Through A Mirror Darkly


And you will weep
When you face the end alone
You are lost!
You can never go home...

-Gollum's Song, LotR, The Two Towers


Chapter 2- The looking glasS

The wooden floor was hard, and despite a small, firm pillow under her head, Kagome felt stiffness that settled in the muscles of her neck, growing more painful as she began to wind her way up out of dreamy sleep. Clutching a fold of her thin blanket in hand felt comforting, a familiar, sleepy gesture that couldn't quite chase away the sharpening feeling of wrongness in her body. Sore, her eyes opened to slits, and she winced as rolling onto her side forced her muscles to protest at the movement. Her hand gripped the edge of blanket harder as she blinked away any grit in her eyes, hoping the stiffness would not settle into headache.

For a moment, a small, short moment, before her eyes had accustomed to the soft yellow-grey light filtering through the screened door, she had believed she was again in her own time. Not her own future, but her own past. Hard floor, rough blanket, wooden beams overhead, and the faint smell of Kaede-baachan's brazier, producing some breakfast and charred wood smells. But no, this home was somewhat larger, and she should have had her sleeping bag. No partitions sectioned off a little space for her in Kaede's hut, a bit of privacy for sleep, not like they did here.

Had she been at home, or at least in her own past, Kagome may have lay down for another moment, wishing herself a rare, peaceful day, and giving herself just one...or maybe two or three...more minutes with her eyes blissfully closed, skirting the edges of a dreamworld. The thought of returning to her last night's dream, instead, stirred her further, and she sat up, rubbing her eyes and peeling strands of sleep mussed hair from her cheek.

There was no terror in her dreams, nothing to leave her with the after effect of a rapid pulse or a sweaty brow. Instead, she felt slightly cold, as though someone had run a frosted finger down her spine when she was not looking. The dream felt longer than she could remember, mind locking onto the final fragments, when she sat in a dark room and pulled a mask off her face. Turning it over, instead of an image, she found she was holding a mirror with two black holes for eyes, then melting away and flowing through her fingers like water.

Then came the dawn that was brightening the room, and the habit of waking early to grumbled complaints that they were going too slow. This morning, though, dawned silently, though Kagome could faintly hear the sound of shallow breathing across the room. Peering around the screen set up beside her, she saw another futon laid out, the bottom slightly rumpled, rising to a lump of a person whose face she could not see. A second futon had been rolled neatly and placed beside the sleeper, further evidence someone was already up, besides the slightly salty scent of miso soup steaming over the dull fire.

It was Kikyou who had risen, Kagome was sure. The person laying down was too small to be the miko, and being up with the dawn seemed like a trait Kikyou would have, though it was still only a few minutes after. Kagome looked again at the futons on the other side of the room, and hurriedly began to fold hers, stacking it against the partition and rummaging in her bookbag for a brush. Quickly untangling her hair, Kagome stuffed her bare feet into her shoes, shoving her muddied socks further into her bag. They'd need to be bleached to get some of the newly ground in stains out. Static began to build in her hair as she finished combing it, quickly running her hands through her unruly locks to smooth them down.

It was all she needed. Though Kikyou and Kaede had provided some sweet buns and vegetables last night, she was still slightly hungry, wanting the food that had obviously been left out for her and the strangely familiar little girl. Two bowls, enough soup, some rice set to the side with chopsticks beside the brazier. No, she'd pass...a few minutes, she'd be down the well, home, and she could raid the refrigerator. Then she could laugh nervously and feel silly for worrying. After all, her fitful dream didn't come because she was worried that there was something wrong with the well. It was a fluke, a solitary fluke. She'd go through, get some breakfast, start from scratch. Inuyasha would yell at her for being so late, Miroku-sama would roll his eyes at Inuyasha, Sango-chan would shake her head and say hello, Shippou-chan would run over and give her a hug, and the strange nightmare would pass.

She felt sorry that she would be rude enough to disappear, but it was for the best. Just vanish with the dawn, maybe leave them wondering if she was a ghost and not a foreign girl, traveling. Kagome hefted her backpack onto her shoulders, and crept quickly towards the door, poking her head out from the curtain and looking to see if the coast was clear.

Buildings led down the stone cobbles, the house of the two miko sisters set towards the back of the jinja. One building, despite her wish to simply run, caused her to pause as she began to speed down the length of the shrine. A warm, glowing pulse of power, blazing out from the inside of another building. Impulsively, Kagome closed her eyes and reached for the bottle around her neck, home of the few shards she possessed, glad they were quiet, so close to the vicinity of the Shikon no Tama of Kikyou's past. Whole and powerful, still corrupt. Kagome could feel it. The power blossoming outward was warm, but as she stood silently, opening her eyes again and letting them fix on the simple structure, the warmth slowly became stagnant, stifling, though still entrancing.

