Feet First
Chapter 4: The Merciful Demon Lord
"Please believe in me!" Tomohito burst into laughter, a hand pressed against his stomach. Security was escorting them back to the Fukiage Palace. Father had preferred to walk, insisting it was too cloudy a day to stay inside the car. "Genius, sis."
"You brought it on!" Shino pouted. She knew she wasn't the best at coming up with comebacks and responses, but she didn't think it merited this much laughter. Did it? "The terminal illness!"
"Imagine the pity stares you'll get in school!" laughed her brother.
The Empress sighed, expression appearing to get ahead of said schoolmates. "It wasn't too terrible, dear. Next time we'll just prepare something for you to say."
"Good idea, mom," Tomohito grinned, and turned to his youngest sister. "Don't sweat it, though. At least you sounded like you believed what you were saying. Tomoyo, though," the crown prince continued, clapping without sarcasm this time, "The one tear? Brilliant. Just brilliant."
Tomoyo shrugged nonchalantly. Shino sighed.
The Emperor watched his children in proud amusement. "It pleases me to learn that I've raised con artists."
"And married one," Shino noted aloud, still a tinge grumpy about being poked fun at.
The Empress only beamed. "Nevertheless, I'm happy. Our first family press conference."
"Let us hope it's the last. If I may be so bold, Princess Naru, that last response was atrocious." The Grand Steward swept into the hallway. His was always a presence with finality, like his notions were the pillars of the world and nothing could change them. "We don't want a repeat of this, do we?"
"No, Grand Steward Shimoto."
Shino's verbal compliance exacerbated the Steward more than it allayed his headache. With a wary stance, he ordered, "You'll be returning to school in a few days."
"Grand Steward, I thought I had a break this week," argued Shino, forcing the respect in her tone. Her already sinking day was drowning. Fast. "And what of my illness?"
"When you asked the country to believe in you, you brought it on yourself to show the world you were willing to go to school despite your illness." The Grand Steward repeated, "You will return to school within the week after a brief period of recovery."
"Very well," the Emperor attempted to ease the tension. "You may go, Grand Steward Shimoto."
The Grand Steward bowed, but his head snapped up sooner than was the custom. "That was a good save, Crown Prince. But try not to spring such a thing next time without consulting us. There are repercussions, and the princess returning to school too soon despite her amnesia is only the tip of the iceberg. We have people for that."
He exited with a confident stance. Tomohito dropped the perfunctory smile and scowled. "How dare he. He'd already been dismissed."
"Now, now." The Emperor soothed, "He is simply performing his duties as Grand Steward."
"Father, I don't like that he seems to hold power over you," Shino agreed with her brother.
"He doesn't. Trust me, your father is more powerful than him," the Empress promised. For some reason, Shino believed her.
"Of course, mother," Tomohito agreed if only to end the conversation. The Grand Steward was always easier on him for being the crown prince, and he didn't appreciate that reprimands were taken out on Shino instead. As always, Tomoyo was decidedly blasé.
With the mood ruined, the Imperial family marched home in silence. Tomoyo wouldn't meet Shino's eyes and recoiled to her own room with a click of her lock. Shino tried not to let it bother her. Tomoyo had other problems besides hers, after all, like work. And maybe being generally indifferent in the day. Perhaps her kindly self was nocturnal?
And she had problems, too, like school. She'd call Kagome, but first on the list was Ayumi, the most attentive out of them all.
Ayumi gasped Shino's name as soon as she heard her on the other line. "My mom was so sad when I came home today! What's this about a terminal illness?"
"It's not terminal," Shino sighed affectedly. She joked, "It's just eating away at my body, that's all…"
"Shino!" Ayumi whimpered.
"Uh—wait, don't cry," Shino panicked. "I'm going to be all right. I promise."
"Okay. You know I can get emotional about these things." Ayumi was actually the calmest one and hardly ever got emotional—that was Eri's thing, despite being the toughest nut out of their group—but it was nice to hear her concern, however unwarranted. "You and Kagome are both so sickly!"
"What? What happened to Kagome?"
"Oh, right, you wouldn't know because you've been out of commission, too. She's had so many illnesses wrack her body! But then…" Ayumi's teary moaning turned into a giggle. "But then that mega-hunk did ask her out this weekend..."
"Mega-hunk?" Not a term she expected from Ayumi—she probably got that from Eri or Yuka.
"You know, Hojo?"
Hojo was purportedly the cutest catch of their year. He certainly was attractive; the almond eyes and the brown mop of hair were qualities much sought after, but not something she could appreciate personally. Always kind and helpful, he actually reminded her of Tomohito, except they were never close enough friends to joke around, only running in to each other every so often during projects or at school festivals. Maybe that was why she couldn't like him.
"Well, good on Kagome," Shino agreed with Ayumi's soft chuckling. "I hope she's all right."
"Yeah, and on her birthday week, too… We ended up having to eat that cake. When are you coming back to school, Shino?"
"Tomorrow. Which is why," Shino dragged the word out. It was always embarrassing to ask for help, even if Ayumi was always ready to give it to her friends. "I was hoping to ask what the homework's been so far?"
