In Time, Death
By Alesyira
Summary: Running from one's problems is not always the best idea. But wait, there's more...
The Not-So-Great Escape
- 1517 -
Kagome might never get used to the sensation of her device pulling her bodily through time. Each trip, more details of the process became apparent, despite her briefly scrambled thoughts. This time, she could feel her body reforming itself just before gravity took hold of her.
She landed lightly in the middle of an unfamiliar forest with nothing obvious lurking nearby. She stood there for a moment, shivering as her thoughts raced around the ramifications of being pulled apart each time she traveled. Was that the truth of it, or was it a trick of the mind, a misinterpretation of what she thought she could feel?
She rubbed her hands down her face and pushed the idea from her mind. It wouldn't do her any good to wildly speculate on such an unknowable thing without more information.
She took a calming breath and blinked away the lingering blindness, looking around in curiosity. After the quiet buzz of Shippo's neighborhood, the silence of her arrival seemed deafening. She realized the forest was somewhat familiar, but only in the sense that she'd seen these types of trees and struggling underbrush. She may not have stood in this particular spot before, but she definitely felt like she'd been in forests just like this one more than a dozen times. The sense of recognition was somewhat comforting, especially after the last unexpected trip had dumped her in a desert, far away from anything she knew.
Huffing a quiet sigh, she peered down at the tiny display to see if any additional details beside the year had been provided. Nothing. Great.
She sighed again, closing her eyes.
She would not stress about the mysteries that might be ahead of her. She'd been through enough insanity in the past to fully appreciate that she'd traded a brief reprieve from social embarrassment for an unknown trouble.
She grinned a bit ruefully knowing that sooner or later she'd have to face Kurama, but having at least one extra day to sort out her feelings instead of immediately dealing with the suddenness of his appearance (or hiding in the bathroom like a coward) would be put to good use.
Thankful that she now had a quiet moment, she found herself indecisive.
She could rush toward destiny (whatever direction that might be), or she could stand around and sigh about the strange turns her personal life had taken. She wanted to fully appreciate a few moments (hours) to really think things through, but she probably had something important to do here, first. Except… she hadn't had a chance to eat breakfast, and now she was hungry.
Her thoughts felt a bit more scrambled than they should be. When was the last time she'd eaten?
It took her a minute to remember.
Takeout. Yesterday. After Shippo and Hiei had their unexpected fight on the roof.
She ran a hand over her hair with a grimace. She had neglected to brush out the tangles before leaving, and it was still a mess from sleeping. She felt a bit out of sorts, both mentally and physically.
She could brush her hair after she'd had a bite to eat, and maybe a full stomach might help her brain return to working order. She set down her belongings and fished out a new seal. Sound rushed back with the sweet breeze of pristine forest air. She smiled as the sense of nostalgia grew larger. This place felt very much like someplace she wanted to be.
Leaning against a tree, she peered through the trunks with a half-smile, believing that if she stood still long enough, she might actually catch a glimpse of her friends, albeit older. Seventeen years had passed since the conclusion of their quest for the jewel. She briefly wondered where they were and what they were doing.
She glanced down at the device in her hand. She'd been so close to them when she'd been given the mysterious upgrade to her odd little piece of technology. Tek had said she wasn't supposed to see them on that day, but did that mean she'd be able to see them on one of her other trips through time?
Shaking her head, she pocketed the vesper and began collecting firewood. If she had to do stuff in the middle of nowhere for the next day, she should at least start with a warm meal. It certainly didn't help that her racing thoughts kept getting drowned out by the increasingly loud growling of her stomach.
The wood was a little damp, so starting a fire took some grumbles and more than a few matches. She was definitely out of practice. She settled on a wide branch and watched the flickering flames lick up the side of her kettle with a small smile, pleased with the tiny victory against uncooperative elements and the little comforts to be found in such simple things.
"Did you see where she went?"
Kagome's wandering attention perked up at the sound of a young male's voice.
"No! I was looking at you because you asked me another stupid question!" This second voice was definitely a girl that sounded like she'd had enough.
