Kagome leaned back against a nearby tree-trunk with a small sigh of satisfaction. She had traveled nonstop ever since her departure from the Western castle, not halting until the moon was riding high in the sky. Yoru was just as fast as Hattori had said she was...possibly even faster. She hadn't really been able to tell, but Kagome was positive that the hyō-youkai had covered many miles in those few short hours.
The aforementioned youkai had left the camp fifteen minutes earlier, presumably to hunt down some dinner. Kagome had let her go without any complaint; after all, as hungry as Yoru most likely was, the miko could hardly begrudge her a hunting trip. Thinking of food reminded Kagome that she hadn't eaten since breakfast that morning. Moving quickly, she grabbed her backpack, digging around inside it for the provisions Hattori had given her. Her rummaging was rewarded with a strip of dried meat and a bamboo tube of water.
'Thank the Kami Hattori is so kind,' she thought gratefully as she started nibbling the dried meat. It was tough, but flavorful, and Kagome found herself eating quickly, washing down each bite with a swig of water. Barely five minutes later, she was licking her fingers ruefully, wishing she could have more but knowing that she needed to save the rest for the long days to come. Kagome sighed softly and moved to lie down on her pink sleeping bag, which she had set at the tree's base. Her gaze became fixated on the sky overhead, focusing on the tiny dots that marked the many stars in the black sky.
Inevitably, her mind strayed to that one subject that-or rather, who-was always on her mind: InuYasha. A deeper sigh exited Kagome's throat as she rolled over onto her side, covering her face with her arm. When was the hanyou going to find out about her deception? What would he do when he found out? Would he be mad at her? 'Scratch that last one,' she thought, a slight furrow forming between her eyebrows. InuYasha was already angry at her; this would undoubtedly just add fuel to the fire.
Yet, even considering how angry InuYasha was likely to be, Kagome missed him with a vengeance. She firmly held onto the belief that she could find Izayoi's ashes on her own, but that didn't mean that she wasn't yearning for his company. The two of them had traveled together for so long now that being separated for even a small amount of time was proving to be more difficult than she had expected. Frequently, as Yoru was running through the fields and forests of Nippon, Kagome would glance around and almost thought that the inu-hanyou had been running beside her, silver mane streaming in the wind as the sleeves of his great red haori spread out behind him like a pair of wings. Even though she didn't want to see him until she had completed her mission, it had still come as a big disappointment when Kagome realized the 'hanyou' was a figment of her imagination.
'Who am I kidding?' She shook her head slightly as she buried her face in her poofy bag, as if she were hiding from some unseen enemy. 'Why would he want to search for me? He's always complaining about how I'm more trouble than I'm worth and how I should do this and do that and oh don't do that it's not helpful at all you're so damn useless why don't you go die in a ditch so I don't have to worry about you?' By the end of her 'impression' of InuYasha, Kagome was starting to feel riled up again. 'Well, I'll show him, won't I? I'll return his mother's ashes to their rightful place; that'll show him!'
'How will he know?' a contrary voice in the back of her head whispered. 'He was banished from the castle when he was a toddler, and he'll think you're either crazy or intrusive if you bring up his mother's ashes. How will you convince him that you've done all you're doing?'
Kagome blinked. She hadn't thought of it quite like that before. Of course InuYasha wouldn't know that his mother's ashes had been stolen; heck, he wouldn't even know they existed. If he didn't know about their existence, then how would Kagome not only convince him that they were real, but that she had somehow rescued them from wherever they had been stolen from? Kagome's confidence started deflating like a balloon with a puncture as she considered this new fact. Her task, which had seemed so easy when she left the castle, was starting to look rather daunting again. She wasn't any less determined, but it suddenly seemed that she had bitten off more than she could chew again.
'Kami, what am I going to do?' she wondered, one hand covering her pounding heart while the other pinched the bridge of her nose. 'Even if I do find the ashes, how will I prove that I did it? Unless InuYasha comes with me or somehow finds out what's going on, he's not going be any the wiser.' Tears beaded in Kagome's eyes as this thought whirled around in her head, taunting her with what was glaringly obvious now. What she was doing for InuYasha would very likely go unnoticed by the hanyou in question…and he would be just as put out with her as ever he had been.
"InuYasha…" she whispered, right before falling into a very worried and fitful sleep. If she hadn't been weary from the day's traveling, it probably would have been quite impossible for her to nod off like she did. As it was, the poor exhausted miko had barely managed to stay awake.
