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Journey to the Future – Chapter 13
Kagome and Inuyasha never did get back to sleep. They spent all night trying to explain to the panicked innkeeper what the pulse of energy was and that they hadn't meant any harm to the residents. Kagome left as generous a tip as she could afford when they checked out early, hoping to make up for the inconvenience she had inadvertently caused. It hadn't even occurred to her, at the time, that what had happened between her and Sesshomaru would bother the other guests.
As they headed through town toward the docks, both Kagome and Inuyasha were subdued. Kagome felt sluggish and she could tell by the way it felt that the skin beneath her eyes was puffy. She imagined that she had some pretty intense dark circles. And while Inuyasha didn't really show any signs of exhaustion, he was a little jumpy around her.
Kagome didn't really blame him, although it made her sad to see him react to her in that way. The events last night had been truly unsettling. She felt extremely lucky that neither Inuyasha nor any of the other youkai and hanyou in the inn had gotten fried by the barrier. At first, she had thought Inuyasha's sword had somehow protected him, but since no one was harmed by the pulse of energy, she wasn't really sure what to think about it.
The dome of energy hadn't felt like anything that she had produced so far, but it didn't really feel like it belonged to Sesshomaru either. She was starting to recognize the way his youki felt in comparison to Inuyasha's. And that dome hadn't stemmed from either of them.
When she turned to the hanyou to ask his opinion on the matter, the sour expression on his face kept her quiet, causing the boat ride to feel long and awkward. The boatman kept trying to make conversation, but Inuyasha was surly and unwilling and Kagome too subdued to talk. She was confused and horribly guilty.
Eventually the boat ride ended and Kagome gratefully stepped off onto the dock. "Thank you so much," she said to the boatman, bowing deeply to make up for their unsociable behavior.
The village on this side was smaller and appeared to be occupied only by humans. Inuyasha had gone ahead and from the stares he received, Kagome guessed that none of the youkai from across the water ever came here to visit. As the slightly hostile gazes turned upon her, she could understand why. It was surreal to think that only a boat ride away was a mixed race paradise when she was surrounded by humans who glared at her for traveling with a hanyou.
"Inuyasha," she said out of the corner of her mouth after hurrying to catch up with him. "Let's get the hell out of here."
The hanyou grunted in agreement and he turned to pick Kagome up in his arms. At full speed, Inuyasha was able to get through the village and a good way down the path to the mountain in seconds.
As soon as he slowed down, he set Kagome back down on her feet. She wobbled slightly and then fell over, her legs unable to hold her weight after the rush of adrenaline faded.
"Geez, Inuyasha… that was… really fast," she gasped. She closed her eyes and focused on the sensation of breathing in and out to quell the sick feeling in her stomach. "How in the world do you handle it?"
"Keh," Inuyasha scoffed rudely, crossing his arms over his chest. "You should know by now that I'm not as fucking weak as you."
"Yeah, yeah," Kagome agreed sullenly. She waited a few moments for her stomach to settle before trying to stand again. When she managed to stay upright, she flashed a victory sign with her fingers and a big grin at the hanyou. Some of the tension between them had faded thanks to Kagome's human moment and the silence felt a little more comfortable.
Still, Kagome help breaking the quiet to ask a few questions. "Inuyasha… have you ever seen something like what happened last night before?"
Inuyasha's face grew slightly stony but he appeared to be thinking over the question. "Fuck, no!" he shouted, throwing his hands in the air. Kagome recoiled in shock at the sudden outburst.
"You don't have to yell at me!" she admonished with a frown.
"Yes, I do!" Inuyasha shrieked, pulling at his hair in frustration. "Do you have any fucking idea what the last two months have been like for me? One day, I was killed by my… by Kikyo and the next I wake up and there she fucking is! Right in my face! Only it isn't her and she's actually been dead for almost sixty fucking years! And I don't have a clue what's going on and then there's all this weird shit and miko powers…!"
Kagome's jaw dropped as Inuyasha let off some steam. He stomped around in front of her, tugging at his hair as he ranted. Her heart ached for him as he finally unburdened himself of all of the stress he had bottled away since being woken up. Kagome had known that the last couple months had been difficult, but hadn't really considered exactly how he was handling it.
