Gōrudenshīru

"I'm laying down eating snow. My fur is hot, my tongue is cold. On a bed of spider web, I think of how to change myself." -Fever Ray

ooooooo

She could hear it in the brush, the whispering sound of light feet running. He was toying with her- and it was working; she was terrified. Her lungs burned for air, but she knew if she opened her mouth harsh pants would resound loudly. Tears leaked from her eyes and she buried her face into the dampened dirt of the forest floor. A soft breeze floated by, making her hiding place in the tall grass seem to whisper to her.

It told her hiding was useless- but she knew. She knew this was all just a formality before her death. The moons soft glow illuminated the night, belying her fear with its comfort.

Without warning, a pressure was on her back, pressing her harder into the dirt.

"I win." a soft voice tickled her ear.

She gasped her first breath in what felt was an eternity. She tried to push herself up, to run again; but it was useless. He was through playing and now he was going to kill her.

This game was over.

She screamed. A piercing wail that filled the air with a feeling of desolation. Far off into the wood a flock of birds take flight returning the young maiden's cry with their own shrieks of disturbance.

The silence that followed was soft, broken only by the wind that stroked with gentle fingers through the grass with a hush.

Dawn; Earlier in the Day

"Don't you think that's even a little unreasonable Inuyasha? I already told you my mother is having relatives over this week, and she expects me to at least make an appearance... After the last time... I feel bad, I need to make it up to her." Kagome trailed off, not really talking to the Inu hanyou who stood in front of her.

Inuyasha seemed to realize she wasn't speaking to him anymore and an angry tick made its way onto his forehead,

"Oi! What are we supposed to do in the meantime, just let you go skipping off with your family while this demon just continues to steal from Jinenji? This is the first rumor we've heard of a shard in months!" Inuyasha's words rang with truth.

All of that time with Miroku must have upped his reasoning skills, Kagome mused to herself. Explaining the situation didn't really seem like her friend, usually it was just straight to, "You cant leave you have a responsibility, you broke the jewel, blah blah blah."

Kagome sighed in acceptance. She looked to Inuyasha who was looking at her with impatience. She broke eye contact first, sliding her gaze away from this boy she cared so dearly for, and off into the horizon beyond Kaede's village, and towards Inuyasha's forest- towards the well.

It had been a long spring this season. Kagome fidgeted with the almost complete Shikon around her neck, without looking at it she could feel the few missing slivers, feel its desire to be whole so strongly it made her feel just as incomplete. Or maybe that was just the piece of her soul that Kikyou continued to wander about with. Not that Kagome had even seen her counter part in the last year. If only she could say the same for Inuyasha.

Two years ago, at age 19, Kagome had almost given up their search for the jewel due to her modern era life. Her grades were failing miserably, it was a wonder she'd even gotten into a decent high school to begin with. But she had pulled through with the tutalige of her brother no less. Souta was turning into quite the savant. He was only 15 and he was already in his last year of high school. College though... college was just going to have to wait.

None of them had ever thought it would take so long to complete the silver pink marble that lay restless between it's guardian's fingers. Ever since Naraku had gone into hiding, the kakera had become nearly impossible to find.

Which had been the turning point for Kagome in her modern life, giving her more time to spend on her studies. She often worried; what would happen once the jewel was completed? Would the well close? trapping her on either side? She briefly considered for a time that she could wish on the jewel to keep it open, but quickly dismissed such thoughts as selfish.

Inuyasha brought Kagome from her reveries with a knuckle to her temple, "Oi! I'm talking to you!"

"Ow!" Kagome slapped his hand away, nursing at the red spot she was sure would appear there. "Jerk!" She glared him down, her eyes spelling out a promise for a 'sit' if he tried that again. Inuyasha held up his hands in a defensive posture laughing nervously with a slight twitch in his eye.

"Alright, then." Kagome conceded. "I'm going to run home for a bit and let my mother know I'll be disappointing her again." Inuyasha opened his mouth to complain, but thought better of it and just nodded.