A few seconds after Kagome had dropped off to sleep, Yoru returned to the camp, a dead deer clamped tightly in her mouth. She saw that the miko was asleep, and so made her return as quiet as she could manage. Settling down next to a tree some distance away from Kagome's, the hungry hyō-youkai made quick (but quiet) work of the deer, reducing it to bones in mere minutes. When she was done, Yoru turned her muzzle towards the sky, the starlight dancing on her midnight fur.
Like many of her kind, Yoru was not able to speak the human tongue. In spite of this, she could still think and feel like a human, though there were many who would deny this. So, when the great cat had heard Kagome murmur the name "InuYasha," Yoru found herself awash with nostalgia. The bittersweet memory of her lady Izayoi presenting her tiny pup to her bubbled to the top of her mind, swiftly followed by a flurry of other memories, all centered around that same pup and his mama. Could the girl really mean that InuYasha? Her lady's tiny son, killed in the catastrophe that had also taken Izayoi's life? It was impossible, yet Yoru knew she wanted it to be true. She wanted to know that there was a small kernel of light in the midst of the darkness surrounding Izayoi's mysterious demise and her son's disappearance.
Yoru rested her head upon her paws, her gaze still fixated upon the stars. A soft keening noise started up in her throat; an eerie and lilting lament to that which had been lost two hundred years ago. Maybe Kagome knew InuYasha, and maybe she didn't. All the hyō-youkai knew was that she wanted InuYasha to have survived, and wanted it more than she had wanted anything for a very long time. With that thought ringing resolutely in her head, Yoru dropped off to sleep, her heart filled with a cautious sense of hope.
Fire.
That was the first thing Kagome noticed when she opened her eyes; pillars of flame leaping into the darkened sky, dancing crazily as the wind wrapped them in a fierce embrace. The miko drew back, blinking as her eyes began to water. Kami, the heat coming from the inferno was unbearable, and she wasn't even that close to it!
A high-pitched scream sounded for a split second, mournful and keening. Kagome barely had time to register what had happened before it suddenly stopped, cut off like somebody had pulled its plug. She shuddered; what was going on here?
Suddenly, she could see a dark figure silhouetted against the flames, its details obscured by the roaring fire behind it. It held a katana in one hand, the silver blade stained bright red with blood. The person turned, his unseen face moving until he was looking straight at her. Fear gripped Kagome's body, froze her muscles and filled her lungs with ice, a vicious contrast to the heat radiating out from the burning building.
The man with the bloody katana regarded Kagome with what might have been a curious stare. "What are you doing there, little girl?"
"I'm not a child!" Kagome shouted back, trying to hide all traces of her fear and doing a piss-poor job of it. "I can do this! I'll get the ashes back, and I'll prove to InuYasha just how useful I really am!"
The outline of the person's tilted like a puppy's as he continued to stare at her. "Useful?" he chuckled. "Useful? The whelp who falls into danger whenever her babysitter is absent? The woman who couldn't hit a youkai if her life depended on it? The miserable little leech who has to latch onto another person in order to preserve her life? And you think you can prove yourself useful?" The person let out a harsh bark of laughter, brandishing his bloody weapon like a flag of war. "You're about as far from useful as you can manage to be, Higurashi Kagome, and that hanyou knows it."
Kagome recoiled as if the man in the flames had reached out and slapped her across the face. All the doubts, all the worry, all the little nagging fears that had plagued her for so long now were swimming in her head, fresh and terrible after being thrown in her face by the flame-ringed man. She saw the exasperated glances, heard the frustrated sighs and the reluctant 'Fehs,' and felt each and every hand that had pulled her from danger.
What was she doing?
"You're being a damn fool, that's what you're doing," the man informed her, almost cheerfully. "Back out now, if you know what's good for you."
"I can't," she whispered miserably. "I've already come this far."
"What have you done, Higurashi Kagome?" The stranger sounded genuinely curious.
"I found out that the urn was stolen by a kitsune!"
"A kitsune you don't know who could be anywhere in Nippon and look like anybody. Excellent lead."
"What about Yoru? I freed her from that awful cell in the Western castle!"
"Oh, goody. You got yourself another guardian to latch onto. So much for doing it 'alone.'"
Tears were starting to trail their way down her face, though not all of them were caused by the fire. "I…I learned about InuYasha's past! That's good, isn't it?"
"So you went nosing around in the hanyou's private business…without his knowledge. What a gracious friend you are, to be sure. I don't think that information will even help you. What was the point?"
