Finally! An update! It's been so long I'll bet no one remembers this story, sigh.
Disclaimer: I claim nothing but the insanity that drives the wheel of my creativity.
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Toe the Line
By Phoenix Cubed
Chapter 3: On Our Own
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"Bye Kagome, see you in a few days! And you be nice to her, Inu Yasha!"
"Uh…bye?" Kagome said, dipping her fingers in a confused wave of goodbye. She watched as the majority of her friends practically tore down the trail leading to Mimisenri at top speed, leaving her and a very confused half-demon in their dusty wake.
"What do you suppose that was about?" Kagome asked.
"No idea," answered Inu Yasha, equally befuddled. He stared after his companions' rapidly retreating figures and sighed in resignation. "There's no helping it, I guess. C'mon, Kagome. The sooner we get that shard, the sooner we can catch up to them—I have a feeling Miroku's up to something."
"Poor Sango," Kagome said, hefting her pack. "You think she'll be all right?"
"She's a big girl with a bigger boomerang," Inu Yasha replied, "She'll be fine."
Inu Yasha turned from the settling dust of his departed friends to start down the trail Kagome had indicated. Though his back was to her, his sensitive ears told him well enough that Kagome was keeping a sedate pace behind him, probably still contemplating whatever half-baked scheme had managed to mix itself in Miroku's mind this time.
Knowing that her quiet meditation would not last, Inu Yasha took advantage of the silent moment to take in and judge his surroundings, wanting to know the level of immediate danger and how soon its inevitable heightening would come.
The road led deep into a glaive of trees that Inu Yasha estimated would grow thicker very soon; possibly consuming the trail they now walked on. The path itself was cracked, hard-packed clay depressed into the ground in such a way that made Inu Yasha think at one point the road might have been a streambed—or could still be further up the way. That thought disturbed the half-demon and he raised his nose to the air and took in a suspicious breath; but all the wind could tell him was that somewhere up ahead there was water; as old and stale and unmoving as the forest they were walking further into. The rich plains that had accompanied them all morning had withered into dead earth, and now it was that walking kicked up more dust than dead grass. Inu Yasha figured by the feel of the dry soil beneath his calloused bare feet and the look of the roots crawling from the ground that the land had once upon a greener era been a High Marsh—a place where greater demons were proud to inhabit. But time and humans had redirected the water supply and the glade had dried out. Lack of water had drained all but the strongest and most bitter life from the trees and earth; no doubt the place had become a good breeding ground for petty demons and the like.
"Oi, Kagome," Inu Yasha slowed his pace enough so that Kagome walked comfortably beside him, "which way?"
"Hm," Kagome's eyes lost their focus for a step or two as she felt along the invisible strings that all the Shikon shards seemed to possess. "It's a ways down the trail, I think, but it's hard to tell for some reason."
"Like it's moving?" Asked Inu Yasha; he carefully monitoring the girl as she applied her unique skills. Kagome was still walking, and it most likely be a sit or two for him if he let her grind her own face into the dirt should she trip and fall while concentrating.
Kagome thought about Inu Yasha's suggestion before she shook her head, "no, not like the shard's moving. The location's just…vague. I don't know how to describe it; all I can say is that it's in that direction."
Inu Yasha couldn't suppress the sudden apprehension that swept over him upon seeing Kagome point in the direction that lead deeper into the forest. Demonic survival instincts told him well enough that smart creatures who valued their lives avoided that area.
His amber his darkened with irritation and his ears cocked back as he snorted his opinion of Kagome's news. "Fucking great," he snarled, "one wild goose chase after another. Remind me to squash that sorry excuse for a flea when I see him again."
"Really, Inu Yasha," Kagome admonished, stepping out at a normal walk again. "It's not like he put it out here."
"No, but he's the one who led us all the way out to the middle of nowhere. And then Miroku gets that bright idea to split us up. I think I'll give that lecherous monk a piece of my mind when I see him next, too."
Kagome eyed her friend carefully as Inu Yasha cracked his claws before placing them over Tetsusaiga in a ready position. His eyes darted about as much as his ears flickered, and though he marched steadily in front of her, his feet were never more than a few steps from hers. It suddenly occurred to Kagome that the two of them were walking into a very dangerous situation. Inu Yasha was much more sensitive to the signs of the wild than she; and if he was this antsy so early in the pursuit, Kagome couldn't help but wonder if it had been such a good idea to break into two different groups after all.
