A/N: hey everyone! I'm settling in my new home, job, life...so here is the chapter I didn't finish before moving! I'll work on more soon now that I'm all unpacked.
-sploosh, baby
Her face was numb from the wind as she rode on Mama's back. Bracing against the mane of fur fluffed around her neck, Kagome was grateful for the shared body heat.
Despite the reassuring presence of her feline friend, Kagome remained on edge. Seeing a car driving out in the country at 3AM certainly spooked her, making her fly higher into the clouds to avoid being seen. Even a single bird flying by them had caused her heart to jump in her throat, but Kagome kept on. She had to end this ridiculous charade.
Willing her energy to expand beyond herself, she could feel the reiki come and go in waves, loosening her nerves with the feel of power sparking in her fingers, but never coming to fruition out of respect for Mama.
"I know, I'm sorry," Kagome patted her feline friend's neck, "It's the only way I can call him out, though."
They rode in silence until they hit the city, when neighborhoods started becoming familiar to Kagome. She gave directions then, leaning forward into the firecat's ear to give orders more clearly.
She was a few blocks away from her home now, and urged Mama to land at an empty playground a couple blocks down. Kagome would need to wander until she felt this demon's presence.
Touching ground, Kagome dismounted perfectly, as if she hadn't gone three years without riding.
"Mama, when you return home, please don't wake Jiyu and the others." She hugged the feline close, recalling the many times she had hugged Kirara. She missed the old girl.
Mama only huffed, nuzzling the priestess in the face before taking off into the night sky once more.
With her companion gone, Kagome could freely bring her reiki to life, allowing her hands to glow as she walked aimlessly through side streets. She tried to stay near parks and alleys, knowing she might have to defend herself against a demon.
She had maybe an hour before anyone at the temple noticed her absence, and another hour at best before anyone reached her. Kagome wandered closer to home, hoping maybe, and almost not hoping, that her stalker had been keeping tabs on her family home.
Coming to the steps of the Sunset Shrine, her eyes widened.
Sesshou shot out of bed. His senses had been on high alert for weeks now. Every now and then he would feel something, movement, change, but he could never catch a scent or direction. No, all he could sense was intent.
Now, he could smell bark and sea salt.
Kagome could feel her limbs go cold as the icey strike of adrenaline shot through her once more. She had new reasons to fear this confrontation, and yet the fear was familiar. Oddly enough, so was the relief. It was like cornering Naraku and wondering, is this it? Will it be over this time?
She could only hope.
Taking the stairs up, she knew he wasn't far. Maybe he knew it wouldn't be long before she had to leave the temple, and he was simply waiting it out.
Kagome could feel her stomach flip flop at the idea of any person preying on her a few months from now. This is why she chose to leave. She wouldn't be able to stay knowing that she was keeping something- someone, she reminded herself- from Sesshou.
Nearing the top of the stairs, she wondered for the millionth time if he would be happy with the outcome of their tryst. Her breath was heavy with exertion, but she wasn't tired out yet. Maybe Takeshi's training had done her some good, restoring old stamina she hadn't needed since she traversed a younger Japan. Hope surged through her, sending the reiki in her very being to the surface of her skin. She could do this. She had to.
Sesshou alerted no one before taking off into the night. It would be a precarious chase, knowing he would have to follow and evade his target at all times, staying just outside of his senses. He knew the foolish demon had made a mistake, a minor misstep, on his way to exact another heinous crime or plot the next way to target his family.
The shrine was like a ghost town at this hour. It used to always creep her out when she was younger. Chasing Buyo as always, that darn cat had led her to her death a handful of times. Only this time it seemed she was chasing a tortoise.
"Lady Kagome," Kaito stood under the torii gates that led to the prayer bell, where hundreds of visitors had just come to the Sunset Shrine a couple weeks ago for Hatsumode. Pushing his weight off the post, he unfolded his arms from the yukata he wore. "You're a bit early, my dear."