A bird's trilling call interrupted her thoughts, pulling her away from the thought of looking at the corrupt, whole tama. She was still Kagome, after all. So easy it would be to just walk in there, touch it, and presumably purify it. Was it just habit making her want to do as she always did? Find the shards and purify them? She shook her head, turning away and breaking into a run, heading towards the steps that would carry her past the unscarred Goshinboku tree, into the forest that was not yet Inuyasha's, and to a battered old well that was still ate the bones of the youkai fed to it.

The forest was still lush and green, the difference of fifty years having made changes only in the size of the trees and the locations of the bushes and flowers that proliferated. Wide leaves filtered in sunlight that Kagome paid little attention to, forming shadowy patterns on the ground. This day dawned brighter than the last, though her focus remained on finding the well. Batting aside leafy bracken, she broke though the last of the forest, entering the clearing where the well lay, visible among the height of the growing grasses.

No time to hesitate. She increased her pace, stopping only to look down the well. Vines still hung in place. The darkness of the bottom was barely visible. Everything looked the same. There was no reason the other side would be stopped up. Mama, Jii-chan and Souta were rather unlikely to shove trees down the future side to interfere with her returning.

No reason for it not to work. She tightened her grip on the straps of her bookbag with determination. No reason for it not to work. None.

Home.

Home.

She was going home.

Vaulting over the side of the well, she dropped downward, feeling her hair lift up from her neck as she descended, waiting, falling...

Hitting the packed dirt hard, and feeling the impact through her feet and ankles, hard enough for her to stumble a step forward, catching herself on the stone wall of the well. Moss grew there, and her fingers tangled in ropy, leaf covered vines. She dug her nails into them for a moment, then stepped back, looking up into the patch of cloudless sky above.

"The well can't stop working..." the words fell softly from her lips, and she clutched the bottle with her precious few shikon shards in her fist. "Let me through..." Kagome dropped to her knees, and began scooping away at the dirt. She remembered clearly, the time Inuyasha pushed her through the well and attempted to seal it off from his side. She'd come down the well in her time, sensing the shards that Shippou had brought, and began to dig...eventually, the portal opened, allowing her passage. If it worked before, shouldn't it work again? No, no one on her side interfering with the well. Nothing to dig for, here. No, no, it had to work. It had to open... "Come on...come on," she chanted, scooping away and shoving the soil to her sides. Frustrated, she dug harder, grimacing, then settling back with lumps of overturned earth around her. "There's no reason for you not to work!" she shouted at the well. "Come on, I even have shards with me! Look!"

Hefting the bottle in front of her, she let the glass dangle between her fingers, swinging idly.

In the dimness, nothing glowed back at her.

She'd been carrying an empty bottle.

Slowly, it's swinging stopped, and it remained still in her hands, the chain woven around her wrist.

With infinite care, she unwound the chain, and pulled out the stopper, shaking the bottle into her palm and awaiting for the pieces to fall out. It was dim...she could just be missing them. Sure they glowed, but there weren't any youkai in the area, and there really nothing that said they had to glow all the time. Maybe she just wasn't seeing them in the dark. Still, nothing fell into her hand.

She closed it, setting aside the bottle for a moment and closing her eyes.

She was approximately sometime fifty years further into the past than she should be.

Kikyou was alive.

Kaede was a child.

Inuyasha, presumably, was still somewhere around, though...she bit her lip, shaking her head. He wouldn't know her, if this was fifty years earlier than it should be. No one knew who she was. Who else could possibly be alive here? Kouga? And who knew where, and how far? Again, any allies or friends wouldn't know her, or weren't even born. Miroku-sama and Sango-chan weren't going to be born for decades. Shippou or his family...who knew?

Thus far, Kikyou and Kaede had treated her nicely. Of course they would- she told them she was a miko in training, a traveler. No reason she couldn't stick to that story. Kaede-baachan hadn't known where Tokyo was, and assumed it was her land, without much fuss. Kikyou may be harder, but still, it was unlikely anyone would guess she was from the future. That was the stuff of fantasy and science fiction, impossible, inconceivable in reality.

So, then.