"Oh yeah, sure! So for English today we were practicing reading using famous speeches… You know, the kind that goes I have a dream…"
Shino liked Ayumi. She was honest, sometimes to the point of being hurtful, but never with the intention of offending anyone. Then again, Eri and Yuka were just as blunt—it was just that Ayumi always pointed out the truth with the kindest of tones. The other two were a lot more like Inuyasha, but toned down because they were girls. Slightly. Actually, she and Kagome were lucky to have the friends they did—the three were all driven and determined, which meant despite their differing temperaments, they were hardly afraid of anything and they always had their backs.
Shino felt guilty for lying to them about the Feudal Era, but if Kagome thought it prudent to keep it a secret, then so would she. She supposed there was no use complicating things and dragging the others to the past.
Shino thanked Ayumi for the updates – both for schoolwork and the usual school gossip – and, after swearing that she was not going to die anytime soon, ended the phone call. She thought of calling Kagome, but she must have come home very late last night. Not to mention that she'd be incredibly tired if she went to school today to catch up with lessons. Speaking of which, she had her own to do. The books laid out on her table were already opened where she was supposed to start reading, according to Ayumi.
Groaning as she sat back in her chair, Shino got to work.
Tomohito wasn't kidding about the pitiful stares. A few days after the press conference and everyone still watched her cautiously, as though she would collapse and shatter, reminiscent of some all-powerful but surprisingly flimsy sacred jewel at any second. Well, they would hardly think in those terms, but even those who once looked upon Shino with disdain for her station only turned away now and shook their heads, like she had disappointed them by catching the 'illness' because now it was heartless to speak ill of her.
Though she supposed, in retrospect, that it was a small price to pay in the long run. Shino genuinely wished to return to the Feudal Era, even if the matter of the jewel shard and who could hold it was still debatable, especially in Kaede's eyes. She had Kagome's full trust, and she wouldn't break it.
At any rate, Eri, Yuka and Ayumi promised not to show their feelings on the matter of her terrible malady. They were much too cheerful to be normal, but she appreciated it. Shino took her seat in their first class behind Yuka and Ayumi and looked over to the seat beside her. "Where's Kagome? Still sick?"
"I guess," sighed Ayumi, patting her own curly hair as though it would comfort them all. "Poor thing!"
"You have it way worse though, Shino," Yuka reminded, taking out her pen and notebook in preparation for the day.
"Don't think about it anymore!" snapped Eri, clapping her hands together.
"She's right," Shino agreed. She had been forced into make-up again this morning, but she was promised it would lighten eventually. After all, the new story was that it was a terminal illness within her body. It wouldn't manifest so easily on the outside, except that she had only come into a cold along with the ailment. "I'm taking the best medication available."
"And hey, maybe you'll even catch the eye of another hunk, like Kagome with Hojo!" Eri grinned. "What about Mako?"
"From class E? I doubt it," Shino grimaced. Not with kind of looks she was getting. Besides, Mako wasn't her type, and she was too busy wondering what Kagome was doing in the Feudal Era without her. She understood that she was virtually unreachable after the whole business with the press conference and had refrained from returning to keep up appearances with the palace, but she could have asked Sota to tell her somehow. Kagome had been gone for too long without even telling her. Her friend had left her with only one option.
Tomoyo's choppy voice buzzed against her ear. "You're using the clinic line for this? And again?"
"Cover for me," Shino whispered into the phone, flashing their school nurse an innocent smile from the other side of the room. She had said she wasn't feeling well during lunch time and went to the clinic to make a call since she hadn't brought her cellphone. "You understand."
"I understand you're ditching school for this!"
"It's after school. And it's a Friday!" Shino argued. "It could be a few days again. Maybe until Sunday evening. I can't be sure. Just tell them I genuinely felt ill when I called you…"
"I know, I know," murmured Tomoyo. She was at work and kept her voice just as low. "I'll suggest they use the illness excuse in case the press catches wind of this. But you'll have to come up with an excuse to the Grand Steward as to why you were missing. Again. Even more to mom and dad."
"I will while I'm there."
"Good luck, Shino."
Shino paused. "I owe you one."
Tomoyo snorted, "Definitely."
Shino slipped away through a poorly guarded gate after school while Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi were discussing going over to Kagome's house the next day to plan her outfit for Hojo's date. That couldn't be good; she'd probably be at the Feudal Era. Grandpa Higurashi was outside with the great tree when Shino reached the shrine.
"Hello, Shino!" he greeted. Unlike most non-blood related elders, Grandpa Higurashi called her by her name because he had known her mother since before she was born. Shino's grandparents on her mother's side had been close friends with him and the Empress went to him for advice, whether or not they were related to Shintoism. It delighted her even more to know that she was friends with Kagome; Shino wondered what her mother would think now, knowing there was some portal to the past in a place she had constantly visited while growing up.
"Grandpa Higurashi, good afternoon," she bowed. "Did Kagome…?"
"Oh, yes—days ago!" he smiled, as if time travel was a concept he'd been raised with. Walking her to the shrine with the well, he patted her on the back. "Go on, now. Your secret is safe with us, too. Say hi to your mother for me!"