"Stop it stop it STOP IT!" Kagome screamed, her hands smashing over her ears in a futile attempt to drown out the man's voice. He just smirked at her, the growling flames growing impossibly louder as she pressed her hands more firmly against her head. "Please, just stop it!"
"If you are going to travel this road, Higurashi Kagome, you have to take all the good and bad that comes with it." The man shrugged and started walking forward, his katana glinting evilly as it reflected the light from the fire. "Otherwise, you might find yourself breaking beneath the strain of all the terrible things you'll find along the way. This path you walk is stained in blood and shrouded in lies, child. If you aren't careful, you'll wake up one day with your throat slit."
Kagome was frozen, her eyes fixed upon the gleaming point of the katana as it steadily rose, the man holding it lifting the scarlet weapon over his head. There was a small flash as he grinned at her, teeth gleaming gold and red in the brilliant flames. "What…what…" Her voice seemed to have deserted her.
"I just thought I would put you out of your misery, dear child. After all, you did witness me, and we can't have you running off to blab about that, can we?" The katana stilled for a split second, hanging as if suspended in midair. Then, almost in slow motion, it started to fall, the slice angling to hit the soft part of Kagome's jugular. A scream rose in her throat and died, silenced by the terrible fear lurking within her soul.
Just as the cold metal bit her throat, another scream rose out from the snarling flames, shriller and more plaintive than the last.
"MAMA!"
With a gasp of fear, Kagome jerked awake. Her sweat-stained shirt was sticking to her back, and long strands of her hair had pasted themselves to her cheeks. Panting and gasping, it took Kagome a few minutes to realize that it had just been a dream. There was no inferno, no screaming people, no man with a bloody katana. All was as it should have been.
A soft growl intruded upon Kagome's relief. Her brow furrowed; she'd thought that the growling was just part of her dream, but apparently not. The miko looked over at Yoru to see what was going on. The hyō-youkai was growling, the hair lining the nape of her neck standing on end as she slowly rose into a crouch, her deadly claws unsheathed and ready for combat. Kagome, shuddering now, reached out with her miko senses. A fresh jolt of fear struck her when something brushed against her questing reiki. There was a youkai out in the forest.
Frantically, Kagome scrambled out of her sleeping bag, her trembling hands grasping for her yellow pack. 'Weapons, weapons, where are my weapons?' The frightened miko struggled with the clasp on the bag, her heart pounding in her throat. Finally, after what seemed like ages, it came undone, revealing the mess within. Wasting no time, Kagome started digging around inside of it, searching for the bow and arrows she knew she had packed inside of it before heading out that first night. Her heartbeat became increasingly unsteady as she pawed through layers of clothing and parcels. Kami dammit, they had to be here! If they weren't, she was as good as dead, even if it turned out to be some two-bit youkai wandering around. A horrible choking mass rose up in her throat as her search continued to turn up nothing.
Meanwhile, Yoru had roared challengingly at the youkai in the woods, the eerie shriek echoing for miles in the silent forest. Kagome had crossed her fingers at this, hoping that the youkai would be timid enough to fear Yoru. A few seconds passed, during which Kagome felt the first dregs of relief start to trickle through her system. Then the thing in the woods roared back, its bellowing voice a trumpet of war proceeding the pounding of heavy feet as whatever lurked in the forest charged forth.
Kagome let out a hoarse scream and plunged her hand into the bag. Luck was finally on her side; her hand closed around the haft of her trusty red bow. Quickly pulling the bow and quiver out of the restraining mass of laundry, Kagome rose from where she was sitting, ignoring the trembling in her knees as she drew an arrow from the quiver and started to nock it. Unfortunately, her fumbling hands couldn't quite manage the delicate task-the arrow tumbled from her hands and clattered to the ground. Kagome let out a string of swear words that would have made InuYasha proud as she dropped down, her fingers scrabbling around in the dirt as she searched for the arrow.
At that precise moment, the bushes to the right of her exploded as something huge barreled through them. Kagome shrieked again and pushed herself back, clutching her bow to her chest like it would ward the thing off. A gigantic bear reared up onto its hind legs, roaring wildly as it brought its wide paws up to its chest. He had to be at least ten or twelve feet tall, and his broad paws bore claws that could probably tear through a car door like wet paper. The eyes that blazed down at her were a bloody red, set over a muzzle dripping with strands of silvery saliva. The kuma-youkai bellowed again, exposing its yellow teeth as it roared.
