In Time, Death
By Alesyira
Summary: Watch out for the thorns!
Thicket
- 1660 -
"It's somewhere in that direction," Kagome said, waving uselessly at the edge of a nearby forest protected by densely-packed underbrush. The two of them paced the length of the area, looking for an easier way through the thorny obstacles growing in every direction.
"Well, this one seems more out of the way than I'd expected…" Koenma trailed off, peering into the shadowy forest with a vague look of irritation.
Kagome arched an eyebrow. "Why do you say that? Is this one of the worse locations?"
He nodded, looking back at her. "I'm really confused how this spot could possibly have an increasing number of people dying."
Kagome shrugged. "We got some pretty solid clues from the human settlement near the last one. Maybe we can try that again?"
He nodded in agreement, and they left the forest behind in search of any sign of habitation.
Kagome considered it exceptionally good luck that they found a path after only twenty minutes of walking. Another fifteen brought them to a dirt road with occasional ruts worn from carts, and soon they found a little tea house catering to travelers.
After they'd sat down to enjoy cups of tea, the owner was quick to tell them about the rumors of treasure in the nearby forest. Young adventurers from all over had been coming through their land seeking fame and fortune. They'd all heard stories and had gone in search of whatever might be there, but the only ones that had returned were the few that had been discouraged by the excessive underbrush guarding the hidden depths of the forest.
The stories about the treasure and its related disappearances had grown and spread, and it seemed like the more people that vanished, the more the treasure must be worth. The owner shook his head with a laugh, muttering about young people's ridiculous dreams of escaping their reality of hard work with a quick win, and then gave them dire warnings about what they might find if they went in search of the same.
Koenma and Kagome exchanged a glance.
He thanked the owner for the information as they finished their tea and set back out for their problem spot.
As they neared the end of the hike back to the thicket, Kagome wiped the sweat from her forehead and gave Koenma a look of mild irritation. "So, tell me why we are coming to these places from the mortal side of things? Wouldn't it save time to step out in the Makai, instead?"
Koenma's mouth fell open. "Would you like to land right in the thick of things?"
Kagome pursed her lips, seriously considering it.
He laughed. "Okay, warrior princess. Let's just continue doing things from the safe side until it doesn't work out in our favor anymore."
An hour later, Koenma was eating his words as he plucked another thorn out of his pants. "This is awful. How can anyone think this much trouble is worth some potentially fictitious treasure?"
Kagome shrugged. "If you hear a story enough times, it starts to seem true. I'm sure enough people thought there had to be some grain of truth behind the tale, and sometimes that's all you need to spur unhappy people into action." She brushed a prickly vine from her sleeve. "And in all the best adventure stories, the heroes have to travel through the worst obstacles before they find the treasure or person they're rescuing."
Koenma sighed and swung his short blade through another chunk of foliage. "Are we there yet?" he grumbled under his breath.
She chuckled and closed her eyes, feeling for the chill of the nearby breach. "Almost. It's very close."
He grunted with irritation as he slashed through another clump of vines. "This stuff must grow incredibly fast if people are coming through here as often as I think they are."
She nodded in agreement, looking around at the oppressive growth. She couldn't imagine ever having such a desperate need for change that she'd risk this kind of adventure on a rumor.
She thought about it for a moment longer and then shook her head with a chuckle. How many times had she and her friends struggled through some awful messes just because of a rumor?
A hint of a jewel shard in that direction?
Sure, let's just meander through the swamp and hope we don't get eaten by a monster.
"Are you laughing?" he grouched.
"Yeah," she admitted. "Just a little. I realized I've done idiotic stuff like this a few times in the past."
"Never a dull moment," he muttered.
"Here," she said suddenly. "It's over here."
He stopped and turned back to weave toward her, and she pointed to the side. Just off the path he'd been cutting, there was a barely visible patch of sunlight sneaking through the canopy of leaves overhead. They pulled and tugged, slashed and yanked vines aside until they could step into the tiny glade with a breath of relief.
"It's right here," she murmured, looking down at the forest floor. There was a conspicuous gleam of shining metal amongst the moss and roots of a nearby tree. She laughed a little, pointing to the sparkle. "The breach is right over those."