Inuyasha had been extremely supportive of her and was even traveling across the country to help find a way to get her home and she hadn't really even asked to see how he was feeling after such a jarring awakening. She had told herself that he was private and didn't want to share information about himself, but the truth was, Kagome hadn't thought to ask him anything but to satisfy her own curiosity.
Shame burning in her chest, she waited until he wound down, panting and red from exertion. If his eyes looked a little wet, she didn't mention it. Instead, Kagome stepped closer and pulled him into a tight hug.
Inuyasha stiffened and for a long moment, Kagome worried that she had chosen the incorrect response, but then the tension melted away from his body. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his forehead wearily on her shoulder.
"Do you feel a little better?" she breathed softly, conscious of the close proximity of his sensitive ears. "I am so sorry for not making sure you were okay. I've been so wrapped up in my own problems that I forget sometimes that you haven't had the easiest time either." She pulled back slightly in order to look him in the face. "You can always talk to me if there is something bothering you, okay? I know that I have plenty of my own issues, but I really care about you. You were my first friend here, you know."
Inuyasha smiled slightly and hugged her tightly for a moment before letting go and stepping away. He cleared his throat and said gruffly," yeah, well…. I fucking care about you too, so let's figure out what the hell is going on with Sesshomaru and get that stupid well working again."
Laughing lightly, Kagome turned and continued walking, taking a moment to wipe the moisture away from under her eyes. "That sounds like a good plan to me," she agreed.
Only a few hours later, the weather turned for the worse. It was still early, but a blizzard was blowing in from the north. The freezing wind forced Kagome's eyes nearly closed and she guarded her face futilely with her hand.
"Inuyasha!" she shouted over the din of the wind. "We have to stop! I can't see a thing and my whole body is going numb!"
"Aaah, damn it!" Inuyasha roared. He doubled back and crouched down to allow Kagome to climb onto his back.
She snuggled tightly against his warmth, which radiated through his clothing. She wanted to ask how in the world he was so toasty when she felt like she had ice running through her veins, but the howling wind prevented her from being heard. Instead, she tucked her face between his shoulder blades to protect her skin from the biting wind and snow. She could feel him move, the lean muscles bunching in preparation for a jump and the slightly jarring landing.
Kagome wasn't sure just how long she huddled against his back. She started counting the heartbeat she could hear through his back. The beats came slower than she would have expected and the consistent thumps nearly lured her to sleep. Only when Inuyasha pulled her from his back did Kagome startled back into awareness.
He had found a small hollow amid the giant roots of a nearly dead tree. Kagome was deposited inside at the back of the hole and then Inuyasha exited again. Through narrowed eyes that still stung from being buffeted by the stinging wind, she could see him packing debris from around the base of the tree into a few holes. After several minutes work, the little hollow was secure and Inuyasha ducked inside.
He leaned out again and grunted in exertion as he wiggled a huge fallen branch against the opening and then packed the space around it with twigs and dead leaves. As the cracks were sealed, the whistling of the wind outside finally ceased, leaving a deafening silence behind.
As she peered around their little shelter, Kagome noticed that Inuyasha had left a small hole on the side of the tree facing away from the wind and wondered what it was for.
"That's so we don't suffocate," the hanyou said. The volume of his voice was startling in the quiet hollow and Kagome stared at him in slight surprise. "I learned that the fucking hard way," he chuckled darkly.
Kagome opened her mouth to respond but let out a huge yawn instead. The little nook was getting steadily warmer, pulling her back to the sleepy daze she had been in on Inuyasha's back. The hanyou rolled his eyes and scooted closer to her.
She hummed sleepily as he pulled her into his side and wrapped his arm firmly around her shoulders. "Damn, you're freezing," he muttered disapprovingly, bringing his other arm up to hold her closer.
Kagome shivered slightly as the feeling began to return to her hands and feet and she curled her fingers into Inuyasha's haori. She smiled slightly as she felt him rest his chin on the top of her head.
"Get some sleep," he said, his voice rumbling in her ear. "I'll keep an eye out."
"Mmkay…" Kagome sighed, closing her sore eyes tightly and relaxing into the warmth of Inuyasha's embrace.
When Kagome opened her eyes again, she was curled on her side on the floor of the hollow. She blinked blearily at the crouched figure of Inuyasha, who appeared to be picking some of the debris away from the entrance.
"What're you doing?" she asked, her words distorted by a yawn.