She was alone, though had a decent cover story. She had moderate abilities to survive. The shards she had were gone, possibly due to whatever caused the temporal mishap in the first place. Kagome tried not to laugh and failed, the sound half choked while she fought back tears. 'Mishap' didn't even begin to describe the situation.

Taking a deep breath, she balled her fists up tightly and tried to control herself. This couldn't be permanent. There was no way she would be trapped here forever...if nothing else, she and Kikyou were supposed to share a soul. If Kikyou was alive, then how could their complete soul be in two different bodies in the same era? Maybe that was overly simplistic, but she couldn't be stuck here. There had to be a way home. Click her heels three times, wish hard enough, and before she knew it, she'd be waking up from a nightmare.

If she was going to get home, then she couldn't do it sitting in a well, that was certain. Climb back up. Go where? Back to the shrine...back when it was still lived in, and when it housed the Shikon no Tama. The tama was always at the root of things. That was where she should start, though she shuddered to think of staying there. Staying there...the home of Kikyou and Kaede.

What to tell them?

"Mou, onee-sama, it was rude of her to just leave without saying goodbye or anything," Kaede complained, quickly tying her hair back into a rude knot at the nape of her neck. Kikyou was holding aside the curtain of their doorway, letting the full morning light pour into the room, illuminating the polished floor and making it shine. A pliable leather bag was strapped over Kikyou's shoulder, bulging at some places where the contents protruded, and her quiver of arrows was slung over her back, bow in hand.

Kaede rushed out of the house, and Kikyou released the curtain behind her as they began their walk back to the village. "I imagine she had reasons to leave at dawn. We have no time to worry about it if she's gone. There's work to be done."

"I'm surprised you didn't see her. You were checking on it again this morning, weren't you?" Kaede asked, eyeing her older sister. "I don't like that thing, it's creepy."

"It's far more than creepy," Kikyou grinned faintly, looking down at the girl, whose arms were so stoutly folded. The small smile faded from her lips quickly. It was strange, so many youkai coming together at once, attacking a village. Her village she could understand, and safely protect. But one a few leagues away? It made little sense, and was a puzzle that would have to be sorted out as the day passed, and those who were injured and less afraid began to speak in more coherent terms. She disliked leaving the village in such a state; but it was possible that it was distraction or a roundabout route to get to her precious 'keepsake' in the jinja. If that were not protected, then this attack would seem as nothing. Leave them then, or chance extreme consequences later. From the understanding she gained from yesterday, there had been many lower youkai, acting in unison. Rare, that.

Kaede's voice startled her out of her thoughts, and she followed her sister's astonished gaze. "O...onee-sama!"

Their houseguest from the previous night had returned, and was slowly cresting the steps of the shrine, appearing in the shallow shadow of the torii. The day before she looked distressed, constantly worried, though that was understandable. Today there was a difference, a resolution in her way of walking, as though someone had draped a cloak of lead over her shoulders, and she was determined to carry it, despite its weight. Brows drawn down, lips thin, fists tightly clenching the straps of her bag. Loose dirt was covering her blouse and skirt, as well has clinging to her knees, as though she had tripped and taken a bad spill; but there was no blood as if she had scraped herself. The hypnotic sound of water flowing captured her attention for a moment, cycling through its basin at the entryway to the shrine, flowing softly.

After a moment, she seemed to realize that she'd been spotted, and lifted her head, a weak, uneven smile trying to form. "Ah, ohayo..."

"Ohayo," Kikyou greeted, and tapped Kaede on the shoulder, to keep her from pointing. "Are you all right?"

"I...ah, yes..." the determined look renewed itself, and she looked up, facing the miko and steeling herself. "I was thinking, that at least I would ask. Did you need more help, with your village? There were many injured, and from what I heard from the people, it sounded like there were a lot of lower level youkai fighting when they got there." Kagome took a breath and took up her gamble. "With whatever it is you have in your jinja, with so many youkai around, I thought I'd offer to help."

Kikyou's face remained impassive, though standing next to her Kaede began to shift nervously, wondering what to do. She could feel the air around her begin to tense, like a bowstring carefully being pulled taut, in case of danger. "You sense its presence?"

A slow nod from the stranger. "The tama is corrupt. It will be attracting attention, and with whatever battle happened, it will keep your attention divided until everything settles down."

