Kagome woke up to the Nimbus bumping into her shoulder, taking only half a second to be a bit upset about her rest being interrupted before realizing that the cloud was carrying an unconscious Goku.
"What happened?!" she yelped, jumping to her feet and trying to fight down the wave of dizziness that slammed into her with the sudden motion.
Of course, she immediately felt ridiculous once the world stopped spinning. Nimbus was a cloud; it wasn't like it could actually answer her. She hurried to take the boy off of it, but it backed away before she could.
The priestess frowned, confused. Once more, the cloud approached her and bumped itself against her knees - and again, she tried taking Goku from it. Before she could, however, it pushed against her even harder when her balance was off and she toppled over onto it right next to her pint-sized protector. She let out a quiet grunt, being very careful not to squish the boy or anything, and realized that this was probably exactly what the stupid fluff had wanted. They were already back up in the air.
Kagome heaved a sigh and shifted around so that she was at least sitting upright. That didn't leave a lot of room on the cloud, but she could live with that - though she did very nearly push Goku right off the side when he rolled over and snuggled his face against her hip. If she hadn't known him so well by now, she would have thought that he was faking sleep in order to be a little pervert and get away with it.
But, well, she did know him. So instead of allowing herself to act on her first impulse and smack him (she blamed Miroku for fostering that reaction, thank you very much), she heaved another sigh and pulled her haori a little tighter around herself.
Gods, she was beyond lucky that her clothes were demon-made. She had no idea where she would have found something to change into out here once they'd gotten too dirty...
She glanced down at her miniature companion as he let out a sigh and cuddled closer to her warmth, thinking to herself once more that surely she had been here for more than a week. Surely her power was closer to being restored. She already knew this kid better than she knew Sesshoumaru, for kami's sake! And yes, she knew that her adopted brother was just naturally reticent and therefore not the best example in most normal situations - but still, she'd been living under his roof for four freaking years! It counted!
Nimbus took them down after some time, and Kagome let out a huff. The fluffy thing was clever, maybe even more so than the ice lord's pelt; this was a good place to sleep, she had to admit that. She dropped down and glanced this way and that, taking in their position and the resources nearby. If the cloud wanted to carry Goku so badly, then it could carry the boy - he would probably be more comfortable up there than on the ground anyway.
She, on the other hand, needed to find a nice stash of food (which the majority of would inevitably go to her companion whenever he woke up) and some firewood. The sun was already beginning to set, so she needed to hurry.
Luckily, she was an old pro at assembling a campsite. Everything was set up within the hour, and she settled in to keep watch for the night after eating a quick dinner. She would have to find some more food for the boy before he woke up, since she hadn't been able to track down that much-but she knew where to look now. That was fine.
She entered a light doze, just deep enough to get a bit more rest before morning.
xxxx
Goku roused slowly, sitting up and wincing. "Ow, my head!" he complained, wrapping his arms over his skull and willing it to stop pounding.
"Drink this," a soft voice instructed beside him, the smell of herbal tea filling his nose.
He opened his eyes again to see Kagome standing there with a section of bamboo stalk, steam rising off the top of it. She held the makeshift cup out to him and he accepted it, careful not to spill the hot liquid on his gi as he sniffed it curiously.
He made a face. "This smells funny."
"But it'll help," she huffed, moving back over to the remains of a fire and sitting next to it. She was quiet for a long time as he took a nervous sip. It tasted funny, too. "What happened?"
The boy frowned to himself and stared down into his tea to keep from having to meet her eyes. "I almost had it, but then Pilaf and those other guys started blowing each other up," he explained subduedly. "Nimbus saved me."
He didn't even hear her stand back up, but suddenly her hand was on his shoulder. "I'm just glad that you're okay, Goku," she sighed. "Don't worry. We'll find your grandpa's ball."
He couldn't help but smile weakly at the girl, grateful to have a friend there with him - and that smile only widened into a full-on grin the moment that she told him his breakfast was ready. Kagome really did know him well.
