Arrgh! I had written the first part of this chapter earlier, and was really pleased with it, and my dumb computer ate it! No really, it did! I had saved it to disk, and then it would not let me access it at all! Stupid disk thingy, getting eaten by my computer… mumble mumble

And everyone gives thanks to Fairie Star, who editted, and told me that everyone is OOC. snerk

Warning: OOC, mild bad language?

Chapter 6

Rice Fields

Inuyasha sat in the Goshinboku tree, brooding. There were three days left until time was up for the contract, and he was still unsure whether or not it was a joke. On one hand, Sesshomaru does not do 'jokes;' on the other hand, he also couldn't see his uptight, Mr. I-Like-To-Pretend-I'm-An-Only-Child brother try and mess with his 'love life,' or lack thereof. And why now of all times? He was still fairly young, barely a hundred and fifty summers of age, the equivalent to a teenage human.

He sighed. If it was merely a trick, then whatever. He could scoff at the scroll and continue on in life, pretending that this week had never happened. No big deal, right? However, he also had to think of the possibility that this was no joke, that Sesshomaru really did want him mated, and then what would he do? There was no way that he would meekly do as his brother said and get stuck with some weird demon who's probably ancient and weak, not to mention ugly. The dog hanyou turned green at that thought. Ewww!

He sighed again. He could always run and hide, but the Lord of the West seemed to always be able to find him, no matter where. It was a real pain when Naraku was still around; he couldn't hide then, so there was really no point in even thinking about hiding from him. Of course, being the rich snob that he is, Sesshomaru more than likely expects him to simply go to the manor on his own violation. Inuyasha snorted. Like that would ever happen.

He gazed into the trees in thought. There wasn't anything to be done. He couldn't hide, and wouldn't go to Sesshomaru on his own, so the only thing left to do, was wait. It was only three days. He could do it.

Right?

Two days to go until… whatever, found Inuyasha in the middle of a…

Rice field. Yes, that's right, a rice field. Many villagers stopped and stared at the odd sight of a half dog demon, bent at the waist, tending to the fields. His outer kimono had been taken off, and his pant legs and sleeves were rolled up to protect against mud. His long, luxurious hair was neatly pulled up, besides a couple of strands that had fallen down to frame his face, and a large straw hat covered his head. The people of the village wondered if this was an impostor, because Inuyasha would never stoop to tending rice fields belonging to mere –mortal- peasants.

So when the apparition stood up and began cursing at them to mind their own business unless they wanted to die a slow, horrible fate, the villagers were relieved. Still the same Inuyasha, even when working in the wet fields, cheeks slightly tinted pink. They left him on his own after that.

He scowled. Stupid old hag. How dare she put him in this mess? He was a scary, powerful demon –well, half of one- and could destroy the entire village with one swipe of his claws –well, maybe two swipes, but still! She should show him more respect! Honestly.

He huffed. He shouldn't be doing such muddy work. There was no real reason that the lady, who usually tended to this section, had decided to skip out on her work, leaving him to do it…well, okay, she just had a baby… a very cute ba-

No! That was not a good excuse to use against him! It wasn't! …And no, he did not totally cave in when the child smiled at him, giggling! He didn't! Really! …Fine, so maybe he did, just a little. Maybe.

He smiled. She was awfully cute though.

Kaede looked up from where she was instructing the children in how to make the simplest healing salve. Something was approaching the village, riding the wind, it seemed. She stood up, and told the children to run along home, that she would finish the lesson at another time. She was alone in the grassy field, but unafraid. She did not feel any malice, or any lust for destruction, coming from whomever. She feared not death, in any case.

Besides, she knew for a fact that young Sango and Miroku were watching from the trees on the left, and Kagome from the right. They would protect her village, if not her.

As the winds came closer, she realised that it was not actually wind at all, but a two-headed dragon? A wary smile stretched across her lips. 'Ah,' she thought. 'So he comes. This shall be, interesting.'

