Chapter Text
Hanyou no Yashahime
Season 3
The turning wheel of time
The air in the village was crisp and clear as autumn mist gently rose from the stream like the playful foxfire often conjured up by mischeivous young kitsune. The season was turning ever colder, and all were stockpiling food as conditions worsened. However, as the morning sun rose ever higher into the sky, slowly dispelling the morning mist, the mood in the village was far from one of people preparing to go about their daily chores of harvesting food or preparing means to get through the looming winter.
Everyone in the village was in mourning.
Although not exactly the leader of the village, Kaede had been a source of knowledge, inspiration, wisdom and reason from a young age. Following the death of her sister Kikyo at just 8, Kaede had been pushed to the forefront as village miko, although many others had come to aid her until she had completed her training, offering her guidance and at times standing in for her. She had not quite possessed the legendary powers of her sister, but her sacred arrows had driven away many lower tier youkai throughout her early years, not keen to test themselves against what may be a trap by the young priestess. By the time word had got out that Kikyo was not reborn in her only sibling, many youkai still gave the village a wide berth, as she had proven herself a capable adversary even with her limited sight. A lot of the village men accompanied her on exorcisms, a few even willing to die for her, although such devotion had never been what Kaede had wanted. It had often been a common practice for said men to distract the troublesome youkai whilst Kaede readied sealing or purification arrows, acting as a sort of militia for the priestess. For years, the priestess had plodded on, showing little sign of stopping. When Inuyasha had been unsealed, few things had changed for her day to day life, although she had begun to slow down in her advanced age. After the events with the Shikon no Tama, Inuyasha had alternated his time between exterminating youkai with his friend Miroku and assisting Kaede with getting by in life. Twenty years on, at the surprising age of 78, she had passed away quietly in her sleep. The message had been taken to friends from other villages who had known her well, and wellwishers, gifts and visitors had been flooding in for almost a week. Today would finally be the day she was laid to rest on a funeral pyre, her urn buried next to where Kikyo's had been. Kagome looked up from where she was making breakfast. Hunched over the firepit, even though it had long since burned out, Inuyasha was staring into the ashes. He had been the one to sense all was not right the morning after Kaede had died, and had hastened to where she lived, learning to his sadness and shock that she had indeed passed away. Despite his rude and uncouth language, there was no denying that Inuyasha had genuinely cared for the old priestess, although he would often hide such demonstrations under a display of bluster and making a quick exit from the area. He had stated numerous times that he was not crying for the loss of the old woman, but few lies could get past Kagome anymore, and Moroha's sensitive nose had confirmed that the hanyou had indeed shed tears for her passing. Kagome ladled out a portion of stew for her husband and a second one for her daughter, although where Moroha was she could only guess. The surprise return of Kirinmaru's servant Riku had been a distraction for their only child, although far more so for Towa. Emptying the pot into her bowl, she passed one over to Inuyasha.
"You need to eat something."
A muffled sound was her only reply as Inuyasha rubbed at his nose. Sighing, she decided she couldn't exactly blame him. Whatever their past relationship, she knew that Kaede was one of the few humans who had never derisively called him a hanyou. Even the ones they had saved in their journeys to collect the shards of the Shikon no Tama had directed their praises more towards the humans of the group, willingly or otherwise disregarding Shippo, Kirara and Inuyasha as just muscle to get the job done under the thrall of their 'human masters'. She also knew that when Kaede was very young, Inuyasha had actively saved her, although he had rationalised it as 'making sure some weakling didn't get the jewel'. Just as she was about to suggest he eat again, he uncurled himself and reached for his bowl and spoon, slowly ladling the hot concoction into his mouth. Quietly enjoying the savoury start to the day, he looked over at his wife and soulmate.
"It's at noon?"
"Yes, that's when the service happens. There's people here from across half of Japan."
"Even he's here. Must want to show his respect for her looking after Rin for all that time."
"Our brother's here?"
Inuyasha coughed and gave Kagome a sour look, the closest approximation to humour he had come to since Kaede had perished.
"No matter how many times you say that, it's weird."
"We know now he had a reason for what he did. And if we hadn't been told of Kirinmaru's plan, he would have killed her and us as well."
"Keh. Still sounds weird."
Inuyasha returned to the business of eating as his daughter returned from outside, looking unusually sombre. Seeing that her breakfast was also ready, she called out a thanks to her mother before scooping up the bowl and eating with surprising haste. Although she wore her abbreviated set of fire rat robes, today she had replaced her dark red cape with a jet black one and let her hair down, leaving it looking messy and unkempt. Kagome tutted in disapproval and fetched a comb, attempting to tame Moroha's hair as she devoured her breakfast.
"Hey, can't it wait?!"
"Really Moroha, you should try to look nicer considering what today is."
Inuyasha watched as finally Moroha allowed her mother to comb her hair into a considerably neater style, a hint of a smile playing around his face as Moroha was finally released, mumbling incoherently. She sank down on the other side of the firepit, looking mutinous but unwilling to so much as touch her hair after the aggressive brushing her mother had just given it. After dressing herself appropriately, Kagome walked to where her husband and daughter were sat.
"We should go now. Sango and Miroku and the others will be there too."