After eating the food that the girl had made for him, the fire was doused and they were back up on Nimbus again in a matter of minutes. That was another one of the differences between her and Bulma: she almost never took too long getting ready for the day. Sometimes her frequent baths could take a lot of time, but she was always quick to pack her things.
They flew on for a while, sometimes talking and sometimes pointing something out to one another down on the ground. Silence never really came into play, but even when it did it was more comfortable than anything. Finally, the radar started bleeping at him.
"Hey, we're close to another dragon ball!" he announced excitedly, glancing down and trying to spot it from the air. "Hm... It must be in this forest somewhere."
She also looked around curiously, taking in their surroundings with a practiced eye. He still really wanted to know about where she came from and her past, especially when it seemed like she had once been a fighter, but he tried not to push her. She could get really scary when she was mad. "I think you're right, Goku. How accurate is that thing? It might be a little hard to find it in all of those trees."
His stomach gurgled loudly. "Speaking of trees," he laughed, "I bet there's a snack tree down there!"
The girl rolled her eyes at him, but she was smiling. "Probably. Should we find one?"
He cheered at her agreement and directed Nimbus down, jumping right off the moment that branches came into view. Kagome shouted after him worriedly, still on the cloud, and he glanced back up from where he had landed. "What's wrong with her?" he questioned no one, jumping through the boughs in the same direction as she had gone off in. The sight of food stopped him short and he quickly swooped down to pluck the fruit from its tree. His friend was really smart. She could catch up, right?
A monkey stole his snack right out from under his nose, and he gaped.
"Hey!" he called as he climbed up after it quickly. "That's mine!" Seeing that it had been given to a baby monkey, he slumped. There went his meal... "Oh, fine," he grumbled as he began to climb back down. "You can have it." He saw a flash of brown falling out of the corner of his eye and he jumped when he saw that the same little chimp that had gotten his snack had fallen. The boy frowned, concerned. "Poor little monkey..."
Next thing he knew, he had chased off a jaguar and was getting free food from the other monkeys. He decided that he really liked this jungle.
xxxx
Kagome stomped through the undergrowth, her eye twitching with irritation. That little brat! She had thought that he was going to fall, and he just-! UGH!
That kid was in for a pounding, mark her words.
She heard a loud crash and jolted, turning around and feeling her eyes go wide when she saw a cloud of dust rise up over the forest. What on earth...? A surge of fire blazed up over the horizon and she started to run. Goku was bound to be over there, and she needed to help him! She came up on the river that she had seen from the sky earlier, reaching for her reiki so that she could power her muscles and leap across-
The priestess's run slowed immediately, the sharp reminder of her powerlessness thrumming through her chest in agonizing waves. No reiki, no physical endurance... She was useless for another three weeks at the least. She would just end up getting captured, and then her companion would do whatever he was told to try and save her.
Her knees gave out from under her and she felt her eyes begin to water. Even after four years of constant training under a literal demon, she was still the weak link...
She grit her teeth and pounded a fist into the dirt next to her. "DAMMIT!"
xxxx
Goku had searched for the dragon ball for a while after he'd woken up, only to find that the soldiers from earlier were destroying the forest in the exact same search. He'd fought against them, obviously, and managed to push them back - but he had just barely saved the mama chimp and her baby from falling down into the rapids below, where they definitely would have died.
So now here he hung from a small jut in the canyon wall, trying to figure out a way that he and the monkeys could all get out of there alive. He just needed to find Kagome and then they could go look for the ball together, and she would definitely find some way of making him hurt if he ended up getting himself killed.
With that thought in mind, he quickly let go and yelled for Nimbus.
Now, with the three of them safe, he played with the little monkey a bit before standing back up. "It's been fun," he grinned, "but I'd really better go find Kagome and my grandpa's dragon ball now."
It was kind of irritating when they tried getting him to stay, but he did accept one more banana. He was hungry, after all, and his friend would understand.
