Chapter Four:
Jump to the Future
Sesshoumaru listened quietly as Kagome described in full the first time the centipede youkai had attacked her. He didn't bat an eyelash or twitch an eyebrow as she explained about the well being a time portal to the future. He didn't stare at her disbelievingly as she described her trips to and from the Sengoku Jidai, but he did furrow his brows slightly when she mentioned that she didn't think there were any youkai in her time. Seeing his reaction she fidgeted a bit, then she thought about what she had said, and back tracked on her statement. After all, the Noh mask had come after her Shikon shards, and it had certainly been a type of youkai. So maybe there were youkai in her time, they were just very well hidden.
He continued to listen as Kagome began babbling randomly, but he was no longer paying attention. His thoughts were centered on his young ward and her new friend, and how he was going to prevent them from following him. Rin, he knew, would do whatever he told her to. It was the kit who could pose the biggest problem. It was obvious he regarding Kagome as a sort of surrogate mother, and wouldn't take kindly to Sesshoumaru leaving without taking him with them. He supposed he could knock Shippou out and tie him up, but then he'd have to deal with Rin's upset response, not to mention Kagome's own reaction. The whole situation was enough to cause his eye to start twitching slightly.
He returned his attention to Kagome when he realized that she had stopped speaking, and was watching him, her eyes wary. She expects me to refuse, he realized, slightly startled. With a smooth motion he got to his feet, and stood gazing down at her. With the barest inclination of his head, he said, "Very well," and left the room, sliding the door closed behind him.
Very well?? That's it?! Kagome wondered, gazing at the closed door. Just what does THAT mean?! She wasn't left stewing with her questions for long. Sesshoumaru slid the door open and entered, a young male servant carrying a bundle behind him. He set the bundle down near Kagome's futon, smiled at her, before leaving the way he came. Bemused, Kagome opened up the bundle to discover her cleaned uniform. To her amazement, someone had even gone through the trouble of pressing the wrinkles out of the material, and mending a couple of tears she had been meaning to take care of. She glanced up at the imposing figure who towered over her, and croaked out a heartfelt "Thank you."
"Have someone find me when you are ready to leave," he replied, turned, and left the room once again.
Kagome gazed at the shut door, her cottony brain slowly realizing that yes, Sesshoumaru was going to take her home. Elation filled her and gave her weary body a bit of a boost, so that she was able to change out of her yukata and into her uniform without too much trouble. She winced a bit when she noticed that her ribs were starting to show just slightly. She hadn't been able to eat much more than a weak miso broth while she was here, and it was obvious that she had lost a lot of weight over the past three and a half days. Ugh, I don't even want to know what the rest of me looks like, she thought. No doubt her face had a clammy cast to it, while her cheeks were beacons of brilliant red due to the fever. I probably have bloodshot eyes and I'll bet my hair is a rat's nest. She confirmed her suspicion when she pulled on her uniform's top and her fingers snagged on several knots, yanking hard enough on her scalp that tears sprang to her eyes. Oh damn.
Tiredly, she sat back down on the futon and reached over for her bag. She rummaged through it for a few seconds before her hand closed over the handle of her wooden hair brush. Kagome triumphantly pulled it out of the dark depths of her oversized hiking pack, and set to work on getting the tangles and snarls out of her hair. The task, however, proved to be more daunting than she had originally thought. Her muscles were exhausted from the fever, and even the simple task of working through her hair from the tips up to her scalp was proving to be a little more than she could handle. Her hands were so weak that when the bristles got caught on a particularly large and difficult knot the handle was pulled from her grasp, leaving the brush hanging from her hair while her arm dropped limply to her side.
Her temper flared, and she grabbed the handle of her brush in a death grip. She snarled, and began to yank heavily against the knot, tears of pain filling her eyes with every pull against her scalp. Finally, with an audible ripping sound, she hauled the brush through the knot, pulling out over a dozen strands in the process. With a half choked cry, she threw the brush at the opposite wall and dropped her hands to grip the material of her skirt with her fingers, glaring at nothing in particular while hot tears rolled down her cheeks and dripped off her chin. She HATED being sick, especially in a strange place with strange people and a care taker who, on normal days, would rather kill her than look at her. Why was it that she always seemed to have some run of bad luck every time she came through the well? It just wasn't fair, she wanted to be home in her bed with a hot bowl of Chicken Noodle Soup ™ and her mother nearby.
She knew she was wallowing in self pity, and she was angry at herself for crying and being unable to stop, but another bad thing about being ill was that her emotions tended to run towards the pathetic, and no matter how much she mentally yelled at herself for giving into tears, she just couldn't stop them. She was so involved in her mental battle that she didn't hear the door slide open, and she failed to notice the tall figure who stood there, watching her.
Sesshoumaru didn't quite know what to make of the weeping female, nor was he very experienced in dealing with one, human or otherwise. Usually whenever a female human cried in his presence, it was out of fear, and his response was to just turn and walk away, not wanting to see the filthy humans with their pathetic emotions. Yet the site of Kagome with tears running down her cheeks (and looking thoroughly disgusted and angry with herself over said tears) tugged at his heart strings in a way that was more disturbing than any tugs he had experienced in Rin's company. The strange sensation caused him to frown in annoyance, and he made a slight movement that finally caught Kagome's attention.
"Great," she muttered, scrubbing furiously at her damp cheeks, noticing that he was once again dressed in his usual kimono and armor. "I thought you were going to wait until I sent someone."
He raised a brow at her grumpy tone, before stepping fully into the room and glanced at the hairbrush that was resting innocently on the ground, dark strands of hair trailing from it's bristles. He bent down and picked it up, walked over to the futon and looked down at her. Apparently he had heard the sound of her brush striking the wall, and became curious. Her cheeks surged with more red color when she realized he had not only seen but heard her little temper tantrum, and she ducked her head, embarrassed.