"Do I get to know why you're after me?" Kagome's ferocity did little to shake his demeanor. Dropping her backpack, she moved forward. After so many villains over her time traveling to the feudal era, she had grown accustomed to these confrontational meetings. "Is it because I'm human? Because that's getting really old."
"It has less to do with your humanity and more to do with your aspirations, Priestess." Kaito was unmoving, admitting his disdain without aggression. This behavior was very far from Naraku's taunting harassment. The torment she and her friends had endured five hundred years ago was nothing like this silent manipulation, void of personal intent.
She supposed he didn't hate her as a person. Kagome could accept that. What she couldn't accept was that he would jump to this level of terror for her aspirations alone.
"Care to explain or should I just call Sesshou now? He could be here in less than minutes." She fibbed. As if she had her cell phone on her after just leaving the mountains.
"I doubt he would come. He's rather preoccupied at the moment." Kaito smirked then, proud of his handiwork.
"What did you do?" Kagome's heart fluttered with panic embarrassingly. Her confidence wavered, but she held her ground. Whatever Sesshou was dealing with was apparently going to be time consuming. If anything, that meant he was already aware something was amiss and on his way.
Sesshou stalked at a distance, keeping his nose faintly pinned to the scent of sea salt and tree bark. He needed evidence of intent, out of curiosity and political interest, to have the right to administer a just death. There weren't many in the Kame clan to begin with, but murdering their representative and the son of their former lord was a bold move that would likely inflict doubts in his ability to rule in a modern age.
They were heading East, he knew, but Sesshou wondered how far they would go. To the shore, for backup? Had the entire Eastern allegiance formed a mutiny? Or maybe Kaito finally located the temple. Maybe he was simply tired of waiting, and knowing a location was all he needed.
Kaito didn't answer Kagome, but his lips stretched over sharp teeth in a feral grin. He approached slowly, closing the expanse of space between them. His feet shuffled in snow as he came closer. Kagome eyed the shrine grounds, scanning her surroundings in a knee jerk instinct to flee.
She apologized internally to her mother, knowing damages were sure to come, but she had to keep this at the front of the grounds, away from her family. Bracing herself, Kagome rationalized she wouldn't necessarily have to win. She just had to buy herself some time. Sesshou was coming, this she was sure of.
A tortoise often had difficulty in cold weather, especially hitting below three Celsius. Unfortunately, demonic bloodlines didn't allow for many weaknesses. His sense of smell was above average, but his hearing was no better than a human's. Kagome wondered what exactly she could use to her advantage, but she didn't have time to finish any resolute thought.
In the blink of an eye, Kaito had leapt forward, tackling her backwards. Kagome's breath forcefully left her chest cavity with the drive of his shoulder as she fell backwards, flopping pathetically as she tumbled.
Disoriented, she tried to figure which way was up and staggered to her feet. Kaito waited, his patience mocking her humanity.
"I told myself I wasn't going to waste time, but the look on Sesshomaru's face when he finds out his pregnant lover is dead...it's too satisfying to pass up. I should make you suffer," Kaito's feral features doubled in her vision. What had she hit her head on? Blinking rapidly, she tried to put his translucent copy back in place with his actual body. "I should make you both suffer."
She knew he meant their baby, and not Sesshou himself. The fetus was no more than a clump of cells, and he wanted to torture it. Kagome could feel a wave of nausea hit her. Whether it was morning sickness or disgust, she couldn't tell.
"Try me." Kagome grit out, widening her stance. She didn't come here to get knocked around.
"Feeling maternal already?" He mocked, flexing his claws while he eyed her midsection. The threat in his eyes only solidified her resolve.
This time when he lunged for her, fists open to rip her to shreds, Kagome was ready. Takeshi had knocked her on her ass enough times. It was only fair she learned how.
Willing her body down into a baseball dive for first base, feet first, she pulled the tanto blade strapped to her forearm out from her sleeve, and sliced the demon's achilles tendon on his right side. A spray of blood stained her sleeve as she passed under his legs, turning onto her stomach and catching herself on her toes. Pouncing upward as her enemy stumbled onto his wounded leg without control of his foot, she raised the tanto in both hands, intent on striking him in the back. Hopefully it would sever his spinal cord and leave him paralyzed.
