The wrong door had opened, Murasaki realized far too late as Shimazu Toyohisa was pulled through a door made of old wooden beams with ivy curled around it. He glanced down at the page on his clipboard and scowled at the singular error that had thrown off his game with Easy. If she found out about this she would hold it over his head for all of eternity. Instead of sending the warrior off to another world where he was collecting Drifters very much like him, he had sent the warrior nearly a hundred years into the past of his own nation.
It was done. There was no correcting this egregious error now.
Murasaki sighed and put Toyohisa's file away as another appeared in his hall.
Displaced in Time
She had gotten lost on her way back to the well, muttering all the while about InuYasha's selfish and rather inappropriate demand for her to change out of the Miko garb. Just because she might be Kikyou's reincarnation did not mean that she actually was Kikyou. She was Kagome! And InuYasha couldn't demand that she change her clothes just because he was uncomfortable with how she looked.
Not only that, he had insulted every little thing about her, from the way that she smelled to how she couldn't use a bow and arrow after having just touched one for the first time in her life! She didn't ask for any of this!
So wrapped up in her thoughts she tripped over something in her path and fell forwards with a shriek. The thing groaned as she landed on it and made an effort to shift, and she very quickly realized that it was a person.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," she cried out as she scrambled off of the person, a man who groaned again and finally managed to flip over. There was an obscene amount of blood on him, as if he had just come from a battle, but most of it was his, she realized, as she noticed that blood was pooling under him.
"Must not be hell then," the man bit out with a pained grin, his words making absolutely no sense to her. Did he think he was dead? Well, he would be soon if she didn't do something, anything.
She was a Miko, and a Miko should be able to use their reiki to heal injuries. Kagome wasn't entirely certain of how she could do this, but she was going to try. She was going to do this. Forcing down her uncertainty she leaned over the man, the samurai she absently noted when she noticed the wickedly long blade he clung to with one hand, and gently pressed her hands to his chest. "Please let this work." She closed her eyes and bit at the inside of her lower lip as she focused on using her reiki to heal him.
"What are you—Your hands are glowing…" The samurai was still conscious, thankfully, and sounded about as confused as she expected.
Kagome cracked open an eye and found that her hands were indeed glowing a soft pink-white that had spread to the samurai. "O-oh! It's working!" A relieved smile formed on her face and she opened both eyes to watch as her power bent to her will.
"You're a Miko." It wasn't a question. No, the samurai seemed to know exactly what she was, yet there was no mention of Kikyou.
"Not a very good one according to InuYasha," she admitted bitterly and looked away from the warrior. She jumped slightly when a large, calloused hand settled over hers and looked back at him to find his piercing gray eyes fixed on her, his mouth drawn into a frown.
"You're saving my life, Miko-sama, that's more than good enough for me." His expression was steely, as was his voice, and Kagome couldn't help but be shaken by his words.
InuYasha had no problems in letting her know that he found her lacking in every aspect, yet this complete stranger had no higher expectations of her. He was in fact satisfied with her as she was, and she found that comforting.
The glow of her reiki faded as it found no more wounds to be healed and she pulled away with a weak smile. "Thank you. I needed to hear that," she said gratefully as the samurai sat up. "And my name is Kagome. Higurashi Kagome."
He shifted, faster than someone who was at death's door mere moments ago should be capable of, and prostrated himself before her, in spite of the fact that he was in a pool of his own blood. "It is I who should be thanking you, Higurashi-sama. I, Shimazu Toyohisa, owe you my life. This InuYasha you speak of is a fool for making you think so lowly of yourself."
Kagome had been ready to protest the position Toyohisa had put himself in, but his words stopped her cold and she blinked down at the sight of him. Warm tears pricked at her eyes and she put a hand over her mouth as her already stirred emotions bubbled up. Before she could even stop herself she gave a choked sob and in the very next instant she was being pulled to Toyohisa's chest, his arms tightly wound around her.
"I'm sorry that my words have upset you, Higurashi-sama. It was not my intention," Toyohisa breathed into her ear as he pressed a hand to the small of her back and rubbed soothing circles there.
Kagome couldn't find the words to reassure him that it wasn't his fault, not entirely. He'd been much too kind and it had simply triggered her into this state. She spent the next few minutes crying into his neck, and he simply let her while he kept silent and continued to rub her back. After her tears dried and her sobs finally stopped she pulled away, her gaze downcast while her cheeks flushed with her embarrassment. "I'm so-"
Toyohisa silenced her with a finger against her lips then slipped his hand under her chin and tilted her head up. Once she was looking at him he gave a subdued smile and pulled his hand away. "You have nothing to apologize for, Milady. It was I who upset you."
She gave a hard shake of her head and balled her hands into the material of her hakama. "I was already upset when I found you, Shimazu-san. Hearing such nice things from you just happened to be the trigger to make me break down like that, and I think I needed it so that I wouldn't have a worse break down later on. It wouldn't do well for me to have a youkai find me in such a state."
Toyohisa blinked, his expression twisting into another frown. "Youkai? Youkai haven't been around for one hundred years, Higurashi-sama."