The first voice hissed, "Stop talking so loud!"
"Ouch! Don't poke me with that! It's sharp!"
"Wait, do you smell-"
"Campfire?"
Kagome sighed, prodding the burning wood to adjust the stack under her kettle of water. She cast her senses wide, checking for anything other than the two that were not-so-stealthily approaching from behind her. The immediate area seemed empty, so she focused on the two. They were definitely human, but had a touch of spiritual sensitivity in them. She grimaced at the taste of darkness clinging to the edges, as though they'd had a prolonged brush with something nasty.
As their footsteps drew closer, she wondered who they were looking for.
"Oh! Miko-sama!" The girl said, a bit of wariness coloring her voice. "We lost you back there in the trees. Sorry about that."
They lost… me? Thinking they'd mistaken her for someone else they were looking for, Kagome wiped the confusion from her expression and turned to look at the two with a welcoming smile.
The girl looked her over with a mix of recognition and concern. "Miko-sama, your hair..."
The boy interrupted her with a scowl of disgust. "What were you doing, rolling in the dirt with an enemy? You're filthy!"
The girl gasped and slapped a hand over her companion's mouth, horrified at his manners.
Kagome barely bit back her laughter at their behavior. It was hard to believe they knew her, but she'd seen stranger things. She plucked at the front of her haori, brushing at some of the smeared black. "It'll wash. Would you care for some tea?"
Given the random she'd encountered over her last trips, she was not terribly surprised to have two unknown teens stumble upon her in the middle of the forest. She really hoped they'd drop some clues about what had happened to make them believe they'd just seen her—cleaner nonetheless—only a short time ago in the woods.
The girl nodded gratefully, sinking down onto the ground a safe distance away. The boy stood warily at her side, looking ready to bolt. What is he so afraid of?
The kettle simmered and began to steam over the fire as Kagome looked over the two teens with a critical gaze. The girl tucked her hair behind an ear and shot glances at the boy, who shuffled his feet and tried (failed) to keep his hands hidden behind the folds of his shirt. They were caked in dark brown, and the strong scent of dried blood was impossible for even her human nose to miss. Kagome searched his expression for hints of danger and realized he was watching her in much the same way.
Unsure what may have happened before they'd stumbled upon her current self, she carefully asked, "Do you have any questions for me?" She held out the first cup of tea to the girl.
The girl took a cautious sip and then scrunched her nose in surprise at the taste. "What are you doing out here, miko-sama?"
Kagome considered her answer for a moment. "I'm on a mission."
"Oh! So are we!" The girl's smile was blindingly bright as she leaned forward. "What kind of mission is it?"
Kagome grinned and poured a cup for the boy. "I'm not sure yet. I'm supposed to do something important here today." She handed the steaming cup over and watched as he just swirled the liquid. "My mission might be as simple as feeding two people in need."
The girl took a long drink of her tea and wiped a small spill from the corner of her mouth. "You don't know why you're here?"
She shook her head. "That's the nature of time. Things are mysterious until they have occurred. I suppose some might call it destiny."
The boy sniffed the contents of his cup with a quiet mutter, "Some might call it suspicious."
Kagome frowned at him. "You know, it's against everything I believe in to poison those I'm caring for. Would you prefer to drink from a different cup? I can take yours."
He rolled his eyes and took a big gulp, choking on the hot liquid as it burned his throat. The girl pressed her lips together, trying to disguise her mirth at his mistake. Half of his drink sloshed from the cup as he coughed and tried to cool his mouth with great puffs of air. The girl had some mercy on his plight, distracting their attention from him with another question. "You said you had some food for us?"
Kagome smiled and rummaged in her pouch for snacks. "Would you prefer something sweet or something salty?"
They stared at her with blank looks.
She'd forgotten that the concept of sweet and salty might not mean much to kids that grew up in some of the tiny rural villages of this era. She opened a small packet of food and handed them pressed granola bars. "Alright, one of each. Please try a little of both. They're delicious."