When it started to rain, he started to get this sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. Wasn't the girl sick? What if she was still out there looking for him and she got caught in the downpour? This was Kagome, she was a worrier. She would do something like that, and he knew that she would have been searching everywhere for him from the moment he'd called for Nimbus earlier that afternoon and she hadn't still been on the cloud.
With a concerned frown, he took off into the rain. "Thanks for the food, but I really have to go!" he called over his shoulder. "Nimbus!"
He just really hoped that he was right about the cloud liking her so much. If he was lucky, it would be able to take him right to her...
"We gotta find Kagome," he informed the transport as he climbed on.
It took off like a shot with no further encouragement.
xxxx
She watched the rain continue to fall outside her shelter in sheets and heaved a sigh. So much for Goku being able to find her by scent when he was done finding the dragon ball... She pulled her haori closer to her and stifled a sneeze in the crook of her arm.
This certainly brought back some bad memories.
'You're not worth it,' a voice whispered in her head. 'No one's going to save you, useless girl. Why don't you make a wish and end it?'
She used to think that it was the Shikon or maybe even Kikyou whispering nasty things in her ear when it was dark and she was alone, but she'd had to accept not all that long ago that she and the jewel were one in the same. That little voice was made up entirely of her own petty doubts and self-loathing, given life by the taint inherent in the jewel and skittering about in her mind like a disease as it picked away at her sanity bit by bit.
The priestess groaned tiredly. It had been nice and quiet for the last week, but apparently the reprieve was over. Her newest companion wasn't there to chase away the nightmares, and he had no way of knowing about them anyway. She had never told the boy anything about herself beyond her name.
She thought to herself, staring out at the downpour as she was, that she wanted to fix that if she ever got the chance.
'He's probably dead, you know. You couldn't do anything to help him.'
She would start by telling him how old she was, she supposed. That was usually the question that was asked after learning what someone's name was. She wouldn't go into her halted aging or say anything about the jewel yet, but maybe someday she would. She would have to, if she wanted to stick around for a while. It would be inevitable once someone realized that she never looked a day older than eighteen no matter how much time passed.
'He wouldn't want you hovering around anyway, you pathetic weakling. Once he finds a good place to leave you, he'll do it - he was just too nice to leave you in that desert to rot. He'll regret it later and you know it. They always come to regret helping you.'
He might like hearing about her little brother, or maybe Shippou. They were both boys around his age... sort of. Her memories of Souta went up until he was twelve, almost thirteen - and as for the fox, he had been closer to eighty. But he looked and acted like he was eight, so that had to count for something.
'You'll ruin him, just like you ruined them. And he'll never forgive you for it.'
What about favorite color? She wasn't sure if she had one anymore, but people usually wanted to know about that. His was probably orange, going by his gi. Now she was actually kind of curious about that.
'The only colors that you know now are blood and death. You'll stain his light with your filthy presence.'
She wondered idly if the rest of her was as unoriginal as that annoying hiss. Seriously, those lines were starting to get old after four years - Kagura was bitchier than that in the span of five minutes, and she always had new material to throw around.
The rain continued to patter outside and she gave a quiet sigh, enjoying the temporary silence. It never did last, but it was always cherished.
"-me!" she heard someone yell above the winds, her eyes going wide. "Kagome!"
"Goku?!" she shouted back, scurrying to the cave mouth. There he was, on his little yellow cloud, grinning at her like she'd just told him that dinner was ready. What in the hell was he doing, flying around in this sort of weather?! He was going to get himself killed! "Goku, get down here before you get hit by lightning you little brat!"
He looked confused, but did as he was told. She pulled him quickly inside with her the moment he landed, the Nimbus flying off now that it was no longer needed.
"Don't... do that!" she scolded him loudly, looking him over for injuries. She couldn't see any, but that didn't mean that they weren't there... And he probably wouldn't tell her if he was hurt, anyway. "Don't you ever do that again, do you hear me! You scared the life out of me!"
"Gosh, I'm sorry," he frowned worriedly. "I didn't mean to. I just really needed to find you before the storm got any worse."