Shino was already climbing when she turned at the remark. "I'll be sure to tell her when I get ba-aaaaahh!"
Fell again. Anyway, she thought, dusting herself off, she was certain Grandpa Higurashi understood what she was saying. Climbing out of the well, Shino was extremely relieved to see no more signs of Yura's hair. That was a nightmare. Literally. She'd dreamt of being stuck in the binds and having her stomach utterly diced to pieces!
The villagers nodded at her in acknowledgment when she arrived. What a hardy people. They appeared to have completely recovered from the puppet ordeal, and she was proud to walk among them. She took a detour by the side of the river where the women often did their laundry and was astonished to see them going about their daily activities.
"Shino, ye have returned."
"Kaede!" The old woman was the steeliest of them all. "You surprised me."
"Suki mentioned ye had arrived." At Shino's quirked brow, Kaede replied, "The girl whose hands we first saw under Yura's control."
"Ah. How are you feeling, Kaede?"
Looking over the glistening river and the village thriving beside it, the priestess touched the sling over her left shoulder. "All is well. I need only rest. Are ye still bothered by the wounds Yura wrought?"
The cut on Shino's neck was so narrow that it was invisible, and those on her stomach could only be seen because Yura had used so many strands. Her back wound still ached, but was technically healed. How could Kaede tell? Bruises from training in which she used to partake with her siblings she was accustomed to, but open wounds were new, and she flinched at these like the novice she truly was in battle.
"I'll get used to them," she answered. "Where have Kagome and Inuyasha gone?"
"In yonder woods," Kaede sighed. "But they have not returned since days ago. Search parties we have sent returned only with the contraption."
"Contraption?"
Making a motion with her hand, Kaede summoned a villager who brought Kagome's bicycle with him, complete with its basket. Shino wondered how worried she should be. On one hand, Tomoyo did warn how far they'd have to go to find shards scattered everywhere, even with Kagome's sense of them, but—wouldn't Kagome and Inuyasha take her with them? Unless they remembered that she would be of little use without the shard…but why would Kagome leave without the bike? Inuyasha would never agree to carrying her around everywhere—just nights ago he had complained about having to bring Shino back to the village for her injuries from Yura.
Kaede recognized her pained expression and distracted her by taking a box from the bike's basket and handing it to her. "Here, child."
"What's this?" Shino opened it. Bandages, needles, a whole lot of herbs and parchments containing recipes for curatives, and… "Alcohol?"
"Kagome brought much of the liquid when she returned. I know not its purpose, but perhaps ye do," affirmed Kaede.
"I fear an evil has befallen them," confessed Shino, returning the box inside the bike's basket.
Kaede appeared to have felt the same since she did not attempt to soothe the girl's worries. "If Inuyasha could not defeat it, neither will ye. However, should they be in need, only ye can provide the aid they require."
"You're right," said Shino, though she would have gone even if she weren't. She couldn't sit around while Kagome and Inuyasha left her to go on adventures. It just wasn't right, and she was starting to feel a little hurt. Not that she could even truly blame them. Kagome would want her safe and Inuyasha didn't appreciate her tagging along when she was powerless. "You're right. I'm going now."
After suggesting that she change into more comfortable clothing – Kaede thought it odd that she asked for a dobuku and hakama, but did not argue the point – the priestess pointed her in the direction the two last left for. Shino doubted the idea of Kagome and Inuyasha walking in a straight line, but Kaede reminded her that the half-demon was something of a simpleton and preferred straight directions to roundabout manners. Funny how much sense that made.
Getting on Kagome's bicycle, Shino pedaled. She wasn't sure how far she had gone, but sometimes Inuyasha's heavy landings amidst his brief flights into the air caught her eye and she was certain she was tracking them correctly. She climbed hills, trekked through forests, and on one occasion had the distracting opportunity of traipsing – or squashing – through a field of flowers, but Kagome and Inuyasha were nowhere in sight. Dusk was fast approaching and she was starting to lose hope. If they had been traveling for days, how could she expect to catch up with them on a bike?
Not to mention she was hungry, thirsty, and her legs ached. If demons came at her now, she might drop dead, and the thought was not one that pandered to her idea of a future. For her own safety and because she decided she had earned a break after night fell, Shino followed the sound of running water and stopped at a river tributary. The junk food she had bought from school gave her some sustenance, though she was forced to drink directly from the river. Her water bottle had long run out that afternoon when she had failed to pace her consumption of it.
Shino stuck out her tongue. It had much more flavor than regular water, but she hadn't a choice. She wondered if this new water would affect her stomach. If it did, perhaps sleeping would wear off any effects it might have on her. She had read once that bad things were afraid of water—or it could have been a Western belief and she was utterly wrong, but as she closed her eyes and waited for the sound of growling, gluttonous monsters or the tittering of evil demonesses, nothing came. So Shino fell asleep.
Something gnarled poked at her ankle.
"A human?" said a strange, squeaky voice with a bizarre accent. "What is it doing here?"
Shino bolted upright, only to be struck by an immeasurable headache as bright sunlight pervaded her vision and pain throbbed at her temples. "Ow," she groaned, morning voice hoarse. She pressed her fist against the side of her head. "What…time is it?"