She watched as they politely shared their food with each other, then promptly devoured their portions so fast she doubted they'd tasted a bit of it. Kagome cringed at the boy's blood-stained hands pushing food into his mouth. She briefly wondered how difficult it might be to convince him to wash his hands, let alone take a bath. She tilted her head and poked around in her pouch for additional supplies she could share. "I can also make some soup, but we will need more water."
The girl checked her fingers for crumbs and shook her head. "No, thank you, miko-sama. Our teacher should be back soon."
Kagome hummed thoughtfully, considering the boy's bloodied hands and both teens' bedraggled state. She'd had a few teachers over the years that had run her ragged to instill some kind of life-lesson, but she'd never seen this level of neglect in adolescents that didn't involve abandonment or cruelty. "How long as your teacher been away?"
The boy scowled with renewed suspicion. "Not long. She's not far, either."
Kagome nodded and tried to consider their point of view. If a stranger had asked her similar questions, she'd probably be pretty defensive, too. "Do you think I should meet your teacher?" And maybe give her a piece of my mind…
The girl perked up immediately. "Yes! Kimi-sama is a great priestess, ridding the world of all evil with her amazing strength!"
Her friend threw back the rest of his cup in a hurry and swallowed loudly before he opened his mouth to add on, "We've been studying under her for a few weeks now. She's really amazing."
Kagome bit her lip as she peered between the two caught in a moment of unabashed hero-worship. "Forgive my rudeness, but… why are you in such a state?" She nodded at the blood spatter riding up the boy's arms. "And hungry? If you're studying with a great priestess, the well-being of all is our life goal, especially those under our wings."
The girl's mouth fell open as she glanced at her friend. With his jaw set in a stubborn sneer, he replied, "She killed the youkai that attacked our village. She said she'd help us cleanse the world."
Kagome made a small sound of understanding and turned her gaze to the flickering campfire. She tucked a few fresh pieces of wood into its depths and watched the fire catch. "In all walks of life," she murmured, "there are good and bad. Some humans murder their comrades for riches. Some youkai grow herbs to heal the sick. To kill all of one thing is to kill both the bad as well as the good." She pressed a hand to her chin and glanced up at him with a furrowed brow. "You would really cleanse the world of a whole group of creatures because of a terrible experience?"
The two teens exchanged a glance.
"Would you kill a youkai child playing in the river? An otter pup as it laughs and plays, learning how to catch a fish with its mother? Those who wish to cleanse the world of youkai must slay all without hesitation."
The boy's gaze slid to the side as he frowned. The girl's lower lip trembled. "But, miko-sama…"
Kagome curled her fingertips around her small mug. "I've fought against and killed many youkai, but I've also fought alongside others as allies. It is true that there are some that are very bad and dangerous, but most are just like you and I, hoping to make the world a better, safer place for their loved ones and friends. It's not just a human wish that we all might live in harmony."
The girl reached out and gripped her friend's ankle. She heard him sigh as he turned his face away from her sight.
It made her heart break to understand that these two teens had thought killing all youkai would make the world better. Such poison in their hearts. She swallowed back her tears. "Perhaps your life goal is just and true, but please consider that even the meanest snake might be protecting a nest of babies. All life should be sacred. If you want to help make the world a better place, you both have a gift. Find a shrine to help the people and learn how to use your abilities to protect life."
The girl gasped, "We have gifts?"
Kagome half-smiled, looking over the two of them as they exchanged a look of confusion. "It's probably why your teacher has been keeping you around. Did you not know?"
The boy glared at Kagome. "Kimi-sama said youkai have many disguises and to not trust anyone."
Kagome thought of the illusions she'd seen Shippo pull more than a few times. "That's true. I've seen some pretty impressive tricks. But can a youkai do… this?" She waved her fingers with flair to drop a shimmering barrier around their campsite. "Or this?" She held up a hand with pale pink energy enveloping her fingertips. The boy flinched back from her and looked above them in surprise. His expression of terror was only visible for a brief moment before he looked away and feigned annoyance. "Still might be youkai," he grumbled.
Kagome leaned back and watched him carefully. "You can leave the barrier if you choose, but those with bad intentions cannot get in."