"So, humans travel deep into the woods, looking for treasure, find signs of it, and…" he walked forward to pick up the sparkling bits and vanished from sight.
She sighed and said aloud to herself, "…and then fall right into the trap."
She quickly grabbed a fallen branch and nudged the bits of metal toward her. If she collected the visual lures, hopefully it would cut down on the number of people falling through. She looked around for any she had missed, then stepped through the breach to find Koenma waiting for her on the other side. She showed him what she'd picked up.
"Gold and silver coins," he muttered, "but not from anywhere around here." He brushed the dirt from one of the shining faces. "I wonder if they were left there on purpose."
She glanced around at where they stood. The foliage in the Makai was noticeably more lush and colorful, sparkling with vitality. She relaxed marginally in the serene feeling that enveloped the area before forcing herself to be on guard. Something in or near this place had been killing the mortals that stumbled through the weakness in the divide, and after seeing coins left behind in such a precise spot, she wondered if the sense of serenity might be part of the lure.
Koenma stooped to gather his stones as she looked around them with cautious curiosity. The underbrush was much less oppressive here, but thick vines looped along and between tree trunks nearby. She frowned a little, wondering why they seemed so out of place. She turned and glanced elsewhere around the surrounding forest and realized the vines were nowhere else to be seen, only in that one direction.
Almost like some kind of… wall.
A wall with flowering plants creeping up in sections, overgrown with odd foliage that didn't seem to belong at all.
A garden of oddities.
If she were some adventuring human looking for treasures hidden deep in the forest, she'd probably head that direction. A flower unfolded near what seemed to be some kind of entrance, catching her attention with luscious pink petals. After a moment, she realized the flower had sprouted from the empty eye socket of a yellowing human skull.
"Alright, I need some of your magic, now," Koenma said, dragging her attention away from the suspicious plants. She touched each rock he held out for her with a distracted air, her focus returning to the most obvious danger nearby.
She wasn't sure if the plants were the culprit behind all the deaths, but she didn't want to get caught unawares by a creeping vine heading for their ankles or projectile thorns being shot from an aggressive sentient plant.
In hundreds of years, her magic would be much less appreciated by the Makai foliage, but only ten years after the split they seemed to brighten and sparkle at the extra energy leaking from her fingertips.
Something nearby woke up.
Kagome stilled after touching the last of Koenma's rocks, feeling something intangible sliding in their direction.
It was warm, pleasant, and welcoming.
She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. It wouldn't be the first time something dangerous had played itself off as being harmless and sweet. She took a step backwards, placing her hand on Koenma's upper arm in case she needed to get them out of there in a hurry.
After a moment, her eyes widened in realization while her brain scrambled to make sense of what she'd felt. Holy holy holy crap crap crap, she thought, quickly backing away from the tingling magic stealing over her senses.
Come closer, something tantalizing whispered softly along her skin.
"We need to go away. Now." Her magic flared around her, sizzling along her skin in a rush of pink illumination. She wasn't going to risk a blackout session from a 'friendly' nudge of suggestion magic.
Koenma looked up from his spelled rocks. "What's wrong?"
"Uh…" she trailed off somewhat uselessly. A flush had crept up her cheeks and she shivered. The taste of this magic—his magic—was just barely noticeable, but it was very recognizable now, thanks to a shared memory and a somewhat recent encounter. She couldn't tell if the owner of said magic was nearby, but she really didn't want to find out.
She had no idea why he'd been so interested in her to begin with, or if his interest and persistence had been somehow present prior to their meeting in the Makai. She swallowed nervously. "It's not safe," she explained in a hurry, unable (and unwilling) to say much more.
"More monsters wanting to eat us?" He tossed a dozen of his spells around the area.
Kagome choked on a slightly hysteric laugh. "Probably not that, but anyways, let's go."
"Do we need to backtrack again to save some mortals?" he asked, watching her with some amusement and a little curious about what had spooked her.
She shook her head quickly as she tugged him back through the breach into the tiny glade they'd found. "No. If humans have been pressing so far through that mess to get here, then they're looking for the trouble that this place might bring. We have the lure, so we've done what we can."
Koenma shrugged and scattered more of his little stones in all directions around the thicket before pocketing the last three.