"It's awake!" the voice gasped. When her eyesight cleared, Shino identified the creature to whom it belonged—a demon, though she had already guessed from how it addressed her. This one looked like a skinny, bipedal toad. It had no lips and its eyes were large and round with slit pupils. Its skin was a sickly green, and it peered at her with both disgust and interest. She likely viewed him with the same expression.
"What are you?" she asked, eyeing the walking stick in his hand. A demon that didn't want to gut her on sight. Shino was interested.
"I, human, am a kappa," it – he – declared, standing with his shoulders straight and wearing a dignified expression along with robes that looked like a shaman's. (What surprised her more was that there were clothes his size!) "I come from a great tribe that once held much land in the Musashi Province!"
Shino blinked. Musashi province…that was old, and she wasn't a big fan of geography. It was a good thing her father loved it, however, and insisted that his own children know what Japan in its older days had been called. "Musashi? This is still Musashi. I think." She looked around. Next time, she would have to bring something to be able to track how far she had gone from Kaede's village. She had been going in a straight line, after all. "Where has your tribe gone?"
"I left them to search for our former master!" said the kappa, who sighed and fell on his posterior. "We are useless without him. I have been on a very long journey…"
"Have you lost your way?" she asked. "I haven't seen any kappa around. You know, if your master is gone, you should appoint another in your tribe. You've got to forge your own lives."
"What a preposterous idea!" scoffed the kappa, glaring darkly at Shino. But then his forehead relaxed and his sullen disposition vanished as he sighed. "The truth is, I just need more energy to locate my master!"
"I understand," said Shino, putting up her knees and leaning her arms on them. "I need to find my friends, too."
The kappa blinked before his pointed mouth widened to a grin. "Human!" he exclaimed. "What would you make of a deal?"
Shino peered at the demon, using her feet and posterior to inch away. "What kind of deal?"
The kappa spun, his arms disappearing as he fumbled with something within his robes. In a few seconds, a table had been set between them, the right arm of his robe had been pulled up to his shoulder, and he held out a hand for her while his elbow rested on the varnished wood. "Arm wrestle with me!"
Shino looked around curiously. Perhaps this was a dream and she hadn't truly woken? But if that were the case, then her eyes would already have snapped open at the realization. Glancing back at the kappa, she wondered why. Before she could speak, the demon explained: "If I defeat you, you will give me your energy so I can go on searching! But if you triumph, I will harvest your energy to make a path to those you seek!"
"A path?" Shino frowned. "How?"
"Why, I'll make a portal, of course!"
"A portal?" He sounded awfully suspicious. If he could make a portal, then he could cheat and defeat her in arm wrestling. But— "Wait. How am I assured that you can actually create a portal, and that you don't just want my energy to last the day? I know you demons eat humans."
"Not all of us!" the kappa scoffed, eyeing her with distaste. "And you look filthy! I wouldn't want a bite of you if you begged me to eat you."
Shino made a face. "All right. But that doesn't reassure me."
The kappa flailed his arms about and rubbed his bald head, crying out in frustration. "I am a shaman! A shaman! And I have traveled great lengths to learn this spell! I need only your energy!"
"All right," Shino acquiesced, slightly afraid that he might try to turn her into a toad-looking thing like him in his anger. Of course, he lacked the energy, but it wasn't impossible. Rolling up her sleeve, she angled herself properly and set her elbow on the table. They clasped hands – slimy hand on his end, while Shino tried not to squirm – as she nodded. "Ready."
The kappa grunted. To Shino's surprise, he actually put up a fight. The wrestle had begun with her in the lead, but the more she pushed, the weaker she felt. It was like running up an endless staircase. On her arms. Finally, the kappa drove her arm downward and her clenched knuckles loosened as they hit the table. "I win!" he cheered, leaping and pointing a triumphant finger at her. "You dared underestimate the servant of Master Ja—"
"You—" Shino breathed heavily, struggling just to stand. Spreading her arms for balance, she hobbled over to her bike for something to lean on. "You cheated," she murmured, slowly approaching.
The kappa cackled feverishly, throwing his head back. "Too late, human! I already took your energy as soon as you touched my hand! You lost as soon as you attempted to defeat me! And now…" He stood facing the water, waving his arms and muttering words Shino was too tired and frustrated to understand, and a tide began to counter the river flow. It spun until it formed a spitting whirlpool, lashing out at the two beings before it. "To find our master! Once and for all!"
"I think not," said Shino, lip curled at the kappa's treachery and, with the last of her energy, punted the demon to the side. She didn't wait to hear him stop crying out in pain before taking Kagome's bicycle and squeezing her eyes shut, stepping into the flushing portal and hoping it didn't lead to ancient sewers.
It felt nothing like jumping into the well. In fact, it felt correct – save that she wasn't drenched, Shino was wrapped in the roaring water, as though the portal had taken her deep into the cold veins of the earth and spat her out where she intended to go.
To her chagrin, not all was as she expected. Though she had landed painfully on her tailbone atop the bicycle and she was next to another bank, different only in that it was not in the center of a clearing and instead cut through the seams of the trees in this new forest, Kagome and Inuyasha were nowhere to be found.