The girl stared at her glowing hand with open interest.
"May I?" Kagome asked, holding her hand out for the girl's. Kagome hoped she'd let her touch them. That darkness creeping along the edge of their spirits was disconcerting and she hoped a brief flare of her magic would drive it away.
The girl placed her hand within Kagome's and they both closed their eyes. Her magic swelled, warm and light between them. The girl made a small sound of surprise, and then another hand clamped roughly over her wrist. She looked up at the boy brandishing a knife at her throat, and then her magic enveloped him as well. The two teens stared at her as the bright energy swept through them, fixing unseen wounds, energizing their weariness, and cleansing the darkness with tiny sparks of light.
The knife fell to the forest floor beside him, immediately forgotten. "Miko-sama," he whispered. "I thought-"
Kagome smiled ruefully as she released the girl's fingers. He let go as well, rubbing his hand absently. "I understand. Her life is one you'd risk much to protect, even against an unknown adversary."
The girl blushed, and he looked away with an embarrassed scowl.
These two needed something real to guide them. "How about this? There is a shrine in Edo with a great god tree. You both would be ideal apprentices there, and if you tell them Kagome sent you, you'll be welcomed with open arms." She paused, eying the boy. "Or, you can go and tell them you'll work hard, and be accepted under your own merits."
His mistrust vanished at once. Kagome bit her lip to hold back her grin of amusement. This kid did not like handouts.
Admirable.
She closed her eyes and reached out, seeking beyond the bright hum of children's spirits into the woods from the direction they'd approached. There was something at the far edge of her range. "Can you feel the darkness has gone?" she whispered, opening her eyes to look between the two.
The girl turned her gaze to her friend, and he stared down at his hands as he replied. "Something feels different, but I don't know what it was."
Kagome nodded in understanding. Their village had been destroyed. In the shadow of so much loss, they probably wouldn't have recognized the darkness creeping in along the edges.
"If you'd like, you may stay here and rest while the barrier holds. It'll keep for a few hours while you wait for this teacher of yours, if that's the path you wish to continue. I think there is something nearby that I am meant to see, so I must go. If you're still here when I get back, I can escort you both to the shrine."
They nodded, but she wasn't sure if they'd take her advice.
As she left the barrier, the something became more clear: a darkness similar to that which had previously clung to those children. She moved quickly and quietly through the forest toward the subtle but growing cloud, wondering what the heck she was about to walk into.
She adjusted her pouch and pulled her bow from her shoulder. Something changed in the atmosphere, and the sizzle of magic zipped through the forest, raising the hair on the back of her neck. There was a conflict brewing, and she rushed toward it.
There was a whiff of smoke on the breeze as a new flash of magic thrummed sharply around her. Her heart skipped a beat at the palpable flicker of someone else's despair.
Breaking into a run, her magic surged around her to protect against the sudden burning onslaught of mystical fire.
She heard great crashes and a scream, and her footing barely held as the ground quaked under the heavy impacts of battle.
She spotted two figures facing off in the distance as she burst through the smoking edge of a wide clearing, but her mind couldn't quite process what she was seeing.
There was a strangely shaped flash of metal and a sudden bloom of horrible red.
The darkness she'd felt from a distance was right in front of her, and so was Shippo.
She froze, her breath caught in her throat, unable to tear her eyes away from the scene.
He'd suffered what looked like a fatal blow straight through his abdomen. It was worse than anything she'd ever seen with Inuyasha during the most violent of their battles. Her mind blanked as she stared at the crimson flooding the torn edges of the fabric, unidentifiable mangled flesh and the rainbow of colors which accompanied the spillage of severed organs.
When the darkness laughed, Kagome snapped out of her shock.
How dare she…
how…
She shuddered and swallowed back a sudden wave of nausea.
A flicker of her burning magic called to her from the monster. She didn't even have time to process why it was there, she just reacted. Her hand shook as it lifted before her face, and she reached for that shivering spark of light. Her head tilted as she twisted her fingers through the air, forcing more of her magic along that line, feeding the spark into a rapidly growing flame.