"Would it be too much trouble to ask one of your servants to help me brush my hair?" she whispered, keeping her eyes hidden by her bangs.
"Yes," he replied, and her head jerked up. Her angry eyes widened and became confused when he moved around to behind her, but when she would have turned to face him he placed his hand on her shoulder, staying her. He then settled down cross legged behind her, and eyed her hair. "All of my servants are busy tending to other tasks, and I will not have them interrupted. Yurika has gone off in search of Jaken, Rin and Shippou to bring them back to the house before we leave. Now hold your hair with both of your hands."
Startled, she did as she was told, reaching behind her and gathering her hair into a pony tail, holding as tightly as she could with both hands, knowing if she let go he would sneer at her for being so weak. Even though she knew her thoughts were unfounded, he knew she was ill and not at her normal strength, she couldn't help but feel challenged by this simple task he had given her, and she resolved not to release her hair unless told to, no matter what happened.
Sesshoumaru allowed a small smile to escape his mask when the girl's fingers clamped around her hair. She was reacting the way he had wanted her to. This would make his self appointed task much easier, though he would never admit to manipulating her into helping him, or that he had needed her help in the first place. Instead he began to carefully work the bristles of the brush through the knots at the end of her hair, gradually working his way up towards her hands. It was slow going, her hair was such a tangled mess that he found his own scalp twitching a bit in sympathy, but the stiff bristles of the brush eventually made short work of the snarls.
Sesshoumaru found himself marveling at the brush in his hands as he pulled it through her hair, directing her to move her hands and clasp specific areas now that the majority of the length had been smoothed out. The handle was wooden, but the bristles were made out of a stiff material that he didn't recognize. It was vastly different from the comb he was used to using on his own silvery blue locks, and he found himself curious about how it would feel running through his own hair.
By this time he was finishing up on the knots nearest to Kagome's scalp, and he blinked in surprise when the girl's head dropped forward slightly, before leaning into the feel of the brush. Even though all the tangles had been worked out, he continued to run the brush through her ebony tresses, watching her reactions with interest. She was obviously enjoying the feel of the bristles running through her hair, and made no effort to hide her pleasure. His curiosity continued to grow with every stroke, until he decided that once he was finished he was going to use the brush on his own hair. He didn't notice when his fur ornament snaked out and touched Kagome's hand.
Kagome had closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of the brush smoothing through her hair when something furry touched her hand. Opening her eyes, she glanced down and saw that part of Fluffy was resting near her hand. As she watched, the tip reached over and brushed the back of her hand again. Curious, she asked, "Does Fluffy have a mind of its own?"
"Do not call it Fluffy," he growled, not pausing in his ministrations as he glanced down at the low level youkai. "Yes, it does have a mind of its own, though for the most part it doesn't initiate anything on its own unless I am in danger."
Kagome watched the fur brush over her hand again, then, "May I touch him?"
Sesshoumaru didn't answer, so she took that as a yes. Tentatively, she reached out and placed her hand on the part of the fur that was closest to her, and blinked when she felt it move underneath her, pressing against her hand in a way similar to Buyo when he wanted attention. She hesitated a second, then stroked the silky fur, smiling when she felt Fluffy press into her hand again. She gave a hoarse giggle and scratched, which seemed to please the lower youkai greatly, for it pressed even harder into her hand.
Sesshoumaru watched the antics with little expression on his face, and stroked the brush through Kagome's hair one more time before he stopped, checked to make sure Kagome was fully occupied, then gave an experimental run through his own hair. His scalp tingled from the sensation. It was a strange feeling, and one that he was coming to like more and more as he continued to run the brush through his hair, always keeping half an eye on his guest. Kagome was fully occupied with his fur, and didn't notice when he placed the brush behind him, sliding it just under the futon and keeping it from view.
Standing, he gave a barely discernable snort of disgust when his fur lengthened itself in order to remain under Kagome's scratching fingers. For some strange reason he felt as if the lower youkai were betraying him. It never crossed his mind that he might have been feeling the tiniest slivers of jealousy as he watched Kagome's fingers work into the thick fur. He vaguely wondered what it would feel like to be scratched, but he quickly dismissed such thoughts as being below him.
"Sesshoumaru?" she asked, returning her attention to him while continuing to absently scratch the lower youkai.
He met her eyes, and taking that as permission to continue, she asked, "Would it be possible to find Inu Yasha and the others and tell them what happened and to not worry?" It never crossed her mind to suggest that the hanyou take her through the well instead of Sesshoumaru. She knew instinctly that Sesshoumaru would refuse. He considered her to be under his protection, and as such no one but he would see her to the other side of the well. Besides, she was still miffed over Inu Yasha's belligerent attitude regarding her idea during the New Moon.
"Idiot," he said. "It would be a waste of time trying to hunt him down."
Kagome agreed with a sigh, knowing that the longer they waited, the more severe her illness would become. Still, she hated not leaving word of some sort for her friends. She knew that they were probably tearing the countryside apart looking for her . . .or he could think that she had vanished on purpose to pay him back for his rather rude comments before she stomped off. Maybe . . .
"Do you have a pen and some paper?" she asked suddenly. He stared at her, and she quickly revised her question. "Um, a brush and some parchment?"
He looked at her for a few more moments, then gracefully stood and walked to the door. The fur stretched itself out so that it didn't have to leave Kagome's scratching fingers, and yet still remained attached to Sesshoumaru's shoulder. Kagome blinked and had to keep from giggling when she realized that, at the moment, Fluffy resembled a rather bizarre leash. She bit her lip and watched as Sesshoumaru talked quietly to someone on the other side of the door. It wasn't long before whoever it was returned and handed something to the youkai lord, and he turned and returned to the futon, some rolled parchment and writing instruments in his hand. Kagome noted that as he got closer to the futon, Fluffy's length retracted, and she was once again reminded strongly of a retractable dog leash.