All that time with Miroku must be doing something, she mused again looking Inuyasha up and down. He seemed like the same old Inu.. but something was off today. His brashness had gone down a notch for sure. What was he up to?

"I'll let the group know. Try not to dawdle." and with that he was off, bounding back towards the village.

Kagome watched his back for a moment, pondering on this recent display of patience her friend seemed to always lack. Lifting her monstrous yellow pack and slinging it around to rest in place, Kagome quickly made her way from the hill that overlooked the valley, sliding on the steep incline and loose dirt. Once she crossed the treeline her gaze traveled to the ground, looking for the familiar path she walked for so many years that would lead her to the well.

She broke the treeline again into the small clearing, but the sight that greeted her made her hesitate.

"Kikyou," Kagome's heart fluttered for a moment, her breath hitching with nervousness. Well wasn't this a co-inky-dink, and here she was just thinking about the woman before her not a few minutes prior.

"Kagome." Kikyou replied in kind. "I wished to speak with you." Stoned faced like always, Kagome had a hard time reading her intentions. This woman being so close to her sacred well only made her more nervous. Her eyes flicked to said well trying to read its energy signature, make sure it hadn't been tampered with.

It glowed its normal purple color beyond that Kagome just wasn't trained well enough to know if it had been tampered with.

Kikyou was a much more competent miko than her; even in her corpse state of body. Kagome wasn't sure if she was capable of messing with the portal or not.

Kikyou seems to know where her train of thought lay, "I have not touched your well reincarnation." Kagome tried once again to read her face, find some sign of a lie but she was unable to.

Kikyou hummed quietly in a dismissive fashion. "I would not come to you like this under normal circumstance as I'm sure you know." She looked at the younger girl in her scandalous skirt with hidden disgust.

"Know this: you have my soul and I want it. That much has not changed." The statement made Kagome want to take a step back from the intimidating woman, but she didn't. Kagome held her ground firmly, with defiance.

She looked at her watch, trying to seem nonchalant. In the end though it felt kind of silly. Kikyou had no idea what a watch was.

"Please say what you have to say and move along." Kagome intoned, trying to match Kikyou's stoicism but not quite reaching it. She just was not the emotionless creature that stood before her.

A brief look of displeasure crossed the stone woman's face, but was gone just a quickly.

"Tonight is the anniversary of my death." Kagome's eye widened and her mouth dropped slightly agape.

"Oh" she breathed quietly. So that's why Inuyasha... Kagome felt a pang in her heart for a moment before it rose to put pressure behind her eyes. She swallowed the feeling. "And what does this have to do with me?" She asked. Something strange happened then, Kikyou's expression warped briefly showing an intense sadness and hesitation. Kagome was taken aback, not expecting the display of emotion. Her bleeding heart got the best of her and Kagome felt for the woman, no one deserved the horrid lot in life that Kikyou had received.

"I..." Kikyou paused, her gaze flickering around the glade.

"I would request that tonight, you let me have a few short hours with Inuyasha, please. Just some time is all I ask. You have my word I will not attempt to take him to hell until Naraku is there first." Kagome was floored by the request. Why would Kikyou be asking her? It's not like she had even needed permission before to go whisking the Inu away.

Kagome spoke her mind, "Why are you asking me?" Kikyou paused again, bringing her attention to one of her soul snakes that gracefully swam its way around her arm. It was almost comforting. Almost.

"I don't wish for interruption." She said then, locking eyes with Kagome, trying to convey some sort of emotion the younger girl didn't understand.

Kagome's mind reeled, She felt there was something behind this, there had to be. She also knew that the answer she gave may very well change the dynamic of her relationship with her incarnation. Her relationship with Inuyasha as well.

"O-okay.." Kagome conceded. What else was she going to say to this? No? Not after Kagome had seen feeling in her eyes. She couldn't be so cruel.
Kikyou let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, a small smiled turned the corners of her lips.
"Thank you" Her voice was flat again, empty.

With that Kikyou took her leave, more soul snakes arriving, brushing past Kagome with slight touches that left her feeling cold and slightly drained, and whisked Kikyou away into the trees.