Her eyes narrowed in concentration. She'd just told those kids that all life is precious. Not this life. This beast had forfeited its rights.
She watched her magic grow, enveloping the writhing monster before it melted her into a bubbling mess, a shriek of agonized rage still wheezing out of what remained of her upper torso.
Her hand fell limp to her side, and she stared, numb, at the sight of carnage across the clearing. She carefully picked a path across the demolished earth toward the dying pair, her eyes locked on the bloodied form of her friend as the black miko collapsed, her screams cutting off into rasping gurgles as the purity ate through her lungs.
She slowed as Shippo slumped backwards into the mess of blood, flesh, and ashes.
He was still alive, but just barely. She stopped right in front of him, but no recognition lit up his features. His blood-spattered expression relaxed in an awful approximation of peace.
Her mind raced. She could place her hands on him and pull him back from the edge right now.
He could be whole once more, in moments. She had that power burning in her chest. She knew it to be possible, but she held herself back. For whatever reason, she wasn't meant to heal his wounds. But why not?
Her fingers shook as she brought her hands to her mouth and stifled an anguished scream. Her eyes burned as tears threatened. The horror of this sight would probably never leave her mind. Shippo isn't dead. He's not dead. He somehow survives this.
She paused and choked back a sob.
He had a ridiculous story about being so terribly wounded that a friend had thought him dead and buried him.
They'd even learned the reaper Botan had tried to collect his soul. She couldn't double-check, but she was pretty sure the date of her failed reaping coincided with this approximate time.
If she healed him now, then those stories would never happen.
Today is not the day he is meant to get up from this fight. But was that because she couldn't heal him, or was it because she stood there like an idiot thinking she shouldn't do it due to some ridiculous time paradox that she didn't understand?
She pressed her hands to her eyes and rubbed fiercely.
What the hell was the purpose of this?
Why should this have happened?
Was this some life lesson she didn't understand?
For him?
For her?
She ripped her hands from her face and stared down at his broken body. She took a step back, hesitant. Torn.
A tiny gasp escaped him, and then he was still.
Oh no.
Her mouth fell open and tears spilled. She'd seen enough death in her life to recognize what had just happened.
He was dead.
She swallowed roughly, the blood draining from her face before she broke into a fit of giggles. She was gonna strangle him for this horror when she got back home again.
But he's dead, a tiny voice in her thoughts screamed. If he's dead, how can he still be alive when I get home? Is this the moment that time doesn't find a way?
She pressed her eyes shut and swallowed back a fresh wave of nausea. This is madness.
This was the worst mission she'd ever been on. She couldn't imagine what the heck that green color coding could possibly mean, now. It sure as heck couldn't have actually meant easy.
Vomit?
Grassy fields? Well, these fields were pretty far from being grassy anymore with their huge swathes of blackened foliage and smoldering remains of Shippo's fire.
Didn't matter.
She forced her gaze away from his lax expression, looking around the area for anything that she might have missed. An ally on the way. Another enemy waiting to spring an ambush.
There was nothing else nearby.
As she reached out with her senses, she could feel her magic clinging to him, somehow anchoring him to this plane of existence. The magic was flickering weakly, though, on the verge of sputtering out. She remembered the reaper's extensive complaints about a second spirit and hummed in thought.
She wondered if she touched him, reached for him with the power of the jewel, if it might undo this carnage she refused to see. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what the jewel might do to someone who'd just died.
But she could safely do something else. He'd walked the (mostly) straight and narrow path his entire adult life. Shippo had a pure soul, safe from the cleansing qualities of her magic.
She clasped her hands together and focused on his existence, thought about how much she loved him, and felt the magic around his silent heart bloom with renewed strength. She forced more and more into him until the brightness resembled the strength she remembered from their training sessions at home.
This felt better.
This felt right.
She opened her eyes and stared down at his blood-flecked face, remembering his laughter and cuddles. A warmth spread in her chest.
She sighed. "I'll see you again, soon. Idiot."
And then she walked away.
…But not far, because she knew that reaper would show up soon to try and fetch some souls, and she wanted to see that struggle firsthand.