Sesshoumaru decided not to comment on the slight smile that was lifting Kagome's lips. He instinctly knew that whatever she was thinking would annoy him. He handed her the materials she had requested, then folded his legs and sat with his back against the wall, watching her intently. He wasn't surprised that she knew how to write despite the fact that it was rare for anyone who wasn't from a noble house to possess such a skill.
He furrowed his brow as Kagome deftly dipping the tip of the bamboo brush into the ink she had made, before gracefully moving the bristles over the parchment. Perhaps males and females were educated equally in her time, if the story she had told him had been the truth. He had no reason to doubt her, but the fact that her body was still wracked with fever was enough to give him slight pause in believing her entirely. It wasn't uncommon for people to babble about hallucinations while in the grips of a high fever, but so far Kagome hadn't said a single word that didn't make sense. Even her stories regarding Inu Yasha and the others were clear and concise despite her eyes being foggy and remote.
Kagome sighed and set her brush aside for a moment, folded the letter a few times, then wrote Inu Yasha's name on the back. She reached over and picked up the small ribbon that had been placed with the writing instruments, carefully tying it around the letter to keep it closed. She knew that eventually Inu Yasha would go to the well to look for her, and she intended to drop the letter off on the ground next to the wooden wall in hopes he would see it and read it before jumping through the well after her. The last thing she needed was for Inu Yasha to show up while Sesshoumaru was handing her over to her mother and start a fight. They would never be able to explain the resulting damages to the neighbors in a satisfactory way.
As she completed her task, Kagome idly wondered what was taking Yurika so long to find Jaken and the kids. She tried to push the spurt of concern away by telling herself that they must have wandered farther from the house than they had anticipated. So she returned her attention to the silent youkai who had silently watched her every move, and furrowed her brow at the hint of puzzlement on his face.
"What?" she croaked, wincing as she realized her voice was sounding worse.
He waved an elegant hand towards the writing instruments, and asked, "Is writing considered to be a common skill from your time?"
She nodded. "Almost everyone can read and write back home. There are places where people can't read or write very well, or at all, but the majority can. It's not common to get a good job if you can't read or write, especially now that the majority of businesses use computers for everyday use."
"Computers?"
Kagome sighed, knowing it would be difficult to explain the concept of a computer to him, especially since he didn't even know what a TV or type writer was, but she was interrupted by her door being flung open and Yurika rushing in. Instantly Sesshoumaru was on his feet, his eyes taking on a blank, almost frosty hue as he took in Yurika's frantic state.
"Sesshoumaru-sama!" she gasped, her words disjointed as she struggled to catch her breath. "Jaken . . .the children . . .attacked . . .strange . . .non-youkai . . .to the west."
Sesshoumaru paused just long enough to give Kagome a stern look that clearly said Stay here! before vanishing out the door in a blur. Yurika collapsed to her knees, still winded from her race through the forest. Worried, Kagome searched around her immediate area and quickly located a bowl of water she had set aside when Sesshoumaru had entered her room. Grasping the wooden bowl, she shakily made her way over to the exhausted kitsune, and held the bowl out to her. Yurika took it from her and gratefully downed the contents, her breath gradually slowing to a more normal pace.
"What happened?" Kagome asked, her stomach knotting in a way that had nothing go do with her illness.
Yurika took a steadying breath, and said, "I had just found Jaken and the children when this . . .thing appeared. I have never seen anything like it, it looked like a combination of some bizarre plant and an eight headed dragon. They tried to run, but it attacked before they could take three steps. Jaken turned to fight it, and I grabbed the kids and tried to run, but it reached out with this . .vine like appendage and knocked me to the ground, ripping Rin and Shippou from my arms. Jaken turned and went after them, yelling at me to get Sesshoumaru-sama."
Kagome didn't like the uneasy feeling in her stomach one bit. Slipping the letter into a pocket on her back pack, she asked Yurika if there were any bows and arrows on the premises. The kitsune healer said that there were, and she sent a servant to go grab a quiver and bow at Kagome's request. The girl carefully got to her feet, grabbed one of her back pack's straps, and proceeded to drag it towards the door. Horrified, Yurika grabbed the other strap and halted Kagome's weak progress.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm going to help him! Shippou and Rin are my friends, I can't sit here and do nothing!" Kagome protested, giving a weak tug on her strap.
"In your condition, you'll be more of a hindrance than a help," Yurika said harshly, and Kagome sagged, knowing she was right and hating the helpless feeling that washed over her. When the servant returned with the requested bow and quiver, she released the back pack and instructed for it to be placed just outside the front entrance. She slung the quiver on her back and grasped the bow, turning when Yurika protested again.
"I'm not going after him," she reassured the healer. "You're right, I would be more hindrance than a help. But I can at least be waiting for them in front of the mansion so that all he'd need to do is pick me up and take me where I need to go to get well."
It was obvious Yurika wanted to disagree, but the common sense of Kagome's statement won out, and the kitsune leant her shoulder to the weakened girl and helped her outside of the mansion. With a sigh Kagome sat on the grass and leaned her back against her bag, while Yurika settled down next to her to keep an eye on her sick charge. Kagome hoped, no, she prayed that Sesshoumaru would save the children. Something about the whole situation just felt wrong to her, and it all circled back to the comment Yurika made about the attacker not being a youkai.
******
The forest blurred by as Sesshoumaru raced through the trees at an incredible speed. His passing was only discernible by the rustling of the leaves from the underbrush he passed by, and by the time the sound reached anything's ears he was long past. His thoughts raced as quickly as his steps, constantly coming back to the same question. If the attacker was the same strange presence he had felt in the forest earlier, why was he unable to sense it now? The thought of Rin being in danger made his blood run cold, and he opened all of his senses to the forest around him in an effort to locate his young charge quicker.
