A being in a baboon skin glared hatefully at the dead Dog before him.
"Cur. He was housing my precious Moth." it whispered venomously.
Spider was a capricious man. When he owned something, he would squeeze it and toy with it and throw it away.
But he was also a possessive man... none of his toys could ever be permitted to leave him. Especially not this one.
6 and a half months it had been. Ages since he last had her. He did not regret having given her the potion. He could not regret. Except...
He almost regretted that he had been foolish enough to let her slip away. b He had been indulging one of her whims, and she had used his weakness to her advantage.
Spider would have been proud of his pet, if she hadn't used the trick on him. But he knew now, he knew that he could not trust her not to destroy him.
So, instead of seeking her himself, he sent many of his puppets to scour the earth in large groups. They were meticulous and mindless, perfect for the job.
And now, finally, one of them had a lead, in the form of the Dog Demon who had fallen on his sword out of misery and despair.
Of course, Spider knew the only thing that could have fended off that despair for so long.
The Dog's territory was relatively close to his own... It would have been easy for the Dog to see his Moth.
Spider could almost see her coming to him, pleading for refuge.
But that begged the question- Where would she turn next?
Perhaps another of her foolish friends. The Taijya, her Daemon, and the Monk were dead, sucked into his windhole.
The Half-breed had gone to hell with his Clay-pot miko.
And the Kit... Well, the Kit couldn't be a problem. Spider recognized that with a malicious sort of glee.
He had dealt with the Kit a long time ago.
She had met many in her travels with the Half-Breed, Spider knew. She had learned much, and made many friends.
Friends who would be willing to risk their lives to repay debts? Perhaps. One was never sure of such.
Often, a friend who said they would risk their life for you turns away in time of crisis...
And another, who would never have made such a claim, turns out to save you at extreme risk to their own well being.
So all that Spider would need to discern is which of Moth's friends would fall into which categories.
A worthy research topic. He was almost grateful to her, for giving him a chase. Now boredom was not even an option.
The Kugutsu kicked the Dog, and his lifeless form twisted into an awkward and ugly shape.
The puppet wrinkled it's nose in disgust. "Weak, pathetic Dog. You were never as strong as I."
Nay... The dog had been stronger than he. Much stronger.
He had always been concerned that one day afore-mentioned Dog would lead a rebellion. Now he didn't have to worry anymore.
The puppet turned and left the building, and back in his castle Spider smirked.
Ku ku ku ku... He would have her soon.
Moth fled quietly into the darkening dusk. She needed to escape, go somewhere far away, but she didn't know what she was escaping from.
Maybe the tears streaming down her cheeks... The Dog had wanted something of her she could not give.
She would never truly forgive herself for that. He had been so good to her, and when the time had come to return the favor she was unable to do so.
"Moth is selfish AND lost." she whispered to the darkened wood around her, staring darkly into space.
Oh, how good it would be to travel. Like old times...
But it wasn't like old times. Moth was cold, and no one was there. The oldest time she could remember like that wasn't traveling-
It was in the dungeon where Spider had kept her all of those years, locked away from the world. How long had it been? One year? Ten?
Did it even matter?
A soft rustling in the nearby bushes disturbed Kagome's reverie. She went quiet, listening intently for any further sound. Over there, in that far bush...
In her throat, Moth's words had been strong and commanding.
As they traveled their way through her tired form and reached her lips, they came out in a low hiss.
"Show yourself..."
"I-I... I can't believe it," whispered a voice, so familiar, yet so much deeper than she remembered it, "It is you!"
A pair of arms encircled Moth in a tight hug, and a face, now weather worn and beaten by the pain of time, nuzzled into her cheek.
It was that gesture, that same familiar gesture, that opened Moth's eyes.
She knew then, who this stranger with the vivid red hair and the electric green eyes was. It was her Shippo of old, and yet... No, it was not.
She could not explain this, but he evidently did not desire her too.
Moth hugged her little kitsune, now fully grown, and she was contented.
He and she sat down in a nearby clearing, and her old friend busied himself making them a fire by which to warm themselves.
The shadows were growing long, and Moth was painfully glad that he was there with her.
"You go by Kit now?" she asked softly, putting a bit of kindling on the fire. He nodded, running his fingers through his red hair sheepishly.
"I'm a Jack of all Trades these days. Doing whatever I can... And you, you seem to be quite well known nowadays."
The Kit's words were playful and childish, a memory of long ago teasings, but she flinched as though struck and his eyes darkened.
"I'm sorry," he apologized, sitting down beside her. "I am, I really am. That was bad of me."
The Kit stared at her through dark eyes and Moth almost believed him.
"I will forgive you," she murmured softly. "But you must talk to me."