"Kagome?" she called out, her voice small in the face of the towering trees. Or maybe it was that her energy had been drained by that nasty kappa and she felt like fainting on the spot. But it wouldn't do to waste time falling unconscious in the middle of the day, she reminded herself.
If the weekend passed without her getting home, the Grand Steward would pop a vein. Shino wasn't certain how she felt about that yet. Taking a deep breath and heaving the bike up, she supported it and herself on the nearest tree. "Half-demon?"
No answer. This forest was quiet. This time, not even birds and critters uttered a sound. Either she was the predator they feared or there was another in the forest that made them quiet themselves so. At once, Shino closed her mouth. Attracting a genuine threat was not on her list of things to do; not in this state.
She peered up at the sky. It was…still breakfast time. She could tell by the way her stomach growled and rumbled, and pressed on it with a hand to ask for some silence. It was getting more tiring to go on, to take even another step. Had that kappa taken her entire life force for its portal? The sun cast a shadow behind her, so she was going – east. It took the greatest effort to even think. "East is where Kaede pointed," she reminded herself softly. It was all she could manage. "East."
A little more and Shino would have surrendered to whatever predator may have slept there in the wood, the sound of only the bicycle's tires crunching against the blades of grass reaching her ears and worsening into a monotonous screech, when the wind beckoned with the loveliest sound she had ever heard. It was a flute, but she knew not its source.
Shino tensed. Could it be another trap to lure her into lowering her guard? Shino told herself that if the predator was as great as the quiet creatures of the forest believed, it would need no tricks to know how to tackle her and swallow her whole at the moment. Still, she was too afraid to call out to who it might be.
And then she saw the red and white cloth far ahead. The person to whom it belonged lay against the tree.
"A person," she muttered. Her thoughts had become too far from her to the point that she needed to speak to wake herself. "Flute-player. I'll ask them if they have seen a half-demon and a girl. Trade herbs, maybe, for information."
Deserting Kagome's bike and taking only the box Kaede had given her, Shino swung her free arm forward and tried to reach the person as quickly as she could. In that state, she was almost excited. Too excited, perhaps. She missed a branch, or perhaps stepped on herself, she had no idea – and released the box. It landed on the red and white cloth while Shino skidded on the ground.
"Ugh," she groaned, missing the shard terribly as she felt the gash start to bleed. Pulling herself to the tree of the flute-player, she lifted her knee. The pant leg was torn and her skin there burned. Frustrated, she glared to her right at the person who had not even moved to aid her. "Stupid…"
Shino blinked. Silver hair with the sheen and touch of gossamer silk so bizarre that she drew back her hand as soon as it ventured forward. At the same time, the flute stopped, but this was already far from her mind. Stumbling backward, she tripped over Kagome's first-aid box and slumped another time on her tailbone. Biting down on her lip to resist the urge to whine painfully, she reached down and rubbed her bottom. That would kill her in the morning.
If she survived this one. Before her was the most tragically beautiful creature she had ever laid eyes on – and she had met many a celebrity in her time for her blood. This was not the flute-player, for she was asleep. Her silver hair fell over her shoulders and stuck between her back and the tree. Two scars – or paint – colored a deep magenta cut each cheek, a crescent moon on her forehead. Her kimono was predominantly white with red shapes at the wrist of her sleeves, and what Shino found most bizarre was that she wore a hakama. The white trousers flowed from under the sash of her kimono and was clamped around her ankles, where her shoes began.
The first she thought of was, obviously, Inuyasha. The half-demon's hair was coarser and less – for lack of a better word – shiny, but it, too, was silver. She thought they might be related, but she soon saw that this was impossible. While Inuyasha's ears were that of a dog, this woman's ears were sharp and pointed, but otherwise looked entirely human. Which could only mean she was a demon – and a powerful one at that. The creature exuded such power that Shino could feel it leak and seep into her own consciousness. At once Shino could sit straight again, think a little more clearly; and the pain in her knee was momentarily forgotten when she caught the stench.
Shino licked her lips. Smelling blood was like licking metal, and it made her feel sick. Was it this demon?
Now that she paid less attention to the creature's beauty than her actual condition, Shino realized it dripped from her left arm. Lifting the demoness' sleeve, she groaned. A clean slice. Her left forearm and elbow were completely amputated, and with no trace of it anywhere around them. The bile rose in her throat, but Shino pushed it down and opened Kagome's box with trembling hands. Bandages. That might work. But what happened to this woman that she might have sustained such an injury?
And survived. That instilled fear in Shino more than she imagined it would have. Suddenly she wanted to bolt, return to the bike and increase the distance between herself and this woman immediately. But it was an irrational fear, she told herself. Kagome – brave Kagome – would have helped her. So, keeping the woman's sleeve up with her wrist and taking the bandage with her free hand, Shino wrapped her arm with the cloth and closed it with the modern day binder in the shape of a ribbon.
