Chapter 6
There, amidst all the shapes and textures of the undergrowth was the small, palmate leaf, spread out as if to specifically flag her attention. Kagome dropped down, fingers brushing across the fern-like foliage to skim against a single sprig of flowers arching off the ground. They were tiny, shooting outward from the delicate central stalk, like a sprinkle of snowflakes with pinpoint, pink centres.
"Oh, Kaede!" Kagome called over her shoulder with unfettered excitement. "I found it!"
The younger girl straightened from the other side of the meadow and came over to her side. Her brow was furrowed in concentration as she regarded what Kagome was pointing at.
"Hmmm. I think you actually did."
Kagome grinned. "You don't have to sound so surprised."
That little jib got Kaede's lips twitching, though she did do a good job of maintaining her composure.
"Here, I'll show you." The younger girl paused to retrieve a tool from a fold in her obi. It was an elongated, flat piece of rock, well-used judging from the worn leather wrapped around one end like a handle. "Ok, so feel long the base of it. Do you see that it sticks out a little from the ground?"
Kagome crouched down lower, patting her hand where Kaede's had been moments before, and nodded.
"Alright, so you need to be very careful to not damage the roots. We are only to take a small, side piece of it, and to let the main plant grow."
Bright grey eyes were glued to the deft movements, as her young teacher made quick work of digging up and snapping off an offshoot of the root system.
"Ah, a rhizome." Kagome murmured, which drew Kaede's curious gaze for a second.
By now, all the villagers were used to her strange vocabulary and largely ignored her. Of course, she didn't blame them—who would expect them to know botanical nomenclature?
"This we use for fevers, and also for when wounds stay burning and red. Also very good to aid circulation when taken by mouth."
Kagome glanced sideways, observing Kaede's serious expression, reciting the benefits of the herb they were in the middle of gathering with a focused, no-nonsense voice. It was obvious how much she cared and valued her work.
"You're so good at this, Kaede." Kagome couldn't help commenting. "It must take so much work to remember all these different plants and uses."
The expression in the dark eyes that swung to meet hers was uncharacteristically childlike, caught off guard by the unexpected praise.
"Um… well, I'm not nearly as good as onee-sama."
"I think you're plenty smart in your own right!" Kagome insisted, a shot of indignant ire firing up her insides all of a sudden. She had definitely had a problem with young girls being raised to undervalue themselves.
Kaede dropped her gaze, but a tiny, bashful smile lit her face. Along with the slight pink of her cheeks, she looked so much more real, like the young child that she was.
They spent the rest of the afternoon poking around the meadow, gathering medicinal plants. Kaede was patiently showing her the ropes. Turns out, although Kagome is absolute rubbish at most of the common tasks, she had an exceptionally good eye for foraging. That, and she personally credited her biology classes, in which she'd always gotten consistent A's. And we can't forget that modern education is simply teaching kids to memorize.
But whatever the reason, Kagome was just glad she found something she could do well at and contribute to the village. That way, it was feeling less and less like people were just almsgiving when they share their food with her.
Deciding to finish off the day foraging at another area on the other side of the village, the two made their way along the river running through the outskirts. Up ahead, the chattering of a small group of three girls heralded their arrival.
"Oh! Hi, Kaede!" One of the three girls broke free of the group, running up to just short of where they were. "Out doing priestess stuff again?"
"Um," Kaede hesitated. "This isn't priestess stuff, but yes."
The other child flapped her hand, continuing on as if she really wasn't expecting an answer to her question. "Aiko's baby brother's okuizome is tonight! And her mama is making sweets for us children afterwards. Want to stop by after dinner?"
Kaede had just opened her mouth, but was swiftly interrupted.
"Junko!" The tallest of the three girls caught up, threading an arm through the elbow of the first to come up to them. "I'm sure Kaede has better things to do than to waste time doing silly things with us. Right, Kaede?"
Even Kagome felt the urge to squirm from the sudden weird tension in the air, and she was just a fly on the wall. Worried, she shot a quick glance at Kaede. To her dismay, the girl had pulled her shoulders back, and her expression evened out into a composed, neutral look. With a start, Kagome realized she was mimicking the way her older sister, Kikyou, often looked.
"I wouldn't say it's silly." Kaede said quietly. "But you are correct. I won't be able to come tonight. Please give my best wishes to your mama and baby brother."
After few more brief and noncommittal queries to hang out later, the girls said their goodbyes, passed them and continued on.
Discreetly, Kagome eyed Kaede, falling back so that she could give the girl some space. Though she was trying hard to hide it, it was obvious that the exchange upset her. If Kagome could hazard a guess, she'd say that Kaede actually would've said yes to the invite if the second girl hadn't interrupted.
Kaede continued to walk along absentmindedly, probably caught in the eddy of some inner turmoil. It seemed she knew the way by heart though, stepping onto the log bridge that crossed the river without even registering a little.
Crossing said bridge that was narrow and without any railings proved to be a much more harrying task for Kagome though. Eyes firmly glued to the damp wood below her, she was hyper focused on not stepping on any of the spots that looked too soft and rotten.
A loud crack, and a terrified cry was simultaneously accompanied by a violent shuddering of the wood beneath her feet. Barely remaining upright, Kagome looked up frantically to see a flash of dark yellow slip off the bridge.
"Kaede!" She cried, trying her best to peer down into the rushing water in search of the young girl.
There was a brief glimpse of the basket Kaede was carrying on her back, bobbing in the current, but no sign of the girl.
Kagome didn't even think. In one motion, she loosened the old kosode on her body and discarded it, knowing all that fabric would only hinder her movement in the water.
Faintly, she heard a shout somewhere above her, the male voice urgent and harsh with concern.
There was no time to explain.
In one smooth arc, she jumped into the river, the shock of the sudden change of temperature almost triggered an involuntary gasp. But she resisted, controlling her exhale underwater.
It was like riding a bike, so they say. Swimming was second nature to her—she was working towards getting a summer job as lifeguard at the local pool after all. Before the stupid well kiboshed her plans.
She kicked harder, her arm propelling her solidly forward against the current, towards the vague glimmer of yellow up ahead. In another few seconds, Kagome plowed right into the small body before actually seeing it. After that, she could only focus on hauling them both towards the bank, thanking the heavens that the grade of the riverbed was sharply decreasing on this side of the water.
Kaede was sputtering and coughing even before they completely clear the river, thrashing out of her grasp to land on hands and knees. Her small body convulsed repeatedly, ridding itself of all the water in places where it should't be.
Kagome collapsed beside her, panting hard, but so, so, glad the incident was just a scare, and nothing more.
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Obi - a belt of varying sizes of lengths
Onee-sama - a very formal and respectful way of addressing one's older sister
Okuizome - a ritual/meal to celebrate a baby's first hundred days of birth
A/N: (Firstly, PSA - if you must jump into water of unknown depth, go feet first.)
I am super excited to write about young!Kaede, what it must've been like for her growing up and how her dynamic with InuKag would change if she met them as a child.
Also, Inuyasha and Kagome will both appear in the same scene next chapter. Stay tuned :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. However, this plot, the exact sequence of words and any original characters described therein, I reserve all rights to.