He was rewarded by the faint sound of dark laughter followed by two young voices raised in pain. Having pinpointed their location, he unsheathed Toukijin and raced in their direction. In mere seconds he reached the edge of a large meadow, and he paused long enough to take in the situation. Jaken was crumbled in a heap near a tree, but he was breathing so Sesshoumaru didn't give him more than a glance. Several tall, darkly colored pillar type objects rose from the ground in the center of the meadow, and next to the strange structure was a creature he had never seen before. It resembled an eight headed dragon, but it's body looked like it was composed of several plants that had fused together. The heads were lifted above the strange pillars, and surrounding the structure were several hundred vine like appendages. Rin and Shippou were hanging in the middle of the pillar circle, one of the vines wrapped snugly around them. Shippou had his arms wrapped around Rin and was yelling at the monster to let them go, but the strange being had other ideas and laughed.
"At last!" a deep, booming voice cried, triumph ringing from its every word. "With the death of the Kushinada of the past, the future shall belong to the Aragami!"
Rin screamed in pain as the vine began to tighten around her and the kit, and Shippou frantically tried to gather some kitsune-bi in hopes to burn them free from the creatures grasp, but in mere seconds he was unable to move at all. He tried to puff out his body to allow Rin some room to breath, but even he was starting to feel the force that was slowly crushing them to death.
Sesshoumaru moved, racing towards the structure and swinging Toukijin in a wide arc. The sword's cutting force hit the area, turning the very air into a weapon. Several of the creatures vines were cut, releasing a spurt of dark green blood as the creature howled in pain. Racing forward, Sesshoumaru sliced the vine that was binding the kids, his fur wrapping around them and removing them from the structure as he bound past. He whirled to face the creature again, his fur releasing its hold on Rin and Shippou, and without pausing to look over his shoulder, he commanded them to run. Not taking time to see if his order was followed, he leapt towards the creature again. He was a bit disoriented, half of his attention was on the creature, this Aragami, but the other half was trying to figure out why he was still unable to get a sense of what he was up against. He dodged the vines that were sent hurling his way, cutting through them in an effort to get to one of the heads. As the combatants danced around the dark pillars, Sesshoumaru finally got a grasp of why he had been unable to sense the Aragami earlier. The strange pillars had been concealing its presence, and as long as it had kept the pillars between them, he had been unable to sense where it was going to strike next.
With a smirk, Sesshoumaru leapt into the air, aiming for the head closest to him, poison pooling on his hand and dripping off the hilt of Toukijin. Movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he turned to see Shippou flinging himself and Rin out of the way of another vine as it tried to grab them. Sesshoumaru never noticed one of the vines, now resembling a long green spear, racing towards his back. He stiffened as the weapon slammed into him, piercing through his side in a bloody spray before using its anchor hold to fling his body to the side. He impacted with one of the larger oaks, his body smashing through the trunk with such force the tree exploded in a shower of splinters and bark.
Breathing deeply to control the pain, he got to his feet and quickly assessed his injuries. Blood flowed freely from the puncture wound in his side, and his back would be covered in bruises. But compared to the damage he had taken from the Tetsusaiga's Cutting Wind attack, these wounds were paltry and easily dealt with. By this time the Aragami had turned its attention from him. Apparently it figured that the injuries it had caused were enough to either kill him, Sesshoumaru, or wound him to where he would be unable to fight. Sesshoumaru smirked. It was not smart to underestimate your enemy, and that's exactly what this Aragami had done.
Sesshoumaru readied his grip on Toukijin, and prepared to dart towards the base of the head that was closest to him. He began to move towards his target, then halted, his eyes barely widening when he saw the tableaux that was taking place on the other side of the meadow.
One of the giant heads had stretched out behind the frightened kids, effectively blocking off any chance of them running to the forest. In front of them was the black pillars, and behind it was another one of the monstrous heads. The other six heads were lifted above the pillars, the Aragami's eyes focused completely on the children. Shippou was standing in front of Rin, his arms spread out as he sought to protect the little girl by any means possible.
Shit, Sesshoumaru swore. He had to get the kids out of the area, there was no feasible way for him to defeat the Aragimi and keep Rin and Shippou safe. And from the look of it, the Aragamie was targeting one or both of them, and while he, Sesshoumaru, fought one or more of the heads, the unoccupied ones would zero in, drag the children back into the center of the pillars and kill them. SHIT.
Sesshoumaru ground his teeth in frustration. The desire to kill his adversary, to sink his claws deep into its flesh was so strong that he could already feel the warmth of the strange green blood splattering him as he ripped his foe apart. But another desire was making itself known; one that was new and very unwelcome considering the circumstances. It was the desire to protect the two innocent lives (three if he counted Kagome, but he wasn't counting and she wasn't here, so she didn't matter) that were, even now, staring death in the face.
With a snarl, he sheathed Toukijin and released the hilt, concentrating on preventing his poison glands from reacting to the surge of adrenaline in his blood. He waited, tense, watching as the Aragami steadily forced Rin and Shippou back towards the pillars. Shippou faltered briefly, and Sesshoumaru moved, leaving a small trail of his own blood behind.
Reaching the main mass that was the Aragami's body, he reached out and allowed his claws to bite deep into the creature's flesh, smiling slightly at the resulting roar of pain and spray of green blood. He was moving before a drop of the substance could get on his clothing, leaping onto the back of the creature and gouging out another strip of flesh, darting off before it could grab him with one of its vines. He continued to dodge the spear like appendages, never taking his eyes off of his goal.
Both Rin and Shippou could see him coming, and Shippou had grabbed Rin in an effort to both protect her from the thrashing Aragami and keep her from running towards Sesshoumaru. The little girl's eyes were fixed on the approaching youkai, and she appeared to be completely oblivious to the danger surrounding her.
Sesshoumaru made a final leap, and raced by the children, wrapping them with his fur as he darted past in order to keep his claws free to attack. Once the kids were secure he leaped into the air and formed a cloud of youki, moving swiftly from the still roaring Aragami.