"Do you think we should go back for the others?" Kagome ventured nervously, unconsciously picking up on Inu Yasha's tenseness and reflecting it through her words; "We might need their help, I think."
"Keh!"
Inu Yasha voiced his opinion on Kagome's latest waste of breath, causing Kagome sigh and walk on, but more quietly than before. If Inu Yasha had been entertaining thoughts of turning back before, they'd be long gone by now; violently chasing away Kagome's insinuation that the almighty Inu Yasha might require assistance.
"Need help? Ha!" Inu Yasha turned to glare at the girl walking just behind him, "that'll be the day."
But Inu Yasha saw the shadows of doubt and misgiving in Kagome's eyes, and his mind immediately began to curse. Kagome may not have been as good at reading the wind like he was, but she was certainly more sensitive to the auras of those close to her. Odds were that Kagome had picked up on his edginess and was expounding on the feelings he could not adequately express. Inu Yasha needed to calm both of them down very quickly. If Kagome panicked, she'd probably start crying, then he'd panic, and then most likely whatever was provoking his fighting instincts would come out; and then they'd be screwed because he'd be too busy trying to get her to stop crying to protect them. And then he'd spend the rest of his life cursing himself for not going back for help because he was a prideful bastard who didn't believe in the art of ego culling. But because there was no way in Hell he was going to ask for assistance, even from friends, he was going to have to say something real quick to ease the rising atmosphere of fear or risk the aforementioned consequences.
Well, when in doubt, be truthful.
"Anyway, we don't need them. There ain't nothin' ahead of us that you and I can't handle together."
"Really?" Kagome asked, her voice taking on the strange timbre that only a teen girl could achieve in a moment of joy. Suddenly nervous, Inu Yasha looked over to see Kagome staring at him, star struck. Her eyes sparkled with happiness and her hands were clasped in front of her as the air about her dazzled with light and stars. "You mean that, Inu Yasha?"
"Uh…" Well, apparently what he had said worked; Kagome had gone from squeaking to squealing, so why not? "Sure."
"All right then!" All traces of apprehension gone, Kagome clapped her hands in front of her, a determined gesture that matched the excited look splashed across her face. "It's just you and me together from here on out! We'll get that shard, no problem! Right, Inu Yasha?"
Smiling at Kagome's contagious enthusiasm, Inu Yasha gave a firm nod of his head, "right."
"Then let's go!" Laughing, Kagome picked up her feet and ran forward at pace belying her earlier fatigue, quickly leaving an amused Inu Yasha in her dust.
Amazed at her change from quiet and nervous back to the confident, unbreakable spirit he was used to, Inu Yasha watched the would-be priestess charge down the trail; ready and willing to take on anything life could throw at her.
It was then he realized that the forest didn't seem so dark and lifeless to his searching eyes, and the wind less cold and stagnate to his sensitive nose. His words might have been meant to ease Kagome's fear about their reduced strength, but they had come back in the Karma three fold to give him a strength that he knew only possible in her presence.
One of these days, he was going to figure out how she did it.
"Hurry up, Inu Yasha!"
Realizing that he was fast getting left behind, Inu Yasha shook his head in wonderment and began jogging to catch up to the spirited girl.
"Wait up, Kagome!"
******
"All right, Miroku; let go of my arm and tell me what you think you're doing! Leaving Kagome and Inu Yasha alone with a shard to find!"
It was a brief time and an extensive amount of miles later that Miroku finally let up the pace of retreat; allowing his ushered companions take a breather as he peered cautiously over his shoulder. When he saw no signs of an angry and indignant half-demon following after them, he let out a sigh of relief and a triumphant smile passed across his features. Still grinning like a pleased Cheshire, he turned to address a very irate demon exterminator, releasing her arm and extending a profuse and mannered apology.
Witnessing the monk's mischief tempered expression and actions, Sango's irritation transformed into wariness; and out of fully justified habit, the huntress reached back to grip her oversized weapon.
"Miroku," she started, "I'm warning you…"
"My dear lady," Miroku eased his smile and held up his hands in a calming gesture. "You have nothing to fear from me, for at the moment I have only just and selfless motivations."
"Really," Sango replied, her hand not moving from Hiraikotsu.
"If you would allow me to explain," Miroku requested, gesturing formally at his comrade, "let us walk and talk."