The action gave her strength, Shino was aware, though she knew not the reason. Positive karma, maybe, for helping a total stranger? But she could raise her head again without any trouble, and she felt so energized that she bet she could kick a tree and it would just topple over! In fact, she was sorely tempted to try it, and she would if she wasn't busy helping this one and a half-armed creature, whose eyes flashed and whose claws were now reaching for her neck—
"Whoa!" gasped Shino, dodging to the right, amazed at her own reaction time, but the demon was faster. She caught her neck anyway and, removing herself from the tree, slammed Shino's back into it. All the girl could think was going to die and totally ungrateful.
The creature's eyes were red. Not her pupils which were violet all of a sudden but her entire sclera, which was absolutely terrifying—and as soon as the fear reached her thought, the demon's eyes returned to gold. Like Inuyasha's, she thought, but emptier. The demon stared at her as though she were a speck of dust she had just found on her sleeve, and she was contemplating on whether or not it was too much trouble to flick her off.
She was, apparently. The demoness released her. Shino fell to her knees, coughing. She didn't want to, but she looked up at the creature.
"Good—morning," she tried, gaze trapped in the hers. The woman continued to stare at her. Perhaps she wanted an explanation? She would give it. Maybe then she wouldn't gobble her up. And she was so tall that she wouldn't put it past her – not to mention the way she scrutinized her made her feel naked. "You were bleeding to death," she informed the woman. "Well, your arm had stopped bleeding profusely, but I wasn't about to, you know, take any chances. Miss. Lady. Uh…"
The woman's eyes flashed red again. Shino cringed as she towered over her. Ah, so she had only knelt, before, because she was standing now. "Lady?" he growled.
He. With a masculine voice. Shino peered closer, for she had avoided looking at him too much so as not to anger him, and realized his features were indeed that of a man, especially his jawline and the telling bump of his larynx. Not to mention there was no chest to speak of. Shino wondered if offering to chop herself up and offer her body parts as morsels would make him want to kill her less, or give her enough time to run away if he found it bizarre enough. How was she to know? The long, flowy hair, clothes like royalty and that white fluff on his shoulder? She did not understand styles in this era.
"Right, of course," said Shino, shaking and inclining her head. "Sir. Milord."
Eyes hidden beneath her bangs, she snuck a peek at his face. A look of displeasure. "Who are you?"
As soon as the question escaped him, he appeared to regret it. His frown deepened, but he did not withdraw the question. Dead, never should have come here, whined Shino's mind. She agreed wholeheartedly, but stood her ground. Shino had read somewhere a while back that running away would only prompt beasts to give chase. Something about the rush of the kill, or implying that you were weaker than them, enough to be thought of as a meal. So, looking him in the eye – but without defiance, because issuing a challenge was not her intention – she enunciated, "My name is Shino."
Having received his answer, the demon sat. Despite the power that continued to flare from his person, he was clearly tired. His movements were ever graceful, but Shino could see the irregularity in his breathing. It was amazing that he could threaten her at all with his recent amputation. Speaking of which, he lifted his sleeve with his only hand and glared at the bandages with a low growl. "I did not require your aid."
Shino was terrified, but indignant just the same. "It certainly looked that way," she murmured, looking away. He had heard, of course, with those supernatural olfactory senses that seemed to come with being non-human, and turned his head at her sharply. No sense of humor, but foolishly she gave him the benefit of the doubt and blamed it on the missing arm. "Believe it or not," she said, slowly and quietly in an attempt to calm him, "I didn't come by this wood to help you. I was hoping to find two friends of mine. One of them even has silver—"
"Milord! Oh, milord!" cried a familiar voice grating to the ears. "I think I've found—"
Into their shade of trees ran a small, hip-high demon, green with large slit spheres for eyes and a pointed mouth. He carried a staff of two heads, one of an old man behind the face of a beautiful woman. For some reason, he was wearing an eboshi.
"A kappa," Shino breathed in amazement. Could this be—? Had that spell worked, after all? This kappa and the one she met a while ago spoke with the same accent. They even almost sounded the same, and the only real difference she saw in them was that this kappa was a darker green and wore different clothing. Though that would mean the portal took one not to where its traveler desired, but to where its creator meant to go. That blasted shaman!
"Who is this human?" spat the kappa, taking a moment out of fawning over the one-armed demon to shoot her a dirty look.
Shino was beginning to grow tired of this anti-human sentiment. Why was her race second-class here? In the future, no demons existed – or humans had become technologically advanced enough to drive them back. She wondered when in time that had occurred. "It's Shino, actually," she tried to smile. It would either irritate them, show off her etiquette, or both, so she took the chance. "And you are?"
The kappa scowled. "How dare you act so casual in the face of my master! Show your respect!" He turned his staff at her, and the two heads spun until the old man with the white mustache opened its mouth in her direction.
She stared curiously until she smelled heat like someone turning on the gas at the science lab in school. Yelping, Shino leapt out of the way, forward to the side where the roaring fire barely missed her. Another hostile demon! She wondered why she was surprised, but she was too angry to think of the answer. She had helped his "lord" and this was how he repaid her? Yelling, she ran at him and grabbed his staff, then threw it high in the air.