(I could leave it there, but naw, too short)

Sesshomaru stepped down from the chariot drawn by An-Un, Jaken and Rin alongside him. When Rin found out that he was leaving on an errand, she had pleaded to come too. Her whining was too irksome to listen to, so he simply let her come. (It had nothing to do with her big, puppy-dog eyes. Really.)

He walked gracefully towards the old woman in the clearing. He knew that they were being watched, but it did not bother him. He could easily deal with them if needed. At the moment though, they seemed to be frozen in shock, which suited him fine. He did not wish to listen to the young miko's screeching.

Kaedebowed her head to him. "My Lord, welcome to thy humble town. Might one ask what is thy purpose for coming here?"

Sesshomaru glanced down at the woman. "I am here to fetch someone and then leave. This Sesshomaru does not wish to be here any longer than necessary."

She nodded and turned towards the village. "I do not wish to see any harm done to mine village, so I will take you to him."

The dog demon raised an eyebrow. "You will not try and stop me?"

She chuckled. "'Tis' a family affair, no business of mine."

He nodded, and followed the one eyed lady from the clearing.

Minutes later, Kagome, Sango, Miroku and Shippou emerged from the bushes, staring after the three (Jaken had followed them.) They stood there, mouths opening and closing, unable to find words. A soft giggle ended their daze.

A little black-haired girl was staring at the. "Look like fish to Rin!"

The three coughed/blushed, showing their embarrassment about forgetting that there was another in the clearing.

Kagome cleared her throat. "Yes. I bet we do. Um, let's follow them, okay? I don't trust him."

Sango and Miroku nodded, but both Rin and Shippou frowned.

"What's wrong?" Sango asked.

"Sesshomaru-sama good!"

"Kaede was right, this isn't our business!"

Ignoring what the young girl said, not wanting to upset her further, Miroku knelt down to face the kitsune.

"Shippou, don't you care for Inuyasha?"

The fox snorted. "Maybe, but don't tell him that! And besides, Sesshomaru is head of the family, and we can't do anything about it."

"Sure we can!" Kagome broke in. "We helped him all those times when he tried to kill Inuyasha."

Shippou shook his head. "This is different! We, um, we wouldn't stop you from going home right? Because your mother said to be back, right? Same thing!"

Kagome was stumped. Judging from Shippou's stance, he wasn't going to budge from his decision. She sighed. "Well, let's go after them anyway, just in case."

Agreeing with her, they all turned to the village and began to walk away.

"Sesshomaru-sama good! Hey, wait for Rin! Wait!"

Inuyasha was finally able to get the hang of working in the fields. He was starting to enjoy it, actually, not that he would ever admit that to anyone. He was humming a song and was almost finished with his task when he noticed a certain strangeness in the air. Cautiously, he raised his head and looked around. All the other workers seemed to have stopped and looked rather frightened. He frowned. 'Okay, that's not good.'

He straightened up a bit, to see better, only to find himself gazing at the Lord of the West, whose face was portraying a faint amusement in his eyes and around his lips. Not that just anybody could notice, no, just the ones who have been around him long enough.

"Oh, hell."

kitsune - demon fox

-sama - term of respect

miko - priestess

hanyou - half demon, half human

Goshinboku - the God tree

I don't know Inuyasha's real age, so we are going to play the game 'Let's Pretend!' In this episode, we are going to pretend that our sweet, lovable hanyou is 150 years old (or a hundred, if you don't count those fifty years being a tree decoration.) I also have no clue what Rin is like, since I never got that far in the manga/anime that I've read/watched. In fact, I think I only got as far as the first meeting with Miroku. So let's all pretend there too!

Oh, and the scene where Inuyasha's tending the filed? Made you all stop and imagine it, didn't it? Don't deny it! If I could draw/paint whatever, I would so totally draw this in watercolours, or light pastels, for you. But since the most I can claim to draw are lego people, you will just have to use your imagination.

Bwahahaha! Still haven't told you who the husband is! I AM EVIL! And I'm sorry that I seem to be getting less funny. Hopefully next one will be.

Mistress