Kagome blinked as well and took a better look at Toyohisa. "Shimazu-san, what year is it?" She didn't know why she chose that particular question, but having found herself five hundred years in the past wouldn't have made sense either if he was talking about youkai being gone for a hundred years.
"It's 1600, Higurashi-sama." He sounded so sure of it, and her heart sank as she registered the answer.
"Shimazu-san, it's 1497…"
Displaced in Time
There was no dishonesty in Kagome's face as she broke the news to him. There was a deep sadness, though, and even more was understanding. "H-how?"
"In your case, I honestly don't know. I doubt you climbed out of the Bone-Eater's Well in your state, and I can't even be certain it was how you got here considering it pulled me here from 1997." He didn't remember a well of any sort, and it seemed like the circumstances in how they got here, though similar, were incredibly different. She was even more out of place than he was.
"What part of Japan are we in?" He had to know that much, considering he had last been at Sekigahara.
"Um… We're in Edo. Why?" Kagome's brows furrowed slightly with her question and she tilted her head to one side.
"I was at Sekigahara," he admitted in a harsh whisper. So far. How had he… That white hallway with the doors and that strange man at the desk! "I was giving my uncle time to escape from Tokugawa's forces so he could make it back to Satsuma."
Kagome's expression shifted to one of realization and she stared at him with wide eyes, her mouth parted slightly in her shock. "Wait…you're from the Shimazu clan?!" Her gaze left his face and shifted down to the crests stitched into his karuta sashinuki style kote. "He really is…"
Toyohisa blinked at her then arched a brow at her now stunned expression. Yes, he really was from the Shimazu clan. He wouldn't claim otherwise. "Can you tell me if my uncle made it back to Satsuma?" If she knew of his clan like it seemed and if she was from nearly four hundred years after the Battle at Sekigahara…
"I'd know if I had my history book!" A what? The confusion must have been evident on his face because she gave a sigh and shook her head. She looked ready to say something when her expression lit up and she shot up. "I can show you! I just have to go back through the well and…. Oh no, my family must be worried about me!"
Toyohisa climbed to his feet, ignoring the way his legs tingled, and picked up his nodachi to sheathe it. "What are you going on about?"
Kagome must not have heard him because she was too busy looking around before she quite literally bounced on the spot. "It's that way!" And then she took off.
Toyohisa frowned, unsure of what might have gotten the Miko so excited, and jogged after her. It became evident after a few minutes and the forest opened up into a field where there sat a well. The well that Kagome had made mention of.
Kagome made a beeline for the structure and started to climb onto the lip of it, much to his surprise and shock. And then she jumped down into it.
Without even giving it a thought he raced over to the well and vaulted over the lip of it just as a bright glow lit the bottom. He closed his eyes against the glow and expected everything to end, but the sensation of falling turned into the sensation of floating. He landed quite gently after time seemed to stretch on forever, and dared to crack open his eyes.
"Shimazu-san?" Kagome stared up at him with wide, disbelieving eyes, her features barely distinguishable in the darkness. When did it get dark out? It was at least midday when they jumped down the well.
"How did it get so dark?" Toyohisa craned his neck to look up, and instead of stars in the sky he could make out wooden beams. He looked back down at Kagome and for the first time noted that the top of her head barely reached his shoulder. And that there was barely any room in the well for both of them.
"We're in my time, Shimazu-san, and it's dark because we built a well-house over the Bone-Eater's Well. Could you possibly get us out of here?" Kagome shifted against him as she fidgeted, her gaze flicking away from his as she turned her head just slightly. Even though he couldn't really see it, he knew that she was blushing.
"Of course, Higurashi-sama, hold on." He wrapped his arms around her and gave her enough time to twist her fingers into the fabric of his shitagi before her leapt upwards. They easily cleared the lip of the well and he could see what she was talking about when they landed. It was akin to a little house that covered the well.
The doors to the well-house suddenly opened and light flooded in, revealing two figures standing there. Kagome gave a surprised gasp then pulled herself free of his embrace and rushed over to them, having obviously recognized them. "Souta! Jii-chan! I'm so happy to see you!"
"Whoa, Nee-chan, is that blood?" The boy, Souta, asked as he took in Kagome's state. Souta looked from the Miko to where he stood, uncertain of what to do, and the boy's eyes widened. "Oh cool! Who is that?"
Toyohisa's head hurt as he absorbed the sights, sounds and smells from the future, along with what snippets of information he could gather from Kagome's family. They had managed to relocate to the house where he met the third and final member of Kagome's immediate family, her mother.
The Lady Higurashi had taken one look at them both and smiled, her relief palpable. "I won't pester you with all sorts of questions, Kagome, since you look like death warmed over, but I will ask that you introduce this young man."
Kagome fidgeted with the hem of her haori sleeves and looked down at the floor, her entire posture rife with nervousness. "Okaa-san, this is Shimazu Toyohisa. Shimazu-san, this is my Okaa-san."
"It is an honor to meet you, Higurashi-dono," Toyohisa exclaimed with a deep, formal bow.