Kagome pushed back against the ground, pushing herself away from the powerful jaws. Something pricked the palm of her hand as she retreated-the arrow! Before she could act and save herself, the kuma-youkai let out another bellow, its roar deafening the miko and shocking her into stupefied submission. Its gaping jaws seemed to stretch into a grin as he raised one massive paw, tipped with six-inch long instruments of death. All she could do was blink dumbly up at it, her bow and arrow clutched uselessly in her hands.
The bear was about to strike when Yoru sailed over Kagome's head, her own claws outstretched, her jaw gaping in a fierce howl. Her paws struck the kuma-youkai's white-patched chest and knocked him over, sending the pair of them tumbling off into the bushes. Kagome finally snapped out of whatever funk she had been in. Leaping up from the ground, she nocked the arrow and drew her bow back against her cheek, aiming for the kuma-youkai. However, she couldn't see where he was; she could only hear the sounds of his and Yoru's fight. She couldn't risk shooting blindly, or she could end up hitting Yoru by mistake. 'Kami damn it all, what can I do?'
Seconds later, there was a scream of pain from Yoru, and Kagome could see the bear rearing, one paw rising to strike a blow. Instantly, almost reflexively, Kagome fired. Blue light burst from the arrow as it sailed through the air, searing the miko's eyes and making them water. There was a wet thunk and a crunch of bone as the arrow found its mark in the back of the kuma-youkai's head. He stood there for a few seconds, swaying on his paws as the smoking arrow sizzled and spat. Then he toppled to the ground with a colossal thud, blood seeping out from around the purifying arrow.
Yoru came out from the bushes and shook herself, then set about licking a shallow cut on her right foreleg. Kagome went over to her, shaking like a leaf in a storm. "Are you all right, Yoru?" she asked. The hyō-youkai nodded, proffering the hurt leg in a nonchalant fashion. Carefully, Kagome took her paw and looked at the cut. Nothing to worry about; since Yoru was a youkai, the small cut would probably be healed by morning. "Good. I'm glad you weren't hurt." She gave the hyō-youkai a smile that felt more like a grimace before walking over to her sleeping bag and flopping down upon it, the last vestiges of her strength leaving her.
If anything could have cemented how useless she really was, the kuma-youkai had just done it. Kagome knew for a fact that Miroku, Sango or InuYasha could have taken out the bear with one hand tied behind their backs, while she had struggled so much it was a wonder that she'd come out unharmed. If it hadn't been for Yoru, her head would probably be somewhere in China by now, and the kuma-youkai would have gotten to snack on a nice young miko.
All too clearly the cruel truths and doubts that the dream had whispered swam to the forefront of her thoughts, jeering and taunting as they whirled and danced in front of her eyes.
The whelp who falls into danger whenever her babysitter is absent?
The woman who couldn't hit a youkai if her life depended on it?
The miserable little leech who has to latch onto another person in order to preserve her life?
You're about as far from useful as you can manage to be, Higurashi Kagome, and that hanyou knows it.
Kagome sniffled and reached into her bag again, this time rummaging around for her hanky. When she had found the soft scrap of lacy cloth, she held it against her face for a few seconds. It wasn't as nice when her face was all sweaty, but the familiar hanky still managed to bring her some comfort. She dabbed at her eyes and set about trying to clear her face of moisture. She had just about done it when a sudden gust of wind snatched the handkerchief away. Before she could realize what was happening and perhaps make a grab for the cloth, it was gone, dancing over the tree tops as the wind carried it toward the distant south.
Feeling completely defeated now, she sagged back against the bag, tears smarting in her eyes. Murphy's law was king in this place; it felt like, in the space of a few short minutes, everything had gone completely and totally wrong.
It was a quiet night in the badlands, not that you could tell whether it was day or night in that dreadful place. An eerie wind drifted through the desolate field, carrying nothing with it but the rancid stench of death. Nothing moved in the grim wasteland, not even the gray ashes lying in thick piles on the ground.
Up in the black sky, nearly invisible amidst the dark clouds, a solitary raven flew through the air. Her wings made little noise as she glided toward the mountain stronghold sitting in the midst of the devastation. There was an open platform on the uppermost level of the mountain castle, and it was here that the raven was now soaring, angling down through the clouds as she neared her destination.