The tension around Kikyou broke, and Kaede found herself relaxing slightly. Kikyou's next words didn't surprise her greatly. "Very well. Help would be appreciated." Kagome's face visibly showed relief, though there was still a certain wariness about her. "Kaede says you missed breakfast...go eat, quickly." She tilted her head thoughtfully to one side, considering something for a moment. A slightly wan smile drifted across her face for an instant. "The clothing you're wearing needs a good washing. We look about the same height, and if you are also a miko, I see little reason why not to lend you something for a day or two."

Kagome blanched, and waved her hands nervously, shaking her head. "Eh, ah, no, really that's all right, I brought a spare outfit...I always do. I don't need anything, really."

Kikyou's eyebrows lifted, and she shrugged. "If you wish. Kaede, I'll be in the village until you arrive. Stay with her, make sure she..."

"Kagome." Kagome interjected, earning a quick look from the sisters.

Continuing, Kikyou repeated: "Make sure Kagome has what she needs."

"All right..." Kaede agreed, cutting her eyes at Kagome and trying to figure out what it was that suddenly let her onee-sama decide to trust her. She trusted her sister's judgment, but sometimes she could be more cryptic than the girl liked, leaving her to figure things out for herself. It didn't matter. Kikyou was already moving towards the steps, silently passing by their visitor and heading away towards the village. "Ne, Kagome-sama, come on, we don't have a lot of time." Kaede lifted her head up importantly as she turned to head back into the house. "There's work to be done."

Kagome-sama? That, coming from Kaede, was a bit disconcerting, even if it was her as a child. She jogged a couple steps to catch up to the younger girl, hoping that she was doing the right thing. There didn't seem to be any options otherwise. No one alive, or at least, no one who knew her. Or would know her. Or trust her. There were no good choices, but at least here, she was close to the Shikon no Tama, and everything happened because of that dangerous little object. This place would be the epicenter of everything else. Stay close, and something would have to turn up.

Back inside the house, Kaede was starting up the brazier again to reheat breakfast, glancing up as Kagome set down her rucksack and began to rummage, pulling out odds and ends. Books became a pile to one side of her, along with spare batteries, a lantern style flashlight, two boxes of instant ramen, a couple sandwiches and some candy. A frustrated growl brought Kaede's attention away from the warming coals, and she saw Kagome half buried in her bag, shifting around as she shoved things aside.

"Something wrong, Kagome-sama?"

A halfhearted mumble answered her. "I packed it. I'm sure I did. I always do. Why wouldn't I pack a spare?"

"Spare what?"

Resurfacing, Kagome shoved the bag back in disgust. "School uniform. Mou...I always pack a second because this," she gestured to herself, and the stains now running rampant across the cloth, "always seems to happen! I put it on the bottom because it's soft, and won't break like the flashlight or get smashed like the food. I don't get it...I know I packed it!" She dove back into the bag, checking the zipper compartments on happenstance that she'd tucked it somewhere strange.

Kaede, though, was trying to size up the other girl again. Nervous before, sad, weary looking, she now seemed to be fine, rooting through her things the same way Kaede herself would when she was missing something. Though she couldn't recognize half the items the stranger had produced, the actions were the same. Odd.

Cautiously, she set the soup back on the brazier, wondering why. "I'll get you some of onee-sama's clothes then."

Kagome's head snapped up, and the panicked expression suddenly returned, quickly replaced by nervousness. "Ah, no, that's okay, I..." she picked at the fabric of her sleeve, then began to look at her hands. "I..."

"We can wash yours," Kaede assured her, though wasn't sure how sensible the short skirt was anyway. The shoes looked sturdy, but the rest of the outfit looked like weird underwear or something. "But it'll take a few hours for them to dry. If you're going to help, then you can't go around naked."

Lips drawing thin, Kagome looked away. This all felt ridiculous, in a strangely serious way. Choices...no choices...

"Here."

Red and white cloth flopped into her lap, neatly folded and soft. Kaede was standing with childlike imperiousness above her, hands on her hips. "It's better to wear than that thing you're wearing now, anyway. What if there's some eechi in with all the injured people?" Kaede made a face, sticking out her tongue in distaste. "Yuck."

To her surprise, Kagome laughed lightly for a moment, then looked like she was about to say something, before biting it back, and a certain lonely look appeared in her eyes. Quietly, she looked at the folded clothing in her hands, and smoothed it out slightly as she stood. "Then, I guess I just have to follow orders, ne?"