Inuyasha turned to look over his shoulder at her. "Checkin' to see if the storm's died down yet," he replied before turning back to peer through the hole he had made. He let out a smug "heh" and pulled more of the debris away.
Kagome tensed slightly as she sat up, but no piercing, icy wind burst through the holes. She watched the hanyou push away the giant log and completely clear the entrance to the hollow. Crawling closer to get a better look, she let out a gasp at the whiteness that greeted her eyes.
Several inches of snow covered the ground for as far as she could see. "Inuyasha, how long have we been in there?"
"Keh, just a couple hours," he grunted. "Snow comes down fucking quick in those kind of storms."
"Yeah," Kagome agreed breathlessly. "I guess so."
She followed the hanyou out of the hollow. The air was still chilly and her shoes crunched satisfyingly against the new snow. The sun was high in the sky, reflecting off the snow in shimmering patches where it broke through the trees. It was still and quiet. Kagome thought it was absolutely beautiful.
A lazy breeze curled between her thick braid and the back of her neck, renewing her shivers. She unfastened her bag and dug through it for the fur-lined coat that Rin had given her, the warmest article of clothing she possessed despite its hideous pattern, and the gloves that she had picked up at the harbor village. She wished that she had gotten of the name of the charming town.
Kagome shrugged into the robe, tying it snugly around her waist, and slipped her hands into the warm gloves. "Inuyasha, I've a pair of boots for you, if you'd like," she said, brandishing the foot ware.
"Keh! I don't need something like that," Inuyasha boasted, stepping deliberately into patch of new snow with his bare feet.
Kagome rolled her eyes, but stuffed the boots back into the bag. "Okay, but if I head even one word about cold feet, you're wearing the boots."
"Fine, fine," the hanyou said, waving his hand dismissively. He waited for Kagome to secure her bag before moving on.
Everything looked the same for as far as Kagome could see and she wondered idly if they were lost. "Do you know how to get back to the road?" she asked, her breath puffing out white in the cold air.
"Of course I do!" Inuyasha said quickly. "It's… er… that way," he turned to his left and frowned. "Or… maybe that way."
"You got us lost, didn't you!" Kagome accused. She wasn't too upset as they had really needed shelter from the terrible storm—at least she had needed shelter—but now they were lost somewhere in southern Hokkaido with no convenient GPS or even road signs to point them in the right direction.
"We're not lost!" Inuyasha protested. "We're not fucking lost!"
Kagome sighed but trudged through the snow after him as he stomped off in his initial direction. She crossed her fingers that this was the right way because she really didn't want to spend the rest of the day wandering around in the cold. This was a remote enough area that she didn't even know if there were other settlements between the seaside village and Mt. Asahidake.
As Inuyasha weaved through the trees, trying to find the way back, and Kagome became increasingly depressed about freezing to death in the wilderness, she was suddenly uneasy. She stopped in her tracks and felt a cold sweat break out on her forehead. It felt as if she would pass out if she took even one more step forward.
"Oi! What're you stopping for?" Inuyasha bounded back with a look of concern on his face. "Hey, you don't look so good."
"I… don't think that we should go that way," Kagome said faintly, pressing a clenched fist against her heart. She took a reflexive step back, away from the uncomfortable sensation. The uneasy feeling immediately shifted into something more bearable and the tremor that had started in her fingers abated. Somehow, Kagome now knew that they had been going in the complete opposite direction. "Let's go back this way," she said, turning around to face the way they had come.
"What? Why?" Inuyasha demanded, looking a little put-out. But he padded along beside her, arms folded behind his head.
"Um… it sounds a little crazy… but this way feels better?" she said tentatively, feeling that her answer was completely inadequate but not having a more reasonable explanation.
"Keh!" the hanyou scoffed, but there was no malice to the sound. "If you say so."
Kagome took the lead from then on, using the prickling unease as a warning to turn another direction. Just as she was beginning to think that her instincts couldn't be trusted and that she was probably leading them even further into the forest and to their deaths, the trees abruptly ended and patches of smooth dirt showed through the snow ahead of them.
As soon as she stepped out onto the road, the strange feeling in her chest completely vanished and she let out a sigh of relief. "Well, that worked out alright!" She grinned at Inuyasha, who rolled his eyes exaggeratedly.
"Yeah, yeah, just hurry the fuck up. I don't think I could stand being out here for another month."