Insert Standard Disclaimer here
"Stone"
"Where is my mother?" Inuyasha tried to make his voice sound big and strong to disguise the panic he dared not show. I have a horrible feeling about this… Please, someone, tell me where she is!
"Listen, boy," the headman began.
"My name," he hissed, "is Inuyasha. And I am listening, but you haven't told me anything yet!"
"Inuyasha?" An old woman toddled out of the crowd.
"Old Lady Murakami!" Inuyasha ran to her and knelt down in front of her. "Please, can you tell me where my mother is?"
She reached out a trembling arm and gently laid it on his shoulder, partly to steady herself and partly as a kind gesture. "I'm sorry, young man, but Lady Izayoi… your mother… has passed on."
"You mean… she's dead?" Inuyasha hung his head to hide the impending tears. I will not cry in front of these cowards!
"I'm afraid so. It was Kagewaki, that villain!" The widow shook her frail fist at the direction the army had departed. "When your mother saved the rest of the women, he took out his frustrations on her instead."
The headman spoke up. "It took some time to spread the news that the women and children were safe; once all the men knew, we rebelled against Kagewaki and his army and drove them out of town."
With me chained up in a wagon… "And my mother?" Inuyasha stood up, but kept his head down.
"It was already too late for her… there was nothing we could do. Her injuries… to be honest, we only knew it was her because of the torn clothing we found in the same room as her body. Some of the women recognized it as the clothes she was wearing when she rescued them."
Inuyasha blinked furiously, realized it was futile, and scrubbed at his face with his sleeve before looking up. "Can I see her?"
"Boy… er, Inuyasha… we thought it would be best to send her body – what Kagewaki left of it – after her spirit as soon as possible. We cremated the remains yesterday."
Inuyasha stood like a statue as the headman droned on. "We didn't know what had become of you…"
You didn't even look for me, I'll bet. You humans had your own problems… what's a dead woman's only son to you?
The headman laid his hand on Inuyasha's shoulder. "Inuyasha… I don't think you would have wanted to see your mother like that. I don't think she would have wanted that either."
"And just who gave you the right to decide that for me?" Inuyasha swatted the offending hand away. "She was my mother! I should have…" his voice faltered. I should have protected her; but I was too damn WEAK! I'd do anything to get rid of my worthless human half. "Where did you bury her remains?"
"Lady Izayoi's ashes have been buried in a blessed urn in the place of honor up on that hill." The headman indicated the summit.
"Thank you." Inuyasha began to push his way through the crowd towards the grave.
"Where are you going?"
He paused for just a moment. "Away. And I'm taking her with me."
The crowd gasped at this. Removing the remains once buried was unthinkable! The headman held up a restraining hand, worried that any voiced objections might anger the already stewing half-breed.
Inuyasha left the throng behind and trudged up the hill. He wasn't stewing at all: he felt completely numb. His ears twitched, but his mind didn't register the tinkling of bells as the funeral procession continued on its way without him.
Mother…
Her grave was easily identified, as it was by far the freshest. A few flowers were strewn on top. Inuyasha knelt down beside the mound of earth. He lightly swept his hand across it, scattering the flowers.
You don't deserve this. They never really respected you… they only honor you now for saving them. And in twenty years, they won't even remember that.
Inuyasha squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. You can't stay here. We were happy here together, but I don't think you'd want to stay in a place where those men… where that happened to you. I'm sorry, Mother, but I need to take you somewhere… undefiled. He slowly scraped off layers from the heap of soil until the porcelain urn was revealed. He gently lifted it, brushed off the clinging dirt, and tucked it into the crook of his arm. And he ran.
xxxxx
Many hours later, far away, Inuyasha finally stopped. This place seems nice. Fitting, even. He looked up at a towering oak tree. He gazed the opposite way across a broad, pristine valley. He breathed deeply, and smelled only woods and fields. I know Mother was born a princess… but she never liked being cooped up. She liked working our garden, walking in the meadow, gathering berries in the forest. He exhaled. Yes, this place is best.
Bracing the urn against a jutting root of the tree, he quickly dug a new grave with his bare hands, scooping the earth out slowly, handful by handful. It was finally deep enough just before midnight.
By the dim light of the crescent moon, Inuyasha cradled his mother's remains in his arms. "Goodbye, Mother. I'm so sorry… I love you…" He placed the urn in the hole and covered it over again. Even as he tamped the dirt down, he began sobbing. The suddenly-orphaned boy curled up against the tree and cried himself to sleep.
xxxxx
When he woke in the morning, Inuyasha didn't feel much better. After a quick breakfast of cherries from a nearby stand of trees, he combed the area for a proper gravestone. It took some time, but he finally found a suitable one. He hauled it back to the grave; trimmed it down; and carved her name into the rough stone with his claws. He set the stone just uphill of her grave and gently laid a clutch of wildflowers before it. I hope this is what you would have wanted, Mother. I promise I'll visit you. You'll always be a princess to me… maybe this will help remind you of that. He slipped a hand into his robe and withdrew a small seashell, its two halves clasped together; he hid the shell at the base of the gravestone, whispered a final prayer, and turned to leave, blinking the tears away.
He'd only taken a few steps when every muscle in his body involuntarily tensed. Someone's watching me! He scanned the area, but saw no one. He was about to dismiss the perception as a trick of his mind when a familiar scent tickled his nostrils. Is that?...
"Oh, Lady Izayoi…" HONK!! "Whatever could have happened? Oh…"
"What are you doing here, Myoga?"
The old flea blew his nose again and dabbed at his watery eyes. He hopped from the gravestone up onto Inuyasha's shoulder. "I came to help the two of you as soon as I heard your town was under attack, but by the time I arrived, the whole thing was already over. I gathered from eavesdropping on the townsfolk that your mother had been killed by the invaders, and that you had taken her remains away; so, I hitched a ride and followed your scent here." He indicated a cat's tail vanishing over a ridge, then dabbed his eyes once more. "Master Inuyasha, what happened?"
Inuyasha folded his arms and resumed his aimless hike. "I'd rather not talk about it."
"But…"
"I said, I don't want to talk about it!!"
I've never seen him so upset before; come to think of it, I've rarely seen him upset at all! Still, he is the Master, so it is my duty as his vassal to obey his wishes. "Yes, Lord Inuyasha."
Inuyasha walked on in silence for a while, the old flea on his shoulder – each lost in thought about the beautiful and kind woman whose remains now rested in the earth.
"Lord Inuyasha?"
"Mm?"
"Might I inquire where we are headed?"
"Nowhere… anywhere but back there again."
"I see… well then, considering that you are still young, and have no living human relations, perhaps it would be wise to seek out your… er… other half?"
"You mean my demon relatives? Like that Sesshomaru guy?" Izayoi had taken Inuyasha aside and explained more than a few things to him when he turned twelve.
"Yes, Lord Inuyasha."
"Might as well. I got nuthin' else better to do." Before he could take another step, his stomach growled, betraying his true motivation. "Alright, Myoga. Where can I find them?"
A/N: This is the last of the "Mother" stories I plan to write. If you haven't done so yet, please read "A Twist in Time", where these stories are but a brief interlude in a much larger tale.
Thank you for patiently waiting and wading through all six stories. It has been a distinct pleasure.
JediHanyou