Kaede found herself smiling at the older girl as she slipped back behind the partition she had slept behind. The rustling of clothes began to sound as the younger of the two checked on the reheating soup. Such a peculiar girl. Strange clothes, strange personality. Why switch attitudes so often? Relaxed, then tense? What was the difference? Onee-sama could be somewhat disconcerting, she supposed, being a powerful miko, but still...Kagome's knowing about the Shikon no Tama wasn't completely expected. Not that the existence of the thing was a big secret, but it wasn't exactly proclaimed anywhere.

The soup was beginning to steam, and she poured it into a wooden bowl, bits of tofu floating to the top and bobbing up and down. "It's ready for you, Kagome-sama," Kaede informed as Kagome reluctantly emerged from where she was hidden. Her face was drawn again, downcast, as though expecting some kind of verbal blow, her hands folded inside the bundle of her school uniform. A moment later, the awaited blow struck.

"Kagome-sama, you look like onee-sama!"

A slight wince, which formed into a nervous smile, eyes still turned aside. "Do I?"

Kaede's eyes were round as she held out the bowl of steaming soup. "Yes. Everyone's going to think you're a relative visiting us or something...that's amazing..." she trailed as Kagome set traded her uniform for the bowl, sipping it uneasily. Kaede was still staring, though she was now fumbling with the clothes. "I'll go scrub these out real quick while you eat."

"Ah, thank you," Kagome replied distractedly, watching the bits of tofu float around in the soybean soup before tentatively sipping it. It was warm and rich, and she found suddenly that she was hungry. The bowl was drained all too quickly, and she sighed as she set it down, closing her eyes as she tried to clear her mind. Focus on the task at hand. Concentrate, right? Stick to the plan. Work hard. You're from the sengoku jidai, now, Kagome. Tokyo's a mysterious city far away. No time travel. No other worlds. Work as a miko, figure things out, get home. See the others again, see Inuyasha again, and let it pass like a dream. Just a dream.

"Kagome-sama?"

Her eyes flicked open, and she smiled. "Are we ready then?"

"Guess so." Came the enthusiastic reply, and a few moments later, they were walking in the bright sunlight, out along the paths and down the many steps, Kagome's eyes full of wonder as she absorbed the full quality of the well kept courtyards of the jinja. In her sengoku jidai, the area was rarely used, the former home of Kikyou's bones, where Urasue snatched them to work her dark magics.

After a moment, the Goshinboku fell into Kagome's vision, and her eyes locked on it, steadily approaching it as she ran a hand across the railing of the walkway above. In the light, she could see it was somewhat thinner than she was accustomed to; it had weathered fifty less years. The branches were just slightly more weblike, not reaching their leafy fingers quite as high. The sound of water falling grew muted as the two of them walked, replaced by the rustling of the trees in the wind, murmuring to each other quietly like kami hiding and whispering divine secrets.

At the base of the steps, Kagome paused, looking over her shoulder and facing the tree, judging the distance between her feet and the first swellings of roots under the earth. No notch yet marked the point of Kikyou's arrow, where Inuyasha would sleep for so long. Involuntarily, she found herself lifting a finger to point at the spot, tracing the trajectory of an arrow that was not in her hands.

"Kagome-sama?" Kaede was a few steps ahead of her, a brow lifted at Kagome's uplifted hand, now slowly falling back to her side. "It's one of the oldest trees around the shrine. It greets the visitors."

"It reminds me...of a tree where I'm from. It's a bit older, though. We keep shimenawa around it, because it's the oldest tree in the shrine. Touching it is like touching another time..." For a moment, while she spoke her words, a fey mood took her, and she looked thin and pale, as images played before her eyes, of a white haired boy running quickly, vaulting off the red torii and down, running, running, leaping, a flashing jewel in his hand. As the spectral sight reached the sacred tree, it faded away, though a faint ringing sound could be heard, as though something made of glass clattered onto hard ground.

Kaede shivered, wondering where a small cool wind had stirred from, a slight anxiety growing at the chill. She chattered to break her nervousness. "You have a tree like this at your shrine? What's yours like?" she asked as she turned away, leaping down to the next step, hoping Kagome would follow. Gladly, after a moment, the ethereal aspect left her, and footsteps followed on the stone steps.

"It's shaped a bit differently...our tree is on the main level, roped off. My house is in a different spot, too."

"I've never been anywhere else, other than ours, though I heard there's a big shrine where some miko train not too far from here. I've seen one of them walking around, when I was with Kikyou-oneesama. She's been training me."

Kaede's chatter was refreshing, something distracting. "So you want to be a miko then?"

"Of course," Kaede responded, grinning over her shoulder and sighing happily. "I like living here. I'm not too good with some things, like onee-sama is, but I like learning about the herbs and things. I'm going to learn as much as I can about that, so I can make up for not having as strong powers. Do you have something you're good at?"