Compliant but still on guard, Sango joined the monk on the little used trail, a dozing Myouga and Kirara perched on her shoulder and Shippo walking between the two humans.
"All right," she said, "explain."
"You might have noticed," Miroku began, "but Inu Yasha's been a little tense as of late."
"I noticed!" Shippo called from the ground.
"Yes, thank you, Shippo." Miroku smiled down at the kit, and upon seeing that Shippo had finished his previous sucker, the monk withdrew from his robes yet another and handed it to the all-too-willing kitsune. "Now, while the Inu Yasha we know and love has always been somewhat ill-tempered, his behavior since Mount Hakurei and the incident with Kagome and the Naraku-child*** has been bordering on the edge of migraine-inducing."
"Well that's hardly his fault, now is it?" Sango replied, "what with all that's been happening lately. Those seven warriors Naraku resurrected certainly got the best of us; and even after all that fighting all we have to show for it is a stronger Naraku, a dead Kikyo, and that terrible infant who's managed to trick Inu Yasha with his feelings for Kikyo and almost kidnap Kagome." Sango shuddered, "that child did and said some awful things to Inu Yasha and made an already difficult situation worse; no wonder he's so stressed."
"Exactly." Miroku agreed. "That is exactly Inu Yasha's problem."
Sango blinked, "what?"
"The situation with the child was indeed a great cause for distress, but only because his actions were possible only by Inu Yasha's weakness for Kikyo." Miroku had slowed his walk to a measured crawl with his eyes closed and his hands and staff posed in a reverent position. "Remember what the infant said, 'Kagome will always be vulnerable as long as you cannot give up your feelings over Kikyo.' We nearly lost Kagome that day because Inu Yasha was so easily distracted, and by mere rumors."
"He couldn't have just ignored them," Sango frowned, trying to understand what her companion was getting at.
"Perhaps," Miroku agreed, "but perhaps not. After all, Kikyo may have been, once upon a time, the focus of Inu Yasha's life; but that was then, and this is a now in which we have more important matters to attend to than humoring puppy love. Events like that with the child force Inu Yasha to see the importance between then and now as well as make him realize that he cannot have both the past and present. He may have loved Kikyo, but he loves Kagome."
"If that's true," Shippo groused from his child-centered viewpoint, "why doesn't he just stay with Kagome then?"
"Because," Miroku replied, never wavering from his meditative stance, "he can't."
******
"Eww!"
Kagome watched as a particularly large gas bubble work its way up from the steaming mud pit and expunged into the air brackish mud and sulfur gas. The smell it exuded was nauseating, causing Kagome to put a hand over her nose and try hard to walk as far away from the burbling mud bog as she could. That was difficult, however, considering that the only remotely solid terrain to walk on that Inu Yasha could pick out ran right between the steep banks of the geyser pools.
"That's the fifth time you've said that." Inu Yasha muttered, irritated. "They're not getting any prettier 'til we get out of the bog, so just get used to it, already!"
"But it's disgusting!"
"So is your whining!"
"Ugh!" The guttural protest came out at a somewhat less condescending nasal tenor as Kagome once more protested their current condition around shallow breathing and a plugged nose. "Are you sure this is the only way through?"
Inu Yasha broke off a low hanging tree branch that had caught in his hair and tossed it aside. The dead wood went sliding down the steep mud bank to be sucked up by the hot, boiling mud. "Will you stop complaining already? If there were another path we'd take it. But since I can't find any other trails leading in the direction you're pointing out, by the way—put up with it."
Kagome huffed at her companion's blunt rejection, "this stinks."
Inu Yasha slid his head sideways and gave her an obvious look, but said little otherwise. Feeling somewhat petulant about the situation being partly her fault and partly worse off for Inu Yasha despite the amount of suffering she was partaking in, Kagome gave a prim "humph!" and tossed her head. The effect was very much lost, however, behind the hand covering her nose, which she adamantly refused to move. Breathing the air through her mouth was bad enough. A full olfactory assault would be unbearable.
The air had been at least tolerable just an hour ago when they had first begun to notice the ground beneath them growing soft. But soft had quickly degraded into sticky mud, and from there Kagome and Inu Yasha were lucky to find a patch of gelatin-firm ground as opposed to the veritable soup that transformed a once dry and dusky forest husk into a stinking sulfur bog. Huge sulfur pockets gassed from the ground and created areas of boiling mud on either side of the moist path they traveled. The tremors from the vents upset underwater springs and sent the cold liquid churning to the surface and adding to the broth until a steaming, writhing swamp had risen from the mix. All in all, it was not one of Kagome's fondest sensory experiences.