Moth was not used to conversation. Spider had listened to her rant, but that had not been conversation. Her next host had preferred silence above all else.
The Kit seemed to have no such qualms. He talked into the night, sounding so cheerful and peppy that she was amazed.
He had kept himself the same... But he had changed his name, so she was suspicious. Changed names meant it was someone new.
What had he changed?
Who was staring at her through Shippo's twinkling eyes?
The pair of them chattered quietly, until finally Moth yawned.
She wanted so badly to stay awake, but the anticipation of rest was so wonderful to her tired eyes, and surely Kit could watch for her?
He had said he would, after all, right before giving her a small blanket out of his own pack.
Contented, Moth closed her eyes and succumbed to sleep.
"Have you told her, yet?" Spider's voice taunted the Kit quietly as he stared into the crackling flame.
No, of course he hadn't. Why would he? It was so shameful...
"You are going to do your job, yes?" Again, the voice, the hideous voice!
Yes, he was doing his job. He would take her back to the Spider, and get his pay.
But it had been so good to see her. Despite herself, Moth had trusted him so easily...
That trust. He had had that once. He had believed in her. He had believed in them, he had believed they could save the world. Part of him still did.
"She didn't come back for you, did she?" the venomous voice hissed, chuckling. "She didn't even ask me how you were, any of you. She was too caught up in her own pain."
The Kit's eyes darkened. That was true.
She hadn't come back for him.
He had been the last to survive, he had run away like a coward and watched the others fall.
He had been lost, had been hurt and tortured, had been showed that the world wasn't, in fact, beautiful, in the worst ways possible.
That was her fault. So maybe this wasn't just a job for him. Maybe it was more. Maybe he would be happy to see her cry.
But maybe he wouldn't. That didn't matter, though. Shippo would have cared. The Kit couldn't afford to.
He was a Jack of all Trades. All trades including murder, theft, planned entrapments, cruel games to drive enemies mad...
And kidnapping. He was a Master at kidnapping. He was being paid richly for this, for her.
It didn't feel like enough. But revenge would.
It would have to.
The Kit reached out to grab her arms and tie them. Perhaps he grasped her a little too roughly, for Moth awoke.
"K-Kit?" she asked softly as his grip on her arm tightened and his gaze became sneering, disdainful.
"Yes, Moth," he hissed angrily, "That's me, all right. The little kitsune whose life you destroyed all those years ago, when you never came back."
"I couldn't come back," she whispered softly, "Spider locked me away..."
"You should have come back for me!" he hissed angrily, petulant and childish. Shippo had never grown up. Kit had become his mask.
"I couldn't. I tried to ask for you, but Spider wouldn't let me go. I tried to escape, but it was beyond my power. Believe me, Shippo, I wanted to come back."
She reached a trembling hand up to his cheek and he spat at her, grasping that hand and clenching it so tightly that the bones almost broke.
Moth cried out in pain. Somehow, this only furthered his rage.
She scrambled away, jumping to her feet and backing up until she found herself backed against a tree.
He was still there, right there, eyes blazing hellfire. "I hate you." the man who was her Shippo and not exclaimed. "I hate you, Moth. I hate you."
That was it. The beginning, and the end.
In that moment, that hideous moment when the Kit looked at her, eyes a crazed red from empty longing, she had known.
Moth wanted so badly to be his mother again. She wanted to hold him despite his height, love him despite his hatred.
She wanted to show him that despite all of the bitterness, sunlight could still be beautiful.
But no. He would not let her, this mercenary who had once been her son would kill her before he let her love him.
With tears of regret streaming down her cheeks, Moth whispered her last regret.
"My little Shippo-chan, my lost little Shippo-chan... I am so sorry, so very sorry."
Then she turned and ran away. Anywhere would do.
The trees did not love her at all, not even as Spider had. They stared at her, cold and apathetic, tearing through her skin without a hint of remorse.
Somehow, it did not matter.
The little red haired kitsune of old, Kagome's precious little Shippo with the innocent hear was gone, for good.
She had been right. New names meant new identities. It felt like everyone had changed around her, while she was gone.
The Kit would come after her.
Moth did not care.
The Kit stared blearily at Moth's retreating back.
His eyes hardened, and he moved as if to chase her, only to have a tender echo stop his hand and arrest the movement of his feet.
She was sorry.
Moth, whom Spider had sent him to find and capture, who the Kit had been close to killing in his rage, was sorry.
Moth was sorry. That must mean Kagome was sorry too.
Somehow, it was almost enough.
Spider would probably have the Kit killed for his disobedience. Somehow, this did not cause him much grief.
He let the dagger fall from his fingers. He smiled bitterly at the trees swaying before him, tears pouring down his cheeks.
"No. I'm sorry, Mother."