"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin squeaked, and sensing danger, he dodged to the side, just barely missing being impaled by more of the spear like vines. He glances swiftly behind him, and a small shock went through his system. He, Sesshoumaru, had underestimated his opponent. Despite the fact that its size suggested otherwise, the creature could fly, and was closing in on his charges and him rapidly.
"KUSHINADAAAAAAAAAA!" the Aragami bellowed, sending out more of its vines in an attempt to both spear Sesshoumaru and rip his charge from his grasp.
Snarling, Sesshoumaru dodged the projectiles, but one stray spear slammed through his left shoulder before he sliced the vine in half, green and red blood spraying in a macabre fountain of color. Ignoring both the pain from the blow and Rin and Shippou's startled, frightened cries, he dove towards the ground, knowing that the density of the forest would at least slow down the Aragami's progress and provide them some shelter from the creature's long reach.
He hit the ground moving, nerves on fire from the pain in his shoulder and side, but his mind remained clear and cold. He bared his fangs as he ran, hearing the faint sounds of the brush crackling as the Aragami chased after them. Everything in his being was screaming for him to turn and face his opponent, to not run like a coward. But he knew that if he hadn't removed Rin and Shippou from the battle, he would have never been able to fight to his full ability, and that knowledge grated more than his running away did. He was Sesshoumaru, Youkai Lord of the Western Lands, eldest son of the great Inutaishou. Nothing should be able to distract him in the middle of a battle, but somehow this human child and her kit companion had managed to do just that. Sesshoumaru snorted in disgust at himself. He needed to make some changes before this trend continued to lead him down a spiral that he wouldn't be able to return from.
A soft scent caught his attention, pulling his thoughts away from their darkening path, and he lifted his head and took a deep breath, never breaking his stride. He was approaching the safe house, and he knew he was smelling Kagome, for even when tainted with illness she had a very distinct scent about her. The fact that her scent was coming to him so strongly told him that she was outside of the safe house, most likely sitting on the ground waiting for him to return so that they could leave immediately. The knowledge caused him to smile slightly despite the puzzle that was this sudden surge of danger surrounding his ward. He had predicted her reaction to his command to stay put perfectly. Kagome had a rebellious streak in her a mile wide, and from what she had told him in her fevered ramblings, she didn't take orders very well, especially when danger was involved. Most likely she had tried to come after him in an effort to help fight (he snorted at that thought) but common sense had prevailed and so she had settled down to wait for his return in a strategic position that allowed for no time lost in getting her to the well by entering the safe house after her.
It would be a simple run and grab, though she was going to have to do most of the hanging on since the other half of his fur would be occupied with that overgrown bag. He had wanted to leave it behind, but she had insisted, quite vehemently, that she was taking it with her. According to her, it contained all her school books and homework. Thinking at the time that the kids would be staying in the safe house while he returned Kagome to her home, he had agreed. Now he cursed that decision and the girl that had originated it, despite the fact that it wasn't Kagome's fault the Aragami had attacked. He just knew she was going to cause him even more trouble than what she already had.
******
Kagome sneezed and rubbed her nose, then gave into another fit of coughing. She sighed and glanced up at the nearly cloudless sky, her thoughts whirling around in her head. Once again she cursed being sick. She didn't like waiting, wondering, worrying, and she especially hated the weak, helpless feeling that assaulted her when she remembered the panicked look on Yurika's face when she bolted into her room. She knew that, at the moment, she was virtually useless, but her stubborn nature and her pride chafed at the knowledge. She wanted to DO something, to help, but this weakness kept her still and frustrated.
Yurika tensed and lifted her head, testing the wind. "Sesshoumaru-sama's coming," she said, frowning while reading the news the wind brought to her.
Instantly Kagome sat up straighter and glanced over at the healer. Coughing prevented her from asking the question that was on her mind, but it didn't prevent her from picking up on the worry in Yurika's voice.
"He has Shippou and Rin with him," she paused for a few more moments to read the air, and she paled. "And they're being chased by that monster that I saw attacking them in the first place."
The kitsune got to her feet, and looked down at Kagome. "I must retreat back into the safe house to help protect it from being discovered. Judging by the way Sesshoumaru-sama's scent is rapidly increasing, he's heading in this direction at full speed. He will most likely grab you on his way by, so you shouldn't move from that spot. Good luck, Kagome." With that, the kitsune vanished from Kagome's line of sight.
Great, Kagome thought sourly. I'm supposed to sit out here like some virgin sacrifice just waiting for either Sesshoumaru to come by and snatch me up, or this unknown monster to decide I'd make a good lunch. Lord, that sounds like a plot for a shoujo manga series. At least I know he got the kids safely.
Kagome's thoughts were brought to a halt rather suddenly when a clawed hand wrapped around her waist and pulled her off the ground. She was pressed up against someone's side, her legs and arms dangling down from the hold on her waist, and she had a brief mental picture of being carried like a sack of potatoes. She glanced up and caught an upside down glimpse of Sesshoumaru's tense features. The muscles in his jaws were taught, and his eyes were narrowed in concentration. She looked to the side and had to close her eyes against a sudden surge of motion sickness. Inu Yasha was fast, but his speed was nothing compared to his brother's. The trees were nothing but a blur of brown and green, with the occasional burst of color from a blooming bush.
Kagome's eyes popped open when she felt a warm wetness touch her side, and she glanced over and saw a spreading stain of brilliant red creep over Sesshoumaru's kimono. The wetness she felt was his blood seeping into her uniform.
"You're bleeding!" she croaked, hoping to be heard, but fearing the wind had taken her words away.
He glanced down at her briefly before returning his gaze to the front, but that glance said what he didn't take the time to voice. He, the great Sesshoumaru, was not concerned with his wounds, and would she please stop stating the obvious?