Kaito collapsed, rolling to the side to dodge her downward strike. When Kagome hit air, she faltered without the resistance of his body. Kaito used his good leg to kick her sideways, away from him.
Kagome panted, adrenaline amplifying her ability to respond quicker. Balancing on her hands and knees, she was getting better at catching her falls. Kaito sat back on his rear, eyeing his lopsided foot. She had done that, she realized.
Kaito's sharp eyes appraised the wound. She had learned something in hiding, it seemed. The puppet that had almost taken her would be useless against her capabilities now. He wondered how the other was fairing.
Sesshou had tracked Kaito to the shore. The entire area smelled of sea salt and tree bark. This was where the puppet had come from, there was no doubt about it.
Crouched in one of the trees, he watched Kaito from a distance. Seeing no more than the outline of a figure along the beach, he ventured further from under tree tops. The negative temperature was biting through his silken pajamas, but he ignored the chill. This could all be over tonight, and he wasn't about to lose this scent trail.
This time Kagome lunged first, throwing her whole body into the demon still dumbstruck on the ground. Forcing Kaito onto his back, she scrambled to gain the upper hand and pin him down. Both human and demon struggled, grabbing at elbows and wrenching limbs in order to restrain one another.
Digging her knees into his biceps, Kagome pushed all her weight into his arms while he pricked her wrists with his claws. Grunting and snarling at one another, they fought.
Kaito grinned in devious satisfaction when he managed to dig his claws into her wrists, keeping her hands pinned by his head. Pushing sharp talons further into her flesh, Kagome cried out. Blood began to seep down around her hands and into the ground.
Whether she willed it or not, her hands gave a sudden burst of reiki, burning Kaito's palms where they touched her flesh. He panicked, releasing her wrists and bucking her overhead with the use of his good leg.
Kagome rolled forward, landing in a heap with weak wrists. Supporting herself on her hip and forearms, she forced herself upright. Testing her hands, she was grateful they still worked, but not without a burning pain searing her arms. Wincing, she made herself stand again.
Sesshou didn't understand. Kaito was changing direction now. They'd left the peaceful shore and instead they were down at the industrial docks, where many ships with merchandise were docked and oil rigs were dotting along the distance.
It was still dark out, but sunrise would come soon. A morning fog cloaked the docks, making it easier for Sesshou to hunt closer to his prey.
Coming up a few hundred feet behind him, Sesshou was careful to keep his senses honed in on the direction of wind. One swift gust is all it would take to blow his cover.
Kagome pulled the bow from her back and notched an arrow. Her hands shook with the pain of straining the weapon tight in her grip, but she forced herself to aim still. If there was one way she was best at calling upon her reiki, it was this. She could purify hundreds with a single arrow, and now there was only one.
"You think you're so clever." Kaito chuckled, rolling onto his hands and knees, he kept his head hanging low. Unable to read his expression, she focused on his aura instead. A mossy color shone through, mixing with the turquoise of his seaside pride. Greed and pride, she knew, were ingredients for madness.
"You think you'll win." Kagome reoriented her aim, less distracted by the oily rainbow of feelings that surrounded his figure.
"No, Priestess," Kaito raised his head, eyes glowing like neon paint in the dark of the karaoke lounge her friends frequented. "I'll get even."
She didn't have time to release the arrow, falling backwards when pin-like spears of light shot from Kaito's talons, piercing her shoulders. Kagome cried in pain at the multiple stabs. Turning on her hip, she forced a shield of reiki over her body. Fear had taken over her and she needed to recuperate. Taking on damage like this couldn't be good for the baby. What if he'd aimed at her abdomen? She considered herself lucky he was toying with her.
Sesshou thought himself a patient demon. He never rushed anything, and yet this trivial chase was proving fruitless. He would approach Kaito and admit his suspicions. If he wanted to prove himself loyal, he would turn himself over for voluntary observation.
Just before he reached Kaito, the tortoise demon spun.