Waiting for her at the edge of the platform, standing tall amidst the flat wooden circle, was none other than Eien Rengoku himself. His yellow eye gleamed through the one slit in his otherwise faceless white mask as he lifted one taloned hand to receive the great black bird. "Naminé, my love," he purred, lifting one finger to stroke her glossy head, "Tell me about your endeavors in the world, my dearest. What have the eyes of Eien Rengoku glimpsed today?"
Naminé started muttering quietly (most civilized ravens prefer muttering over cawing). The youkai lord listened intently as he walked back into his castle, his great black cape swirling behind him as he strode through the dark hallways. Sometimes he nodded at something the bird had 'said,' other times he stayed in brooding silence. He made it back to his throne room by the time Naminé finished her report and sat down without a word.
"Good work, my Naminé." Reaching out to his left, the youkai made a grab for a small bowl placed on the throne's side table. It contained several pieces of bloody red meat; perfect for a raven. "Freshly caught this morning, my dear," he claimed as he proffered the bowl. "Poor man didn't even see his end coming." Rengoku chuckled as if at a private joke. Naminé ignored him in favor of tearing at the meat with her beak.
'The news she brings of Nigeta Kare is good,' he thought. 'The pup is on my trail. Everything will work out as Eien Rengoku ordained.' A slight frown turned the corners of his mouth down, though it could not be glimpsed because of his mask. Naminé had stated that before Nigeta Kare had started on his trail, she'd both seen and heard a human woman asking questions about Izayoi's urn. A human woman. What would a human, who obviously hadn't been around at the time of Izayoi's death, want with her ashes? Was she a pawn of one of the lords, sent to see why the West was being so secretive? Was she just a seeker of stories trying to learn about an ancestor?
A shiver ran down his spine as Rengoku considered the least likely, yet most appealing situation. This human woman trying to seek out Izayoi's urn might be Nigeta Kare's woman. His heart leaped into his throat, pounding hard and fast. 'How perfect that would be!' he though wildly. 'Even more perfect than my wildest dreams! Yes, Eien Rengoku's revenge would become sweeter if that were the case.'
"Naminé, love," he started, his voice just barely quivering with excitement, "I want you to keep an eye on this human woman. See what happens if or when Nigeta Kare catches up to her. If they are connected-if she is special to him-then find a way to lead her to me. If not, report back to me, and I will see if our little thief can find it in his heart to slit her throat while she sleeps." The raven, who had placed the bowl back on the stand when she was done eating and was now waiting for orders, gave a small nod before stretching her wings and taking off. Eien Rengoku waved his hand, and a previously sealed window flew open, allowing Naminé to fly out into the badlands.
The youkai smirked as he leaned back in his throne. Reaching out for the table again, he seized a jar and poured himself a drink, using the same bowl Naminé had eaten from as a cup. The reddish-pink liquid gurgled as it trailed sluggishly from the lip of the jar. Rengoku lifted one hand and removed the mask from his face, letting the wooden artifact fall with a clatter onto the side table. Lifting the bowl up to his nose, he took a deep sniff. Mmm. A fine batch of chimizu; a drink that he himself had created, which combined a jar of saké with at least a pint of human blood. In his refined opinion, it was absolutely exquisite. The lip of the bowl barely touched his lips as Rengoku took a deep swig of the drink. It was just as delicious as it smelled.
A smirk curled his lips as Rengoku slouched in his chair, absentmindedly swirling the chimizu around the bowl as he thought. Foolish little Zoku had fled from Nara soon after returning, thinking that he could escape from the talons of Eien Rengoku. The youkai gave a laugh, his eye sparkling with merciless humor. 'Stupid hanyou! Eien Rengoku does not use youkai to watch Nippon and beyond! I have Naminé, whose eyes scour the lands for information that her master can use. Even if she herself can't find anything, other birds can, and she gets this information for me. You are cautious, Zoku...but caution isn't always enough.'
Eien Rengoku directed his gaze to the window, where the black sky outside roiled and spun, the clouds heavy with rain and thunder. He would have to make sure none of it reached his badlands. The barren wastes suited him, not to mention it let his soldiers see for miles around the castle. Nobody could enter without passing through the badlands, and if they did, they sealed their own fate.
A smirk passed over the youkai lord's face. Slowly, he lifted his cup and toasted the dark window. "vobis, pater. in nomine vestrum omnes inimices interficiō."
kuma: bear
nigeta kare: "one who got away"
chi mizu: blood water
What Eien Rengoku said: "For you, Father. I kill all enemies in your name."
A/N: Happy Valentine's Day! I love you all.