Kagome snorted and would have given him a piece of her mind (had she been able to muster up enough of a voice to do so, and been able to complete the commentary without a single cough) but something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention, and bracing for possible nausea, she glanced to the side and stared. What looked like several green stripes against the brown back drop were sliding by at a pace nearly equal to Sesshoumaru's own.
Sesshoumaru noticed them too, and he cursed rather violently, reinventing a few words in his mental tirade. He was weaponless, his one arm holding tightly to Kagome, while the other half of his fur was occupied with hanging onto her oversized pack. He couldn't drop Kagome at his current speed, the risk of injury was highly probable because she was a human and ill. He would just have to dodge and pour on more speed, though from the sense of things the main body of the Aragami was far behind him. But he hadn't been aware that it could stretch out any part of its body this far, so chances were that even if he dodged, the spear like vines would still find their target.
Kagome felt Sesshoumaru tense. He suddenly darted left in a move that sent her head snapping to one side, and caused Rin and Shippou to cry out in surprise. The move was ineffectual, because the green stripes simply moved with the youkai, and Kagome didn't have to rely on any extra sense to know that they posed a danger to them all.
The vines curved and raced towards their targets, the sharpened points almost appearing to gleam in the dappled sunlight. Sesshoumaru skidded to a halt and prepared to drop Kagome so he could reach Toukijin, but the vines were faster and were upon him before the plan could fully form.
"NO!" Kagome screeched, the word filled with fear and anger and sounding more like a harsh whisper than a yell, but it was no less powerful for its lack of volume. She threw out both of her hands in a futile effort to ward off the green death that raced towards them.
Suddenly, her entire body appeared to glow, the light marching down her arms and centering in the palms of her outstretched hands. Sesshoumaru again felt that tingling, burning sensation, and then his gut jerked when a blast of raw spiritual power burst from the girl's outstretched palms, impacting the oncoming vine spears and disintegrating them instantly. Far behind he could hear the Aragami's roar of anguish as what was left of the green vines turned brown, the sickly color racing down the outstretched appendages, heading towards their host.
Sesshoumaru didn't wait for his stomach to stop churning from being in close proximity to such strong, untapped spiritual energy; he began to race through the forest once again, sparing a glance at the young girl who was staring at her hands in bewilderment. Seeming to feel his speculative gaze upon her, she turned her eyes up and met his own. He read shock and confusion in her frank stare, and he vaguely wondered why someone with as much strength as she possessed had never been formally trained in the miko arts. Perhaps the place where she came from no longer believed in a miko's powers and had abandoned the training.
Kagome tried to crane her neck around in an effort to see Shippou and Rin, but gave up after a few moments. She knew that they were with them, but fear was most likely keeping them silent. Frowning, she did a mental count and came up one short.
"What about Jaken?" she asked hoarsely.
For a moment Sesshoumaru was silent, but figuring that Kagome had bought them some time with her spiritual attack, he answered. "He was unconscious, but he's a youkai."
And that, Kagome thought, Explains everything.
They continued their breakneck speed through the forest, Sesshoumaru refusing to let up in his pace despite the sense that the Aragami had retreated to lick its wounds. Kagome looked like she was starting to suffer from his uncomfortable hold on her, and he knew being held in this position was irritating her illness. He was also vaguely concerned with the fact that his wounds hadn't healed over yet. There was no poison coursing through his system, and he of all youkai would have been able to recognize if any poison had entered his body. So why were his wounds still open?
"There," Kagome suddenly called, pointing to a break in the woods. Between the thinning trees Sesshoumaru could see an old wooden well sitting innocently in a meadow ahead of them. He bared his teeth. The smell of his half-brother was exceptionally strong in this area, a fact that he didn't like at all. He slowed, caution telling him to approach the well slowly, making sure that his brother wasn't around to attack first and ask questions later.
As Sesshoumaru slowed to a gentler pace, Kagome looked around and saw that Fluffy was wrapped around her pack's straps, holding it close to her. Reaching into the front pocket, she extracted the letter she had written to Inu Yasha, and held it in her hand. She prayed that when she released the letter that it would land outside of the well instead of in it, and that Inu Yasha and the others would find it before it got rained on.
Assured that the meadow was clear of demon hunters, monks, and bastard little brothers, Sesshoumaru emerged from the trees and made his way to the well. For a moment he stood looking down into its depths, his brow furrowing as doubt set in. If the girl wasn't telling the truth, or had been truly delirious when telling him of the well, then he was about to do something that could prove quite embarrassing, and the great Sesshoumaru did not like being embarrassed.
"Just jump in," Kagome urged, dropping the letter so that it landed, name side up, on the ground next to one of the wooden walls.
"What are we doing here, Sesshoumaru-sama?" Rin asked, speaking for the first time since he had grabbed Kagome outside of the safe house.
"Going to my house," Kagome croaked, shifting a little in Sesshoumaru's hold, bringing his attention back to just how uncomfortable his hold was.
With a barely audible sigh, he gently tilted Kagome until her feet touched the ground and she was standing upright, but he didn't remove his arm from around her waist. Grateful, Kagome took a deep breath and promptly gave way to yet another coughing fit. When the shudder's subsided, Sesshoumaru checked to make sure that his fur youkai was securely wrapped around both the kids and Kagome's bag, tightened his hold around her waist, and lifted into the air, gently stepped over the wall, and dropped down into the waiting darkness.
Kagome sighed wearily as she felt the ancient magic that transported her from one time to the other wrap around her like an old, well loved blanket. She was going home, and granted she wished it was under better circumstances, but any chance to spend time with her family was eagerly grabbed. She just wondered what her family would think of Sesshoumaru and the rest of her "guests". Her final thought, more of a prayer, before the magic did its work and sent her back to her time, was, Please let Inu Yasha understand. Please don't let him come through after me, I don't think the shrine could stand the battle that would follow when he found Sesshoumaru there.