"This has got to be the strangest day..." Kagome muttered under her breath before making her way to the well. She wasn't sure how to feel about this development, she briefly wondered if she might cry, but dismissed the thought. She didn't feel sad, she felt... tired, drained. It had been a long morning she decided.

Kagome lightly grazed her hand on the damp wood of the well, feeling for its energy by touch... just to be sure. She sighed, reveling in the comforting aura of her time-traveling well before leaping into the embrace of the soft purple light.

ooooooo

Hiei's eyes narrowed in suspicion when the miko emerged from the well this time. He'd been keeping an eye on and off of her of his own volition for a few years now. Ever since he'd seen her at Kurama's graduation. Her energy was immense, uncontrolled, it lashed out at him the first time he'd drawn near to her with the intention of putting such a creature out of its misery.

She hadn't even noticed in her untrained state. After that he never approached her with the intent of harm, no, those burns had taken over a month to heal and he was in no hurry to relive the experience.

The well in her shed was of no end of curiosity to him. After seeing the hanyou Inuyasha and the miko herself travel through it many times he could only assume it went to the makai. Somewhere in his mind his reasoning told him he should tell Koenma about this girl, but he had shut that voice out long ago. He preferred to keep an eye on her because he wanted to, not because some snot nose brat told him he had too.

This time though, a seed of worry grew in his mind. He watched her emerge from the shed, her aura was subdued and some kind of strange energy clung to her maliciously.

Hiei reached for the cloth covering his jagan, he had never used it in her presence before, and he hoped the strength of his demonic ki would go unnoticed.

The white cloth slipped from his forehead and slowly in an attempt to keep from alarming the woman walking past his tree, his jangan opened.

The creatures were disgusting, some kind of energy based miasma.. things. Hiei had not seen anything of the like before. They slithered over her body, clinging to her leaving a dirty slimy residue of energy as they withering about, they grew more in numbers as they consumed her miko ki.

Hiei was unsure what to do, he could not reveal himself to her yet. Not until He knew how to deal with this situation. So he rose from his perch, replacing the cloth over his jagan before he flashed away to find Kurama. He too knew of the woman, but hadn't taken such an active interest as Hiei had. That was fine with him. Two was a crowed.

ooooooo

"How did it proceed?" She knew it was a rhetorical question, she was sure he had watched from the demon child's mirror.

"She agreed." Kikyou answered despite this.

"Haa," He oozed. "Excellent. And what of the Gōrudenshīru? Is all in place?" Kikyou balked at the disgusting creature before her. "Yes, my reincarnation took to it unusually well. Her soul will be ready for the move in a matter of hours." Kikyou despised her roll in this deceitful plan, it was unfortunate for Kagome that she had no other choice. She watched as he twirled a single kakera between what she could only assume was his fingers.

"Excellent... now leave my sight." He dismissed her, and she didn't hesitate to leave this dark, empty place.

ooooooo

Kagome Dropped her yellow pack by the front door, her ki silently following the retreat of her little fire apparition friend. Sure, he'd tried to kill her once, but so had all her friends in the begging. For the last two years he'd appear at random intervals to keep and eye on her, ever since he'd attempted to attack her at her graduation. If he'd ever get around to introducing himself she reminded herself to ask him why he cared to be at such things. Surely demons had better things to do.

Kagome sighed wistfully, briefly wishing she had more control on her energy beyond sensing the kakera and nearby auras. She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling her exhaustion pulling at her tired muscles.

"Tadaima!" Kagome called into the house, The smell of her mothers omelets wafted by her making her stomach rumble. She slipped off her shoes before seating herself at the table next to her brother, who had his nose crammed into a comic book.

"Hey sis, hows the hunt?" He didn't look up from his book, but Kagome knew this didn't mean he wasn't interested in her answer. Her mother came in, carrying a tray of food, she looked surprised to see her daughter there but not displeased. "I thought you wouldn't be back until the reunion on Friday?" her mother asked.