Kagome faltered for a moment. Saying she was good at finding shikon shards was not exactly an option. This wasn't something she wanted to talk about too much. "I'm...trying to control some of my spiritual powers." An idea formed in her mind, a distraction and something for their conversation. "My arrows can get a little off sometimes, but Kaede-baachan says I'm improving."

As hoped, the younger girl stopped, mouth open and eyes wide with delight. "Kaede? The miko training you is named Kaede too?"

The enthusiasm was too much. Kagome grinned, nodding. "Yes. So you'll have to forgive me if I accidentally call you 'baa-chan sometimes, ne?"

She laughed and shrugged, turning around, then suddenly pausing and listening to the silence. They'd passed the bottom of the steps, and were into the forest, just ready to descend to the rice paddies. Leaves still rustled against each other quietly, but the white noise of birds had grown to a stillness. Then, quickly, Kaede stooped, picked up three stones in her hand, and began hurling them into the trees, grabbing another handful when her first round vanished into the foliage.

"Get lost!" she shouted, slinging another stone into the trees. "Do you want onee-sama to get her arrows again? Get out of here!"

It only took a moment for Kagome to get a queasy feeling in her stomach, a sense of wrongness developing about the scene now unfolding. Kikyou killed the youkai that came around the shrine, seeking the Shikon no Tama.

All youkai except one.

"Kaede! What are you doing? Stop it!" She ran forward, grabbing at the girl's wrist. Thin, it slipped through her clasping fingers, and a final stone shot forward into the taller trees. Instead of the cracking of branches as before, there was a thudding noise, a yelp, and then the birches began to shake, moving away and deeper into the forest.

Kagome finally got a grip on the squirming girl. "Kaede, stop it! What are you doing?"

"Ha! Got him, finally! That stupid youkai's been hanging around the shrine for weeks." She looked annoyed, then satisfied, finally stopping her moving. After a moment, Kagome released her, listening and hearing her feeling proven correct. "I don't know why onee-sama doesn't just finish him off. He's just after the tama, like every other one, hanging around here and looking for a chance to kill us." A sour look crossed her features. "Someday I'm going to figure out how to subdue pests like that."

Kagome felt too small to take amusement from the younger Kaede's comment. Instead, it seemed to sting, reminding her of who the 'stupid youkai' Kaede's cursing was directed to was. Inuyasha was there. Right there. Watching, up in the concealing trees. Did he recognize her? Or to his eyes, was she Kikyou, this Inuyasha of the past? Surely the latter...she tried to crush the swelling of emotion that rose in her chest, finding it difficult.

"Kagome-sama?"

Faltering, Kagome struggled to turn her expression into a grimace instead of one of longing. A deep frown settled onto her features, and she tightened a fist, pressing her tension into her fingers, creating little crescents on her palm. "You do that, Kaede...-chan. That's...terrible that a youkai hangs around here, just trying to get to your Shikon no Tama. But I'm sure your sister has reasons for not killing him." The features on her face softened a bit as she stood up, hoping that would cue Kaede into continuing on their way. It did. To stay in step with the older girl, Kaede began to hurry alongside Kagome's longer strides. "I'm sure Kikyou would kill him if he really was dangerous, don't you think?"

"I guess so." She cast an uneasy glance behind her. "He won't get to it anyway, not with onee-sama's shield around it, but still, I don't think he's all that harmless..."

"Don't worry about him," Kagome said curtly. "He won't take the Shikon no Tama today, at least. Besides, you said it yourself," she continued, moving briskly down the last set of steps, "we've got work to do."

Behind them, a strangely suspicious pair of golden eyes watched them from the forest.


shimenawa- sacred rope. A cord/rope made out of rice straw and hung around something to mark it as sacred.
torii- the archway leading into a shrine, usually colored red

There are some spots that are ambiguous as to location. I wasn't sure where Kikyou and Kaede would be living, with the jinja of the 50 years ago operational. It's my understanding that miko usually lived in their shrines, though in the current (Kagome's) sengoku jidai, it seems to be in disrepair, and Kaede obviously has her hut just outside the village. I asked around a bit too, and the votes were split there as well. Since it could go either way, I opted to keep them in the shrine. It worked better for the fic, in the end.

Til next chapter, 'On the Edge of Forever'
~Queen

This chapter's music:
Everything is Wrong- Moby
Inuyasha OST 1