Dammit, she just couldn't stay mad at him when he actually apologized - he had this whole kicked puppy thing going for him. The priestess gave a heavy sigh and slumped back against the wall, shivering slightly as she patted the stone next to her. "Just get over here."
He grinned and did so, curling up against her side without invitation. She almost told him to beat it then and there, but... he was warm, and she was very decidedly freezing.
She heaved another sigh and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
"Hey, Kagome?" he spoke up after a while, drawing her attention back down to him.
"Yeah?"
He pouted slightly. "I'm really hungry," he informed her, his stomach growling loudly right on cue.
She couldn't help it. She laughed, long and loud.
It was no wonder the voice always fled when Goku was around.
xxxx
They flew together on Nimbus, looking for the dragon ball from above. The radar said that it was pretty close.
"Looks like they haven't found it either," he laughed, pointing down at the soldiers.
Kagome chuckled and shook her head. "And they're not going to, right?"
He grinned brightly. "Right!"
They landed not very long after that, Goku completely ignoring the two guys already there as he wandered around looking for the ball. His friend stayed on the cloud, a worried look crossing her face even as the other guys turned to stare at her.
The boy wasn't really sure why, but he didn't like the way that they were looking at her - and neither did she, judging by the glare she sent them.
"Aha!" he cheered after a moment, reaching down into a cranny between two rocks. He pulled it out and held it up to his face, frowning in disappointment when he saw that it had five stars instead of four. "Aww," he pouted. "Too many stars! This one isn't my grandpa's..."
The soldiers started freaking out for some reason. "It's the dragon ball!" one of them shouted disbelievingly.
"Yeah, but my grandpa's had four stars on it. This one's got five," he told them.
"Who is this kid?!" the same guy yelped. "I mean, we've been out here looking all day! How did he find it so fast?!"
"Pure luck, that's how he did it!" the other announced, a not-so-nice smile spreading across his face. "But I say we're the lucky ones now. Hey, why don't you hand that to me, boy?" he demanded, beginning to walk closer to the twelve-year-old.
Goku just stared at him. "But... what do you want it for?" he asked.
"I don't need any sass!" the man barked. "Just do as I say! Give me that ball right now."
"Hey!" Kagome yelled angrily, throwing one of her shoes at the blond guy's head. "Just who do you think you are, you creep?!"
The man fell over, his companion gawking at the girl still sitting on the cloud.
"Y-you-!" the blond screamed as he quickly jumped back to his feet and pointed his gun at her instead. "You're going to pay for that, you little bitch!"
The boy frowned, the expression coming dangerously close to a scowl. "You just try it!" he challenged, drawing the attention back to him as he stuck his tongue out at the guy. "You can't make us do anything!"
"Oh, I'll make you alright!" the man growled, reaching for him.
Kagome gave a slight yelp of warning. "Goku, look out!"
Without even flinching, he swung his foot back and kicked the guy away from him. The other gave a snarl and pulled his own gun, the girl having gone strangely silent even as bullets started to fly. Goku just dodged them, darting out of the way of a few shots before leaping into the air and giving a "Hyaah!" as he landed and punched the wolf over and over again more times than the eye could follow. With both of them out, he frowned and looked back down at the ball that he had acquired. "Well, this isn't my grandpa's ball - but I'm only one star off," he sighed to himself.
Nimbus came down next to him and he blinked before refocussing his attention on his companion. She was just staring at him with this really weird, dazed expression on her face - almost like she was seeing something else when she looked at him. For some reason, he felt a little uncomfortable under the weight of her stare. It was like she was peeking into his soul.
He tilted his head to one side, his brow furrowing in concern. "Kagome?"
She jolted out of it and gave him a slightly awkward smile. "It's nothing. Come on, let's get going before any reinforcements show up."
The boy grinned and nodded, hopping up beside her on the cloud after grabbing her shoe for her. "I just know the next one's going to be my grandpa's!" he laughed as they took off into the sky. He still had no idea what she had been looking at earlier, but he was glad that it was over now.