Kagome resisted the urge to lay her head down on the table, "I'm actually here to let you know I wont be able to make it," Her mother frowned but Kagome trudged on, "The thing is we've gotten a hold of a really promising rumor about one of the last shards, and it involves a friend of ours Jinenji, you remember him?" At her mothers slight nod she pressed on. "Well some fox has gotten the great idea to try and steal some of his herbs, rare ones, the kinds of herbs that could cause some serious harm if demons got a hold of them, the missive from the village told us that the demon had some particular powers that seemed unusual for a fox. So we need to go investigate before someone gets hurt or things get out of hand..." She trailed off realizing she was making excuses in her desire to not disappoint her mother.

Her mom just smiled at her the corners of her eyes crinkling with her age. "Well be careful dear, be sure to take some first aid with you." Kagome smiled then, reaching for a plate of breakfast, enjoying the time she had with her family. Souta even put his comic down.

ooooooo

"Did you hit your head?" Kurama asked the fire apparition skeptically. Hiei's twitched ever so slightly.

"No." was his curt response. Kurama just raised a brow. "What are you doing following a miko around anyways?" Hiei twitched again, visibly this time.

"Hn." was his simple lack of response. "If you have no useful information I will seek an answer elsewhere." He got ready to leap back out of the window he had come into the foxes room through.

"Wait, wait" Kurama waved him back in. "Well it sounds like something called Gōrudenshīru," Hiei raised a brow, an herb? Was that right? Kurama went on despite the smaller demons inner musings.

"Gōrudenshīru, is a rare herb that was once abundant a long time ago. As you have described it to me, it sounds as if someone has used Gōrudenshīru's soul-binding properties to attach some kind of energy-eating miasma. However, how this process is done, or even how they made it consume Miko ki is a mystery to me." Kurama looked satisfied with his own answer.

"Hn. All I need to know is how to get rid of it." A slow shit eating grin spread across the foxes face. "Oh, Hiei, I didn't know you cared so much!" Hiei flung the nearest thing he could reach at the fox, which happened to be a text book. Kurama dodged, and it landed with a thud harmlessly against the far wall of his bedroom.

"Well, getting rid of it might be difficult. It depends on how it was prepared, and how it was administered." Hiei nodded his thanks and flash stepped away.

ooooooo

Kagome felt sluggish. She had to put up a fight with herself not to lay down in bed, and get going back to the group. Even her pack felt heavier than it normally did. She combed her fingers through her hair sighing discontentedly before making her way through the yard to the well house.

She paused under the Goshinboku feeling her apparition arrive high in its branches. She resisted the urge to look up at him, to make eye contact as she always wanted to. Something about those eyes... She shook herself off for a moment.

That's when something strange happened. A strong sensation of being pull upwards, pulling the breath from her lungs and forcing her on tip-toe. Then her forehead felt wet like maybe it was raining, she reached up to touch the space between her eyes, she fingers pulled away dry... but still the sensation remained. All in a rush things came back down causing her to fall to the ground her pack spilling out behind her.

"Oh, I'm so clumsy..." She muttered under her breath, mostly for the boy's benefit. It wouldn't do to have him think something was up, and she was sure there was now. Had she hit her head today? Maybe that last demon fight had been harder on her than she'd originally thought...

ooooooo

Hiei wasn't buying it. Girls don't just start floating inches off the ground with a blankness to their eyes. Miko or not. He quickly uncovered his jagon to track the growth of the Gōrudenshīru. He wasted no time, ki flaring brightly as he overlooked the miko. His eye widened at the display. The things were eating away at her third eye chakra, consuming her miko ki and... it appeared they were slowly eating at the binds between body and soul... forcibly ejecting her soul and consuming her ki. This was not good.

ooooooo

Kagome stood ram rod straight. Never had her tree dwelling demon released so much of his energy so forcibly in her presence, surely he must know she can feel such large quantities of you ki. It didn't feel malicious towards her, but none the less she could feel it probing at her. Something inside her however made her feel threatened, a feeling not her own... she didn't know, didn't understand, but soon her feet were racing her to the well house. She flung herself down the stairs banging her knee harshly on the lip of the well. The last clear image she had before the light took her was of the demon... and his bright concerned red eyes.