"H-How dare you!?" cried the kappa. "But," he reflected, quirking a brow ridge at her, "such speed from a human…"
Realizing what she'd done, Shino prepared herself for another attack by the greater demon when the ground shook. It was a familiar sensation, and she recalled immediately the night Mistress Centipede attacked Kaede's village. Thundering horse hooves approached from the distance, and that could only mean one thing: battle. Or a nice parade, but she doubted at what sounded like a hurried pace.
"Well," Shino said, looking around for the source of the rumbling and hoping to go in the opposite direction, "If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave of you. Imp," she bowed at the kappa wearing the simple brown shogun-like costume – the hooves were awfully close now, and she could hear men yelling – then dipped deeper for the great demon, "Milord."
"Hey!" the kappa whined, "You can't just—"
It was too late. Just as Shino had begun to walk off, soldiers on horse and foot bearing red banners found the large tree under which the great demon rested. Shino backed into the kappa, who similarly took a step closer to her. His silver-haired master was still and silent behind them even as a middle-aged man, the leader of the soldiers who appeared, motioned for his men to surround them.
"Wretched demon," he bellowed, "Prepare to die!"
"I'm human," Shino declared, raising her hands in surrender. "This demon has done nothing wrong." Well, she couldn't be certain, but he was injured, and she was without a jewel shard. She would feel better if a fight didn't break out around her like this. Not to mention the kappa's staff was still missing – perhaps it had gotten caught in a branch above them. "I—well, I don't think I would allow you to hurt him." Would. Was not sure if she could stop them. Were they the cause of the one-armedness of the demon? But he hardly reacted to their presence. Maybe not.
The lord of the soldiers looked scandalized. "Has he ensnared you as well, girl? We have no quarrel with you—in fact, we'll save you too!"
Shino shook her head. "No, please listen—"
The kappa gasped. "How dare you threaten my lord!"
It sounded as though he'd been about to say something more when the demon interrupted. "Jaken," he uttered. The kappa turned, and so did Shino. "Get out of the way."
The kappa blinked and stammered, "O-Of course, milord, but I—"
Shino had no idea how, but she could feel the demon's energy – perhaps anger – rising. "Excuse me," she said through teeth gritted in fear, "are you—"
"Get out of the way." Shino and Jaken the kappa heard the And I will not repeat myself again in his tone.
The human leader growled. "Very well. You seem to be a lost cause—rifle squad," he swung his hand in the air, "step to the forefront!"
"Just obey, girl!" Jaken yelped. In a moment of panic, Shino allowed him to pull her aside.
"They can't possibly—!" Shino glanced down at the kappa. "This is an execution!"
Suddenly, the melody of the flute picked up again, causing the leader to halt and mutter something under his breath. Whatever it was that had stopped him, whether the flute or the flute-player, perhaps, he no longer cared. "It matters not," he insisted to nobody. "Rifle squad, take aim and fire!"
The deafening sound of bullets and the smell of gunpowder made Shino unable to hear Jaken's loud cry as she knelt down and covered her ears, but she was unable to take her eyes away from the sight. Without even standing, the demon lord was deflecting the bullets from reaching the three of them! A green whip so fast that she could only see traces of it gleaming lashed at the rifle-bearing soldiers, knocking them on their backs as their bullets turned right around and hit them square in the chests.
Coughing as the smoke of the gunpowder cleared, Shino removed her hands from her ears and wiped her eyes. The demon lord had finally stood while the human looked over his injured or dead subjects. Those still standing gaped at the sight, shaking even as they held their glorious banners. The two stared at each other, the former silent and the latter growling, cursing under his breath.
"You foolish mortals!" Jaken screamed and jumped. "You won't get away with defying Lord—"
"Retreat!" the human lord broke eye contact first, rearing his horse and turning around. "Retreat!" he ordered. Those of his men standing picked up their own and, shouting for home in fear, departed as swiftly as was possible.
Jaken shook his fist after them, but could do nothing without his staff. Shino couldn't care less, especially since the demon lord did nothing to follow them. The sight of soldiers dealt the card of death so quickly had not escaped her, but it was still shallow and had not seeped into the reaches of her consciousness that feared such loss of life. What she had held on to was–
"The flute," she wondered aloud.
The demon lord glanced at her with disdain still, but he had noticed it too. "It's stopped."
Maintaining eye contact was terribly difficult with this demon. She had never looked at anyone so intimidating – and she had thought Inuyasha was fearsome in the beginning. He at least had some sense of humor. Or any kind of emotion, really.
The kappa broke it by speaking and taking her attention from him. "What are we going to do about this cross-dresser, milord?"
Shino narrowed her eyes at Jaken, though she couldn't quite blame him for the name-calling. But if he was the demon's servant, there was no way she could take him on, either. He could draw that whip with merely a thought and no amount of newfound agility could help her survive a physical encounter with this man.
"Come," commanded the demon, taking a step forward and then just—walking.
"What?" Though she had only known the kappa for a few minutes, she realized he was always alarmed. It was a trait of his race, perhaps. "But milord—"
The demon paused in his tracks. "Do not waste my time, Jaken."
"But this girl—" Jaken winced when his staff fell from the sky, whacking him on the head.
