arch her brows.
"Ah, I see. A demon pregnancy is rather dangerous for a young human girl." She paused, seeming to search him for understanding. "You are already aware of the… odds of it going well this first time, correct?" Her tone had shifted now from the light and happy one she'd used earlier to one of deep concern. He nodded, shifting his gaze from hers.
"They have a plan to ensure she is safe, but it will only work once." Said Miroku, seeing the pained look on Inuyasha's features. Shohi looked to Miroku, seeing she shouldn't ask questions, although she was still quite concerned.
"Good. I'm glad to hear that." She said a bit more brightly, trying to lighten the tone again. "Now, back to solutions for this problem. I think the simplest, would be this." She smiled, pulling a string of beads from her neck over her head and holding it out to him. Inuyasha looked at it skeptically, not understanding what he was supposed to do with a necklace, but accepting it anyway. It looked fairly similar to his own, except for the odd pattern. It was mostly brown, with one black bead and a string of white clustered on one side.
"And what exactly does this do?" He asked, setting it back on the table between them. The woman smiled as she spread it out into a circle, so all of the beads could be seen.
"It's based on the cycle of the moon. It's a simple day counter, really. Nothing you couldn't do with a calendar, but this makes it easier to remember." He looked it over, completely missing the pattern if there was one. She saw his lack of understanding, deciding to get right to the point. "You see, it starts here, on the first day she bleeds." She picked the necklace up by the sole black bead. "You tie a string between them. For each day that passes, move it up one place. On the days the string is touching a white bead, she is able to become pregnant, so simply avoid doing anything that could make her so." she lightly tossed the beads back to him, Inuyasha catching them in his claws. He looked it over again, counting the beads and starting to understand. Thinking back, Kagome was a little different on the 'white bead' days. She was more willing than usual, which was already pretty willing, and her scent seemed to be stronger, which he loved, and made him somewhat obsessed with taking her clothes off. He'd never considered the subtle shift was connected to her fertility. It was almost like…
He laughed to himself, making both of his table mates look at him quizzically. "You're telling me… human women go into heat?" He asked, amusement written across his features. Shohi scoffed.
"Well… not exactly, but we do have our seasons, same as everything else!" She giggled, hiding her red lips behind her hand. "Just stick to this method and you will be fine. It should only be a few more decades anyway, before you don't need to worry about it." Inuyasha dropped his amused smile, confused again.
"What do you mean?" He asked. He was vaguely aware of human women having a limit on how long they could reproduce, but his mate was bound to his life line. She shouldn't age at all, to his knowledge.
Shohi smiled a bit sadly at the men. "That is just my own experience." That just confused him more. He glanced at Miroku, who had only been half listening, lost in the thought of his own darling wife in heat as he sipped his tea. He snapped out of it long enough to explain.
"Ah, I probably should have mentioned, Shohi was mated to a demon. Another reason I wanted you two meet. If you have questions, she might have answers." Miroku finished his tea, shrugging at Inuyasha's shocked look.
"Really…" he said a bit skeptically, sliding his eyes back to the woman. She smirked at him, understanding at once the apprehension to believe what he'd heard.
"Yes, really." She said softly, pulling back her kimono enough to reveal a dangerous amount of skin. Just as Inuyasha was about to look away he caught sight of the familiar color that marked his own wife. Laid across the tops of her breasts was a thin mark, a mate mark, just the same shade as his, a traditional single stripe. "It was a long time ago, and he's gone now, but his mark still sustains me." She said solemnly, covering it back up. "He died nearly one hundred years ago, and I expected to die with him, but that wasn't the case. I'm still not sure if I'm thankful I'm alive, but it's what he would want." Inuyasha nodded absently, taking in her story.
"I... had no idea they worked that way." He muttered, having been under the impression that the life sustaining powers of the mark would end when his life did.
"Yes well, you two are truly blessed to have a child on the way." Though she sounded a bit sad, she smiled as well. Her happiness for them was genuine, if not tainted with a bit of jealousy. "While I may look the same as the day I was mated, I'm not. I lost the ability to have children around the same time I would have normally. We… thought we had more time. I wish we'd have been brave enough to try." She smiled wistfully to herself, laying her cheek in her hand as she leaned on the table. Miroku's sharp cough snapped her out of her musings, looking up at him as he tried to draw breaths.
"You feelin alright?" Asked Inuyasha, watching Miroku covering his mouth with one hand, waving him off with the other.
"Fine- fine." He huffed through breaths. Shohi brought more tea, and he accepted it graciously. He seemed to calm down after that, taking a few deep breaths and nodding for his companions to ignore him.
"Perhaps some fresh air?" Suggested Shohi, striding across the room and sliding open a door which led to a small balcony. Miroku followed her, smiling in thanks as he stood near the railing, taking in the cooling evening air.
"It would seem that Enenra is having the last laugh." He joked lightly, coughing a few more times to try and clear his lungs.
"Kaede can look you over when we get back." Remarked Inuyasha, not liking the sound of his friend struggling to breathe. He felt fine, but he was always acutely aware of how delicate humans could be. He thought back to the way the smoke of the demon had ripped through his lungs, feeling like a pile of coals in his chest. It had been painful, to say the least, but it subsided as soon as the demon was slain, for him at least.
"I'm- really just fine-" He protested, proving it by stifling the urge to cough more. "But, we should be going." He said, turning to Shohi and offering her a chaste farewell hug.
"Oh yes, you must get home to this lovely Sango." She murmured, patting his shoulder. "And perhaps some day, you'll bring your brood to meet their Aunt Shohi!" She beamed at Miroku, touching his cheek lightly as she build them farewell.
Inuyasha didn't ask until they were already back on the trail. The sun was low, but they were determined to make it back to their previous encampment before they stopped.
"So… your aunt, huh?" He asked, side eyeing the monk. Miroku hummed a note, smiling softly.
"Not by any blood... She only considered my mother to be like a sister to her." He explained, only pausing when another coughing fit overtook him. He seemed to recover pretty quickly from this one, only pausing to catch his breath again.
"You sure you're alright? We can stop here if you-" Inuyasha was interrupted when the monk lost balance, falling forward. He caught him before he face planted, sucking in a breath when he felt the heat radiating off of him, and the sweat clinging to his robes. "Kami, Miroku! You should have said something sooner!" He said, letting him stand on his own, only for him to collapse again a second later. He growled a curse, realizing something had gone extremely wrong. "Miroku- what's wrong?" He bit out, seeing his violet eyes struggling to focus. He didn't wait for an answer, instead pulling the man on to his back and jumping off through the trees. "You idiot, just hang on!" He growled, even as he felt the monk's arms go slack.