She just nodded in agreement, staying quiet for another few minutes as they traveled. Right when he was about to break the silence himself, she spoke up. "I'm twenty."
He gaped at her, not really sure where that had come from - and he was kind of surprised that she was that old, too. She looked closer to Bulma's age, he'd thought. Did this mean that she was actually an adult?
She just gave him another smile and settled in more comfortably.
xxxx
Kagome was glad that she had done what she'd wanted to earlier. It had been a nerve-wracking thing, talking herself up to it, but seeing that golden shine to his aura while he was fighting had just seemed to sweep all of her concerns away if only for a few minutes. This was the lightest that she had felt in... Well, in five years. It would still be a little less than three weeks before she was back up to even halfway, but she felt good.
She heard the whistling sound before she saw the missile, but her eyes went wide and she grabbed the boy quickly the moment it was in sight. They were both thrown away from the Nimbus bodily, falling way too quickly towards the pain awaiting them below - and again, she couldn't do a damn thing about it but hold onto the boy tighter and pray.
The priestess had no idea when their positions had switched, but when she opened her eyes it was to find that they were on the ground, in one piece, and that Goku was the one holding her up. Bridal style. She twitched and immediately squirmed out of his arms, uttering a low curse.
Geez, she just couldn't win for losing with this kid. Ten out of ten, he would always come to the rescue and do something impossible.
Well, impossible for a human.
"You again!" the redhead that had shot them down snarled.
The boy looked like he was about to start hyperventilating. "You blew up my Nimbus!"
"Pity," the man sneered sarcastically as he dropped his weapon. "It looks like you've lost your ride. There won't be any getting away this time!"
Goku just stared up at the dispersing cloud, a horrified expression of grief on his face.
Kagome winced, feeling her own heart break a little bit in her chest as she placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Nimbus..." the boy murmured sadly. Finally, he turned on the redhead with a rather animalistic growl. "You! What did you do to my Nimbus?! That was a gift to me from my teacher Master Roshi! Why did you do that?!"
"I'll ask the questions here," the man scoffed. "Now tell me, what do you want with the dragon ball? And how did you managed to find so easily what my entire army could not?"
Goku glared at him wordlessly.
"Allow me to venture a guess," the soldier continued haughtily. "Could it be that you have something more sophisticated?"
Kagome decided that this had gone on for long enough. "Allow me to venture a guess," she parroted mockingly as she took a step forward. "You've got an inferiority complex and you get off on beating up those smaller and weaker than yourself because you're compensating for something?"
The man's eyes went wide, his nostrils beginning to flare in outrage. "You-!"
"Say you're sorry," the boy interrupted. "Say you're sorry for blowing up Nimbus."
The redhead just scoffed and continued trying to interrogate him.
Goku stuck his tongue out at the man and grabbed the priestess's hand. "I'm not telling you anything until you apologize! We're leaving."
She was pretty sure that they wouldn't be allowed to, but she walked when the boy did. She trusted him, so if he was confident enough to turn his back on this guy... Well, she just hoped that he could back it up.
He could, she found out very shortly. The soldier tried attacking them, first throwing punches at Goku who immediately blocked them without so much as reacting, and then getting frustrated enough after he'd gotten kicked to try and take a swing at her. Her pint-sized guardian didn't like that very much, to put it mildly.
He whipped the man in the face with his tail.
"He won't bother us anymore," he grinned up at her.
Once more, Kagome felt like she was getting yet another reminder not to underestimate her new friend. He was small, yes, but he packed a wallop.
She was going to have to ask what had happened with Suzumiya after she'd passed out someday, now that she thought of it. That was one feathery bastard who could use getting put in his place.
The two ended up inside the strange dome-shaped building, looking for something that Goku called 'capsules'. She didn't understand what that was supposed to be... but felt like she'd taken a step into the Twilight Zone when a snarky robot came out of one, then a plane. By the time she processed what was going on, they'd already taken off again.
This world was so freaking weird.
xxxx
Edit: 7/01/16