But if Kagome was protesting, Inu Yasha was ranting. The demi-human's ears seemed permanently sewed against his head and his brows had fallen forward into a dark scowl. Every so often the half-demon would let loose a snort and a curse that Kagome dared not repeat. Soon though, she was going to start matching him cuss for cuss if he didn't settle down. The quality of Inu Yasha's company was never questioned in Kagome's eyes, but the content of it often was. Inu Yasha in discomfort if not in battle was surly at best and downright intolerable on average. At worst it usually came to a verbal sparring match, a heartfelt 'sit' or six, and an extended stay in her own time courtesy the magic well.
Unfortunately, for the time being that option had been suspended. Kagome was very much stuck where she was until they found the shard or the rest of their company. Though by the way Miroku had shot off, it seemed that shard hunting was really the only option. So it was time to find a way to soothe Inu Yasha's poor abused nose and generate a suitable distraction to take his mind off his favorite pastime of nonsensical rants and blustering. The only problem being what in the middle of a stinking festering bog could possibly divert a determined-to-scowl dog-demon's attention? Conversation seemed very much out of the question; she had already exhausted the possibility of asking how much longer it would be until they'd be free of the smelly ground. Inu Yasha had given the curt reply of "however long it takes, now hurry up," and proceeded to return to his self-gratifying grumbling. And mentioning their friends only set the demi-human off further with mutters of what exactly was going to be done to Myouga once Inu Yasha caught up to him for sending them on a shard hunt not even Naraku would bother with. All in all, each attempt so far had ended in dismal failure, giving Kagome no choice but to trail along behind her friend; half her attention on where he was stepping and the other listening with frustrated ears to his constant barrage of colorful metaphors.
So busy watching Inu Yasha's bare souls stumping down the muddy trail while trying to think of a good conversation starter that wouldn't lead to yet another tirade, Kagome failed to watch where she was putting her own feet. It had been hazardous traveling even while carefully picking her path, and her momentary distraction proved her downfall.
Her school issue loafers, though comfortable for long treks over even ground, were little good in the area of traction and gave her no support to right herself when the embankment beneath her gave way and sloughed into the burbling mud pit that she walked beside. Kagome let loose a surprised outcry as she felt her world radically tip; and before she knew it, she and her momentous pack were sliding down the steep bank. The schoolgirl tossed aside her bow and quiver and made a reach for a nearby branch, but the brittle wood snapped like burnt timber beneath the weight of her and the added pounds of her backpack, dooming her to slide down the small cliff and into the hot bog.
"Kagome!" Inu Yasha's surprised face peered over the rim of the bank and he flung his arm out to snag her hand before she fell too far. But Kagome's struggles had caked her in slick mud and his grip wasn't firm enough to keep hold of her.
"Inu Yasha!" She cried as her hand slipped from his and gravity began its work.
Kagome grunted as sharp rocks in the mud cut into her hands and knees as she struggled against her decent. But it was to no avail and she let out a sharp hiss as her legs splashed into the steaming mud and immediately began to sink further in. The fen ponds had looked shallow, but her feet's lack of ability to feel ground made Kagome nervous.
The mud belched and gurgled as it caught her backpack and the sinking process quickened its pace, causing Kagome to sigh in frustration. "I should have given Sango my pack."
"You think?" Inu Yasha's irate voice sounded above her. Kagome looked up to see Inu Yasha posing just above her and halfway down the bank side, gripping hard the transformed Tetsusaiga while straining to reach her. "Hurry up and give me your hand, stupid! Or do you want to become a clay pot?"
"Only you could get away with insulting who you're saving," she groused at him, letting her annoyance at him distract her from the steady burning sensation that resided in her lower half. She stretched out her arm and raised her hand to his, but inches from touching it stopped short. "You have to get closer!"
"I can't go any further down without falling in myself, and that wouldn't do either of us a whole lot of good, now would it?" Inu Yasha glared at the girl, "now give me your hand!"
"But I can't reach!"
"Of course you can," huffed the half-demon, "just stretch!"