Quietly leaving their home, the three walked towards where Kaede had lived. Villagers and visitors mingled, and to Inuyasha's nose, the scent of tears was heavy on the morning air. Soon enough they saw Miroku and Sango with Kin'u, Gyokuto and Hisui. Stood nearby was Sesshoumaru, as inscrutable as ever, accompanied by Rin, Riku, Setsuna and Towa. Kohaku and Shippo had arrived at some point and were looking sadly at the hut where Kaede was laid before her cremation. The small group spread out among the villagers and visitors, exchanging condolences. A few comments were made about the presence of youkai and hanyou at the funeral, but nobody was stupid enough to press the point at such a sensitive occasion. After what felt like an eternity, the cremation was underway. All the attendees kept a solemn silence as Kaede was ushered into her final sleep, broken only by the sound of a quietened sob here and there. As the flames died down and the ashes were gathered into an urn, the crowd slowly dispersed. Many were already quietly touting Kagome as the village's new priestess owing to her apprenticeship under the former miko. Some of the visitors were making their ways back to their homes almost as soon as the pyre went out, but others mingled with the villagers, delaying their departure to show their respects. Many made a beeline for Kagome, bombarding her with questions of every kind. Wandering to where the urn had been buried beside Kikyo's empty grave, Inuyasha gave a deep sigh and bowed his head, murmuring a quietly respectful farewell to the departed miko. A few people cautiously eyed Sesshoumaru as the saturnine daiyoukai approached the urn and, seemingly from nowhere, produced a gold charm. Kneeling before the deceased priestess, he placed the charm before the urn and spoke quietly, in such a low tone even Inuyasha wouldn't have been able to hear him. He inclined his head in a show of respect he had never been seen to display to any other human before effortlessly rising and turning away. Various people came to the burial site, many openly crying as they paid their final farewells. Finally, Kagome and Inuyasha approached the burial site, both bowing their heads in respect to the departed one. Unseen to all but Kagome, a handful of tears dripped onto the freshly upturned soil. Inuyasha spoke softly.
"I'm gonna really miss you."
Smoothing down the earth, Kagome muttered a blessing to the deceased priestess before turning and leaving with her husband. By now, the sun had reached its' zenith in the sky. Unable to contain his grief any longer, Inuyasha burst into a run and had soon cleared the village, dashing through the woods at breakneck speed. In moments, he had reached an old clearing in the forest, where he came to a stop. His sensitive hearing soon told him that there was nobody around. He silently remembered meeting Kaede by herself here. The girl had been only 7 or 8, and had gone looking for herbs. He had been resting up in a tree at the time, aware of her presence but not keen to show himself to her. A badly wounded centipede youkai had come chasing her, planning to take the child hostage in exchange for the Shikon no Tama, which had spurred Inuyasha into action. There had been no real reason for him springing into action beyond not wanting to see the child harmed. After leaping down from his tree, he had yelled for Kaede to drop to the ground, and soon he had dealt with the offending foe. Kaede had nervously thanked him for his act, although he casually brushed it off and simply stated he didn't want the youkai to get the jewel. He had come to the realisation later that he was only telling half the truth; Kaede was an innocent child, and didn't deserve being terrorised by a monstrous youkai. He had kept a loose eye on her as she made her way back to the village, then turned and gone. He sat down in the clearing, his eyes on the cloudy sky as he silently processed that he would never see her again.
Back at the village, many of the locals and visitors were eating and trading stories with one another, such as how they had met Kaede and what she had done in her earlier years. Although she had lacked a family with no relatives left, the arrangements for the funeral had been paid in full by none other than Riku himself, using up most of the last of his gold. Riku had been a true balm for Towa, although neither of them had been as acquainted with Kaede as Setsuna or Rin had. Moroha was keeping Shippo company, finding the young kitsune an interesting companion, as he did her, claiming to have never even heard of a shihanyou before. Setsuna remained with her mother and father, quietly mournful. As the hours ticked by, the crowd thinned out, and by the time it was sunset, nearly all of the visitors had left. The lanterns surrounding the grave were lit by Shippo's foxfire, giving a gentle glow to the area. Inuyasha walked back into the village somberly, where he was stopped by Kagome.
"Are you feeling alright?"
He shook his head.
"Not really. Hurts a lot."
Kagome embraced her husband, who wasted no time in returning the gesture.
"It hurts me too. Kaede was my tutor, but you knew her a lot longer."
"I suppose we should be glad that she died quietly. Not like... some others."
A slight break in Inuyasha's voice prompted Kagome to tighten her hug. She knew he was referring to how Kikyo had died, both in her physical form and later in her more artificial body. In both instances, she had died as a result of combat. Kagome spoke quietly.
"We'll always have our memories of her. And wherever she is now, she's at peace."
"Yeah. There's that much to be glad for."
The two parted as Sesshoumaru approached, as inscrutable as ever, yet seeming slightly changed by the funeral. He casually examined the two before inclining his head slightly.
"I will be taking my leave now. There are... matters that need to be attended to."
Inuyasha gave a sigh and turned to face his brother.
"Alright then. Are the twins going with you?"
"They have asked to stay in the village with you and Moroha. And Riku, of course."
Kagome spoke up.
"Thank you for coming to the service."
Sesshoumaru silently turned and teleported away. Sighing, Inuyasha and Kagome rejoined their friends, daughter, nieces and Rin.