"And you too, Shimazu-san," Lady Higurashi returned with a polite bow of her own. "Run along upstairs, Kagome, while I ask Shimazu-san a few questions." There was an odd inflection to the Lady's voice, one that sent a shiver up Toyohisa's spine.
"Hai, Okaa-san," Kagome uttered softly and went up the stairs after mouthing a 'Good luck' in his direction.
Once Kagome had vanished up the stairs the Lady Higurashi's expression became sharp and she scrutinized him for a moment. "I don't know what happened to my daughter on the other side of that well, Shimazu-san, and I hope you can answer my questions satisfactorily. How did you meet Kagome?"
"To start, I am from a different time than the one that the well leads to, Higurashi-dono. I was grievously wounded at Sekigahara in the year 1600 and when I wandered away from the battlefield I was taken to a strange white hall with many doors. There was a man in that hall, but he wouldn't answer my questions and he wouldn't send me back." Toyohisa clenched his hands into fists and sharply looked away for a moment, his lips pressing together into a frown. When he returned his gaze to Lady Higurashi he noticed that her expression had softened. "When I came back into consciousness Higurashi-sama had tripped over me. She healed my wounds and we talked for a bit. She explained to me that the year was 1497 and when I asked her about Sekigahara she mentioned something about a…. She called it a book?"
"A collection of papers bound together with the information stored on the pages," Lady Higurashi helpfully supplied with a warm smile. "Her history book, perhaps?"
Toyohisa brushed aside the explanation for now and gave a nod. "She called it that and said she could show it to me instead. Afterwards we came through the well. She, uh, jumped in first and I followed, fearing for her life."
"I see," Lady Higurashi said with a thoughtful tone. "How old are you, Shimazu-san?"
Toyohisa blinked, taken aback by the question, but he was going to answer nonetheless. "I am thirty, Higurashi-dono."
Lady Higurashi frowned at that and folded an arm over her chest, her brows furrowing slightly. She did not like that answer at all. "And what are your intentions towards Kagome?"
He really did not like how she asked that question. "I owe Higurashi-sama my life, and as I have nowhere to go back to I would pledge my life to hers. I do not believe in harming a woman and would never force myself upon her or any other woman. I would sooner cut my belly open."
"Kagome is only fifteen, Shimazu-san, half your age. Things are very different here in the future, and it is generally unacceptable for a girl to marry so young. Things were much different in your time, let alone the time the well goes to, and when she has to go back…" Lady Higurashi's voice cracked slightly and for one moment she looked utterly broken. It was gone in the blink of an eye and she straightened her posture, her arms going to her side. "I would rather someone as honorable as you are be the one to care for Kagome."
Displaced in Time
As much as she had wanted to take a long and relaxing bath, Kagome opted for the shower instead. She did make sure to scrub every inch of herself clean, and she washed her hair twice, so only twenty minutes had passed by the time she finished with her shower. She had just wrapped herself up in a towel and grabbed one for her hair when her mother entered the bathroom.
"Done already, Kagome? That's unusual," Mama commented teasingly. "Is it because of Shimazu-san?"
Kagome blushed and looked away from her mother as she patted the moisture out of her hair. "I promised to look up some information for him."
"About Sekigahara?" Kagome faltered slightly as the question left her mother and she snapped her gaze back to her mother's as her mouth dropped open. "I did ask him a few things, and he was incredibly honest. I was only concerned for you, and I can rest easy knowing that he'll be traveling with you when you go back through the well."
"I don't want to go back there, Mama," Kagome whimpered out, the towel for her hair dropping from her hands. Her mother rushed over to her and wrapped her in her arms just as her knees buckled.
"Oh, Kagome. I knew this day would come, but I never imagined it to be like this," her mother said soothingly and helped Kagome out of the bathroom. "Come now, let's get you dressed and we can talk."
"M-m-marriage?! But I'm too young!" Kagome was sure her voice echoed well throughout the house, but that wasn't important right now. What was important was that her mother was talking about marriage.
Kagome sank down onto her bed and buried her face into her hands as it turned a bright red. Her mother sighed and sat down next to her, a hand going to her shoulder. "I'm not talking about right away, Kagome, but it is something you will need to consider when you go back through the well."
"But I-"
"No, Kagome. As much as it pains me to say this, going back is unavoidable. I wish you didn't have to, but I've known about this for a long time and I had to make my peace with this when you inevitably fell down the well." Her mother lifted her hand to Kagome's face and gently stroked her cheek then brushed a few damp locks of hair behind her ear. "Now dry your hair and I'll go start on oden for dinner."
Normally she would have perked up at the mention of her favorite food, but with everything seemingly crashing down around her she gave her mother an empty smile. Once she was left alone in her room, she flopped back onto her bed and stared up at the ceiling. Why did she have to go back? Why would she have to get…
"You really should dry your hair, Kagome-chan," an incredibly familiar voice drawled from the direction of her window, startling her out of her thoughts.
With her heart in her throat she sat up and blinked at the sight of a man who looked almost exactly like Toyohisa, with the addition of modern clothes and some vividly crimson stripes slashing across his cheek bones, perched on the sill of her open window. He flashed her a roguish grin, revealing inhumanly sharp canines, and had the audacity to wave.