Resolved to wait out her timer at the edge of the clearing where she'd watched her friend die a very messy death, she dropped a barrier to hide her presence and slid down the trunk of a charred tree, her eyes turned to the evening sky as the sunset golds and pinks sharpened against the scattering wisps of clouds.
A few hours passed before Botan and another reaper with bubblegum pink hair stepped out of a swirling portal that had appeared between the two bodies.
The corrupted soul of the black miko put up a tremendous struggle against removal from its barely-recognizable corpse, but couldn't fight back for long in its tattered state. Botan, looking the exact same as she did in her present, seemed uncertain of Shippo's lingering soul. He made no effort to fight back against coming with her, but he also didn't seem to be able to budge.
Kagome's eyes closed and she followed the tenuous line of her magic to reach for his spirit.
He was calm and at peace.
He had not meant to pick a fight he knew he couldn't win, but despite his inability to escape, he'd made sure the threat had been stopped. He was ready to go with the reapers to whatever awaited him next.
No, Kagome told him, her voice whisper quiet.
My time here is done, he replied.
She smiled sadly. If she hadn't been here… You still have many years ahead of you. Hundreds and hundreds in this life.
I have nothing left to do, he argued.
She shook her head in annoyance. All the cuddling insistence that he'd waited centuries to see her again? She'd be giving him such an earful over the stress he'd put her through today. You still need to find me again. You promised.
She says I have to go.
Kagome laughed, feeling more at ease as she wound the grip of her magic around his spirit. She won't be able to take you from me today. You will stay.
I will stay, he echoed.
She wondered if he agreed too easily, but she was confident in her actions. You will find me when it's time.
I will find you, he replied.
She clung to his spirit, listening quietly from a distance as a young and flustered Botan fought valiantly against her magic to retrieve the confused soul, who seemed both ready to go and not yet ready to go.
Botan and her partner tried countless spells and curse-reversals, sprinkles of magical solutions, and even a pair of mysteriously glowing scissors that gave Kagome the creeps.
They made no visible progress as the hours passed and Botan's frustration grew. Her partner consoled her angry tears with gentle pats and assurances that these sorts of things happened. Probably. They agreed the soul probably wasn't going anywhere in the next few days. They could go home for guidance and return at a later time.
Botan nudged the spirit back into his body and told him firmly to stay put. His responses had dwindled to nothing more than vague nods, and Kagome could see Botan's concern at the spirit's weakening state.
When their portal opened, Botan grouched about how much trouble she was going to be in if they couldn't figure out a solution. Kagome winced with a smidgen of regret. She had been polite and understanding once Kagome had made clear she didn't know anything about the mysterious event of the past, but now that she knew the truth, she probably had a little bit of explaining to do.
She didn't feel bad about thwarting the reaper's attempts, though.
Her selfish desire to keep his spirit away from them felt justified with what little she knew of his future. His spirit had fallen still and quiet, and she lamented his lack of responses. She hoped his uncharacteristic silence was normal for this kind of thing.
The two teens found their way to the clearing next, and she watched as they approached their deceased teacher in the dim starlight, the girl's hand clutching tightly to the boy's sleeve as their eyes followed along the unnatural metal limbs that remained partially attached to the monstrous form.
"I don't understand," the girl said.
"We don't gotta understand. We just hafta move on and survive." He sniffed in derision at the sight before him.
They stood in silence for a few minutes before he turned to her. ‟The shrine?"
She nodded in agreement.
"You wanna wait for that miko to come back?"
She shook her head. "Let's just go."
Kagome tilted her head back against the trunk of the tree and sipped at a bottle of water. Her eyes felt like sandpaper and her nose hurt. It was strange to mourn the loss of someone that she knew would be just fine when she went home. She swallowed a lump in her throat. She hoped she would discover him in perfect condition once she got home. Maybe his death broke off a split in the timeline and she'd just started an alternate future where Shippo was still stone-cold dead and couldn't actually find her.