******
"MOMIJI!" Kusanagi yelled, catching the young Kushinada as her words were cut off mid tirade and she seemed to crumple in on herself. Up till now everything had been normal. A walk through the city, Momiji yelling at him for some perverted comment or other, and then her voice had cut off midword.
He frowned when his panicked cry refused to garner a response, and his face became downright thunderous when Momiji's mitama began to pulse in time to a rhythm only it knew. He couldn't sense any Aragami around, and he quickly hurried into an alley to prevent too many stares that a glowing chest would attract. Kusanagi continued to call to Momiji as he moved into the shadows, but still didn't get a response.
He began to shake her lightly when he noticed something that caused his blood to turn to ice in his veins. Worry turned to fear when he noticed that he could see his forearms quite clearly through Momiji's unconscious body. She appeared to be vanishing right in front of his eyes, and he was quickly reminded of what Matsudaira had told him when he'd cornered her in the TAC building the other day and demanded an explanation without a single scientific word attached to it. Only this time the gradual vanishing of Momiji's body seemed to be worse than what Matsu described to him. Now he could only make out a faint outline of where her body was, and he was beginning to feel like he was holding a specter instead of a living human.
Momiji's form suddenly solidified so fast that they were both dragged to the ground as her weight returned full force. Kusanagi managed to twist so that he landed on his back and Momiji on top of him, and for a moment he relished in the feeling of her heart beating, albeit a bit fast, against his chest. He felt her lungs fill with air, and the knowledge that she was breathing filled him with relief. He kept his arms wrapped around her, and watched her face, waiting for when she would open her eyes. Only then would he be satisfied that she was truly all right.
Momiji stirred, her nerves feeling as if they'd been stripped bare and dipped in acid. Every sensation sent a burning pain across her skin, and she wondered why this time her heart hadn't simply burst into flames. She wanted to open her eyes, but her lids felt like Koume's bazookas were attached to them. After a struggle, she managed to open them and gazed fuzzily around at her surroundings. Blinking a few times, she managed to bring everything into focus, and became aware of a pair of very warm arms wrapped around her. She glanced down and found herself meeting Kusanagi's worried gaze.
"Are you all right?" he asked, tension giving his voice a rougher edge than usual. Swallowing Momiji nodded slightly.
"What happened?" she asked, surprised when her voice sounded normal instead of the rough croak she had expected.
"I don't know," Kusanagi said, carefully shifting so that he could sit up, Momiji cradled momentarily on his lap. "But I'm taking you back to TAC headquarters."
"I'm all right now," Momiji insisted, then squeaked when Kusanagi stood with her in his arms. He glared down at her.
"I don't like feeling the way I just did a few moments ago, Momiji," he said gruffly. "Matsudaira needs to know what happened, and she's going to want to run some tests."
"But she's already run tests on me," Momiji protested as Kusanagi leapt to the top of the buildings and began to make his way back towards the building everyone called Home Base.
"I could barely see you!" Kusanagi burst out, his face tightening at the remembered feeling of her body vanishing from his arms. "You were more like a ghost than a person, and if going by what Matsu told me about the last time is any indication, this time was a hundred times worse than before!"
Momiji opened her mouth, then the full realization of what Kusanagi said slammed home. She had nearly vanished, poof, gone in midair, and no one would have really known what had happened. If that movie Matsu had quoted was any indication, she would have ceased to exist all together, and no one would have known that she had even lived. The thought caused a cold chill to run through her body, and unconsciously she turned her head into Kusanagi's warm shoulder in search of comfort.
Within moments the pair were in front of the TAC headquarters, and Kusanagi wasted no time. He barreled through the doors and had bounded up the stairs before Momiji could even open her mouth to protest. She took one glance at his face and all thoughts of protest flew from her mind. Kusanagi's face was set in harsh lines, his tension clearly visible for all to see. Though she didn't like what had happened to cause such a display of concern on Kusanagi's face, Momiji couldn't help but feel a small spurt of warmth at this evidence that he at least cared a little about her, though that spurt of warmth quickly vanished when he burst into the TAC's main office with her still clutched in his arms. This, of course, quickly led to mass panic among her fellow coworkers as she was whisked away to the examining room by a pale faced Masudaira, leaving Kusanagi behind to answer the questions the rest of the staff threw at him.
At that point, Momiji began imagining burying Kusanagi alive, but with her luck, and since he was technically made up of plant matter, he'd simply sprout more of himself, which would serve to drive her into the Looney bin. She understood and accepted the fact that her coworkers worried about her; Hell, she was even flattered at times, but there was always the little voice in the back of her mind telling her that the only reason they were so concerned was because she had to remain in good health so that she could save Japan, and, by association, the world, with her death. Talk about irony, Momiji thought sarcastically.
Matsudaira sighed, bringing Momiji's attention back to her as the older woman rubbed the back of her head and peered at one of the many computer readings. She muttered a few words of scientific jargon before reaching out and adjusting one of the many dials that currently surrounded Momiji. A few seconds later she readjusted the dials again.
"Is something wrong?" Momiji asked, resisting the urge to scratch at one of the electrodes that was attatched to her body.
"No, I just wanted to make sure that the settings were the same as the last time we measured these particular wave lengths. From what Kusanagi-san said, it sounds like this latest episode was much worse than the last time. Can you tell me what happened on your end?"
Momiji thought for a moment, took a breath, and told Matsu what had happened. She left out the fact that she had been yelling at Kusanagi because he had pulled up her skirt, again, but she didn't leave out anything else. She told Matsu about the overwhelming pain, her own confusion, and lastly, the vision she had had shortly before blacking out. She hadn't had a chance to tell Kusanagi what she had seen, and she was surprised how many details she remembered. As her vision was graying out, she had seen a small girl in her mind's eye as clear as if she had been standing in front of her. The dark haired, wide-eyed child had been clutched in the vine like appendages of an Aragami Momiji recognized as Yamata-no-Orochi, the first Aragami to attack her shortly after she had first met Kusanagi. She knew there was some significant about the child, and she had wanted to reach out and snatch her from the Aragami's grasp, but the vision faded with the rest of her sight, leaving her more than a little confused when she had managed to open her eyes and find herself looking into Kusanagi's concerned face.