The lord turned his head before making a complete about-face and staring at Shino. His eyes lowered to his left arm, then raised to her once more. She met his gaze with caution.
"Pray that our paths do not cross again," he said, turned again, and walked away.
Picking himself up and taking his staff from the ground, Jaken took a last glare at Shino before bounding after his master. "Wait for me, milord!"
She watched them go until the lord's silver hair blended with the scenery, and only then was she able to breathe. "…That went well."
At the very least, she didn't feel like keeling over anymore. She had wondered if it was the lack of food bar snacks for the past several hours, but apparently all she'd needed was an adrenaline rush and the threat of imminent death by either demon lord or firing squad and she was good to go. Go back to the village, that was.
Picking up the medicine box and getting back on Kagome's bike, Shino was grateful to see that the river portal was still swirling. Otherwise, she might as well have challenged the demon lord to an arm-wrestling match. And with the power he exuded, she had a feeling that he would win—even with his half-arm. Which was sad, really, but the reality in this time.
The portal brought her back to the original clearing by the river—she knew, because the kappa shaman was weeping unintelligibly at her feet when she got back.
"Oh, it's you," she wrinkled her nose, leading the bicycle around his hunched figure. "You know, I think I found your master."
"Truly!?" cried the kappa, looking up with renewed hope. "Where was Master Jaken!?"
So she was right. The demon lord did call him that. "Happy where he is, I think," she answered. "He was working for this demon lord who—"
"What's this?" The kappa circled her this time, making to touch her knee, but yelped and retreated when Shino threatened to kick him once more. "You seem to have reenergized awfully quickly for a human! Will you give me more power? Please, just for one more portal!"
"Why don't you use that one?" Shino pointed her thumb back at the portal—upon which it closed, with a whoosh of finality.
"Please, human!" begged the kappa.
Shino pitied him, but he had nearly left her for dead, and would have if she hadn't punted him first. "Sorry," she shook her head. "I can't die yet. But good luck to you!"
Propping herself up on Kagome's bike, she biked away as fast as she could. When she was far enough not to hear his wails, she considered stopping. But she couldn't—her body surged with energy, and it felt as though stopping now would make her explode. So Shino pedaled on, unaware of the smoke cloud that lay in the wake of her speed.
The first things Shino spotted as she headed down from the forest at a leisurely pace were the red haori and the sailor fuku. The villagers and their houses were dull in contrast amidst the torches they had lit during sunset, and which could be a bad thing—if she were a demon, she would target the easily seen first—but maybe demons thought differently. At any rate, she hoped the poor village wouldn't suffer another attack. She felt bad enough borrowing clothes from one of their boys already.
Kagome saw her bike and her friend's short hair from the distance and waved. "Shino!"
Inuyasha turned around at the sound and smell of her. "Where have you been, Thing? And—what are you wearing?"
"Comfortable clothes," replied Shino, stepping off the bike in front of Kaede's hut, "and I happened to be looking for a nice girl named Kagome and her pet Half-demon."
Inuyasha growled. "Are you a calling me a pet…?"
Shino hurried behind Kagome. Her encounter with the demon lord had left her somewhat flippant, especially since Inuyasha's claws seemed tame compared to that lord's red eyes and shining whip, but now she remembered just how dangerous the half-demon was himself. Smiling sheepishly, she said, "Uh—down, boy…?"
Kagome chuckled. "Actually, it's—"
"H-Hey, wait!"
"—sit, boy."
Kaede stepped out of her home, smiling even before her eyes landed on Shino. She could hear the commotion from inside. "We were beginning to worry for ye, Shino."
"Yeah, where did you go?" asked Kagome, looking over her friend's odd clothes, though she already knew Kaede was keeping Shino's school uniform safe in her house. "You won't believe what we met—a toad demon posing as a prince!"
"What a coincidence!" said Shino, setting down Kagome's bike as Kaede invited them inside. "I just met a kappa! A shaman kappa, actually—"
"What? Really?"
"Yes! He even—"
Inuyasha glared at the two girls as he entered the hut, and looked even more upset at the amused grin Kaede wore as she stoked the fire. "Maybe that's why you smell like that, Thing," he spat, plopping down between them.
Kagome eyed the dirt on his face and flicked it off with her finger. Ignoring his yelp, she asked, "What are you talking about?"
"Some kappa can do magic, right?" Inuyasha grumbled. "He obviously used his on you, because you stink of—"
"Wait a minute, tell me about the toad demon posing as a prince!" Shino interrupted, tapping Kagome's wrist.
Eager to vent about their recent scuffle, during which a toad demon possessing a prince had kidnapped village girls in order to eat them, Kagome grinned. "It started when we met this guy named Nobunaga—"
"No way! You met Oda Nobunaga!?"
"That's what I thought," sighed Kagome. "He was actually just a guy named Amari Nobunaga…"
Kaede watched the two converse animatedly and tried to remember if she spoke in such a manner in her youth. Beside her, Inuyasha's expression turned sourer by the minute. The old priestess supposed it hardly mattered as long as they worked together. Kagome and Shino clearly got along—and Inuyasha simply had no choice. Yes, it mattered little.