She yawned and peeked at her device to check the time. It was a little after 1am. The pale illumination was dimmed for the night but it still stood out like a beacon in the darkness. She wasn't sure how much her barrier might obscure from passersby, so she hid it quickly in her sleeve, hoping to not draw any unwanted attention to herself.
The wind pushed away the few remaining clouds and ruffled her still-messy hair into her eyes, but she ignored the interruptions of the breeze and stared up at the bright smear of stars across the moonless sky.
She'd never get this kind of view in the city.
She sat in the silence at the edge of the charred clearing. Everything that had lived in the area had either fled in terror of the violent altercation or had been killed by the sweeping arc of Shippo's fire. The first cricket that dared to chirp somewhere nearby startled her from a light doze, and shortly after that, a few brave critters joined it in a song that sounded too much like mourning to leave her with dry eyes.
She buried her face in her hands and let the tears fall, certain that it wouldn't be the last time she cried before the sun came up.
She was so encompassed with the waves of lingering horror and misery that she didn't see him coming until he'd walked right past her barrier-cloaked resting spot, his aura hidden nearly as well as her own. He hadn't noticed her, but she would have been more surprised if he had spotted her through her barrier.
His focus was on the charred and mangled remains a few dozen feet away. She stared up at the stranger in surprise, sure she'd never seen him before but feeling an odd sense of familiarity.
His broad shoulders flexed as he knelt and planted a fist at Shippo's side, horror clear on his face as he stared down at what remained of his friend. She jammed a knuckle between her teeth and held back a fresh wave of tears as he carefully cleaned his face, tidied his hair, and quietly bandaged those fatal wounds.
This must have been the close friend that would bury him. She pushed her hands to her face to muffle the sobs that threatened. She needed to pull herself together. It made little sense to cry her heart out over an imagined loss. Well, a very real loss, but… she'd know for certain as soon as she returned. Time had better find a blasted way, or she'd be having words with … someone. She shuddered to think that she might get home and not be able to give Shippo a piece of her mind for being wrong about something so important.
She turned her attention back to the stranger's silent movements. His features were hard to make out in the starlight, but something reminded her of someone she'd met not too long ago. As he relaxed his guard in the quiet stillness of the battlefield, his presence trickled forth and she shot to her feet in astonished recognition.
The brilliant shine of his soul was unmistakable. She knew this person.
He'd been much smaller (and very much human) when they'd last met, but this male, this youkai, was undoubtedly the sick boy she'd helped that fateful day she'd been unexpectedly dropped in the middle of a strange and unforgiving desert.
She was amazed to encounter him again like this, and her lip wobbled under the threat of more tears to think that he'd become friends with Shippo.
She wanted to reach out and greet him, but they'd met under terrible circumstances in what must have been one of his past lives. There was very little chance he would recognize her now. She pulled her hands to her chest and smiled in wonder that their paths might cross again like this.
He finished preparations of Shippo's body and knelt, motionless under the starlight, holding a long vigil over the dead.
She leaned back against her tree and kept her own watch, knowing it would be a long wait before she would leave this place behind.
At least one thing had gone somewhat right with this particular trip; her silly worries about how she'd feel seeing Kurama had been very thoroughly squashed under the weight of such deep and profound loss.
It seemed so unimportant, now.
Two tired and dirty youths trudged up a long set of stairs. An apprentice just a few years older than them dropped her broom and rushed forward with a flurry of concerned exclamations. They were ushered into shelter and handed blankets and something warm to drink.
"I'm a hard worker," the boy told Noriko.
"Kagome sent us," the girl whispered to Hisako.
End Notes:
* This chapter coincides with events from Book 2: ch 17 The Return and ch 51 Audacity.
* Kuusai isn't named at the end, but he's Shippo's friend from the beginning and middle of book 2, and also Hu's reincarnated match, although I'm not sure I've spelled it out clearly enough just yet. I have plans to work more on their character development when I move into their original material (not part of this book sorry), but right now I'm really trying to get this story done! :)
* Also, Noriko is the oldest of the miko apprentices that Kikyo trains after Kagome's departure, and we briefly see her in the chapter where Tek hands over the vesper. Hisako is Noriko's apprentice.