Kagome stretched, straining every tendon and muscle and willing herself to be just a bit longer. But as she did so she felt a heavy counterweight press against her shoulders to thwart her attempts and hold her back. The straps of her backpack kept her shoulders still and even pulled her further into the bog as her straining shifted the pack's balance and allowed the mud to find better purchase and suck it in deeper.
Inu Yasha saw what was happening and immediately had to fight down the bout of panic that sent his stomach lurching. "Dump your bag!" He commanded, "It's holding you down."
"No!" Kagome looked scandalized by the suggestion, "it has all my stuff!"
"The mud's gonna have you in a moment if you don't let go of it! Lose the damn thing and grab my hand!"
Kagome felt herself go under another inch, but that had little effect on her resolve. It was just mud that she was stuck in, after all. Inu Yasha could slide down the bank and pluck her and the bag out. She had no intention of just giving up the few things that made the Past truly bearable over such a silly situation. Inu Yasha had to understand that!
"I'll lose the ramen if I let go!"
Inu Yasha froze for the briefest of time as a brief flight of agonized indecision crossed the demi-human's face. Then a sulfur pocket exploded and sent a wave of hot mud to splatter against his cheek and bring Kagome down another inch. Figthing back the urge to cry, he forced out in a pained voice, "we can get more! Now lose it and give me your damn hand!"
"But—"
"Kagome, please."
That did it. Inu Yasha refusing to enter the mud but willing to give up ramen made Kagome realize that her predicament might be more serious than she thought. With a short sigh of frustration she slipped her arms from her straps. Using the now doomed pack as leverage she hoisted herself up enough so that Inu Yasha was able to get a strong grip around her wrist. The mud protested as Kagome was forcibly pulled from the bog and onto Inu Yasha's shoulder.
Inu Yasha caught his breath as he watched the thick liquid gurgle and bubble around her pack as it sank beneath the surface, inciting a forlorn whimper from the girl as she watched it disappear.
"My study guides for Tuesday's test were in there."
Inu Yasha bit back a snarling retort about her thrice-damned tests that always took precedence over him and his ramen; instead working to dig his feet into the slick sides of the steep bank and swing himself back to somewhat firmer ground. Tetsusaiga slid from its burrowed hitch and followed its wielder in a wide arc away from the mud pit and back onto the remnants of the path the two travelers had been trying to follow. Tired, filthy, and more than a little grumpy; Kagome and Inu Yasha rested on trunk of a felled tree to catch their breath.
"Idiot," Inu Yasha spoke, carefully turning her around to inspect her legs, "I thought you could at least walk a straight line."
"I was walking straight," Kagome retorted, crossing her arms with a huff. "It was the shore that was crooked." But she smiled at him, knowing there was no bite to his bark, and his remark was more to hide his concern than to alleviate his anger. "Thanks, though."
The demi-human grunted and scraped off a bit of mud from her shin. The skin beneath was a shade of pink that caused him to frown and hover a hand just beyond touching. "How do you feel?"
"Fine. It was more a shock than anything else."
Inu Yasha didn't look convinced though, and his frown deepened when Kagome winced heavily when she stood and made her way to her bow and quiver, which had miraculously not fallen into the mud with her. The half-demon watched her for a minute then sighed and bent down, "climb on, then. We'll get nowhere like this and it's gonna be dark soon. I don't want to still be in this shit without being able to see well."
Seeing no other alternatives, Kagome nodded and scrambled awkwardly onto Inu Yasha's back, gripping his sides with her knees and steadying herself with her hands on his shoulders. Once safely on, Inu Yasha hooked his arms under her legs to secure her, "ready?"
"Hm," she affirmed, securing her weapons to her back.
"Let's go then. The sooner we get that shard, the sooner we can restock the ramen."
"And replace my study guide."
"And then dump it back in the mud."
"Inu Yasha!"
"Keh." And with that witty rejoinder, Inu Yasha flexed his knees and sent them bounding off deeper into the bog. If they had any luck, though, they'd clear it by sunset and be on firm ground for the night.
If they had any luck.
If.
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***: This scene in the manga has been roughly adapted by me to fit my purposes. While the general theme is there, the words are not exact.
Well that was a fun little chapter that I've rewritten enough times for it to be declared legally mutilated. - . -;; This whole try to give enough information without becoming a parrot or losing your readers thing is a mite difficult. Tell me if I did a good job, though. Review! Please?