Matsu remained silent through the retelling, absorbing what Momiji was saying while absently checking the readings on the computers. She shook her head in response to Momiji's asking if she knew what the vision meant. Momiji was silent for a moment, then she said, "I've never had visions before, Matsudaira-san. Why did I have one now?"
"Momiji-chan, you're a direct descendent of a strong line of psychics," Matsu answered, frowning a little at a reading that had started to change ever so slightly. "You were trained in the miko arts, and even though you've never had a formal vision of this type, I'm sure there have been times when you've had an inkling of one."
Momiji thought back and had to agree with what the scientist said. She distinctly remembered a strange chilly feeling running down her spine in the early morning of the day she had first met Kusanagi and become aware of the existence of the Aragami. Her grandmother had said her feelings had stemmed from her blood, and though at the time she didn't know what she had meant, now she fully understood her grandmother's words.
"Well," Matsu sighed, bringing Momiji's attention back to her. "I can't see anything abnormal in your readings. Heart rate, brain wave pattern, everything looks just fine. The Kushinada Pulse is a little erratic, but that tends to be normal. Which makes these strange happenings all the more troubling. There is absolutely nothing here that can explain what's going on logically."
Momiji thought that there was a lot that involved the Kushinada and Aragami that couldn't be explained logically, but she wasn't about to mention it when Matsudaira looked so disgruntled about the whole affair. She knew the scientist was concerned about her well being, and she felt a quick spurt of remorse that she was the cause of Matsu's worry. She opened her mouth to apologize, but what emerged was a harsh gasp as her hands flew up to clutch her chest and a familiar white light began to pulse from the Mitama embedded just beneath her finger tips.
"Momiji-chan!" Matsu cried, reaching out to touch the girl when a harsh, insistent beeping filled the air. The scientist instinctly turned to the source of the noise, and her eyes bugged slightly when she saw that the instrument that measured the Kushinada pulse, a strange wave pattern that only two people, Kaede and Momiji, emitted, was screeching out the harsh alarm, while the monitor was displaying a bizarre wave pattern. For a few moments the Pulse seemed to be beating so fast that the entire screen had turned green, and then it would slow down into a more recognizable pattern before speeding up again.
"Momiji-chan," she began as she turned towards the young girl, only to stop in mid-sentence. Momiji had slumped forward slightly with her hands pressed against the pulsing mitama. Her eyes were wide and staring, their vibrant green color appearing washed out and gray. Matsu felt a chill go down her spine. The last time Momiji had looked like that had been shortly before Susano-Oh's birth, and the unborn Aragami god's power had called to Momiji, drawing her to his resting place.
"We must," Momiji began, then paused as if she were listening to someone or something that only she could hear. "We must protect the Kushinada of the past."
"We must what?" Matsu asked, staring at the younger Kushinada.
"The safety of the past is necessary to insure the future. The Kushinada of the past is in danger."
Before Matsudaira could ask any questions, the light that had surrounded Momiji faded as the color returned to her eyes. She blinked a few times, then sat up and regarded Matsudaira curiously.
"What was that?" Momiji asked.
Before Matsu could even begin to form an answer, the machine measuring the Kushinada Pulse began to once again give off a harsh beeping alarm as the psychic pulses once again began behaving erratically. Momiji's eyes grew impossibly wide as her body was once again surrounded by light, but instead of the pure white that was usually emitted from her mitama, this light was a bright red in color that held steady instead of pulsing with her heartbeat. A strange, haunting melody filled the air, the notes appearing to come from Momiji's very soul. The song lasted for a few more moments before the light flickered faintly, then vanished. Momiji leaned forward and grasped her racing heart, only now noticing that her body felt extremely tired as sweat began to roll down her face and drip off her chin.
"Momiji-chan," Matsudaira's worried voice brought Momiji's head up, and her eyes met those of the scientist.
"I'm all right," Momiji said, glad to find that her voice was under control. "Just feeling a little tired."
Matsudaira nodded and handed Momiji a paper towel for her face, before turning to check all the monitors once again. Momiji gratefully wiped the sweat off of her face and took several long, deep breaths, relieved to find that her heart was beginning to slow down to a more normal pace.
"Everything appears to be normal now," Matsu said as she gazed at the blips and patterns of the monitor's still hooked up to Momiji. "The Kushinada Pulse has regained its normal, gentle wave pattern, but your energy levels are a tad low. I'm glad to see your heart rate is steadily declining back to its normal pace."
Recognizing that Matsu's constant commentary about her wavelengths getting back to normal was as much to convince herself instead of Momiji that the young girl was, indeed, back to normal, the young Kushinada held her peace until the scientist had finished checking all the other equipment and finally removed the electrodes from Momiji's chest. Only then did Momiji voice the question that was sitting forefront in her mind.
"What did I say earlier, Matsudaira-san?" she asked as she hopped off the examining table.
"You said something about having to save the Kushinada of the past in order to protect the future," Matsu answered, turning to give the young girl her full attention.
Momiji blinked. "What does that mean?" she asked, confusion on her face.
Matsu lifted her hand and rested her chin in her palm, assuming her "thoughtful" pose, as Momiji and the other TAC members liked to call it. She was silent for a moment, her face revealing nothing of her inner thoughts, and Momiji had to fight the urge to squirm impatiently.
"Well, if we're going to keep comparing this to that old American movie, then I would say that something, or someone, is interfering with the past. More specifically, they're going after one of your ancestors in an attempt to cause the Kushinada line to die out."
"Yamata-no-Orochi?" Momiji asked.
"Maybe, but that doesn't explain how he was awakened before your and Kaede-chan's birth, nor how he intends to actually kill off your ancestor without causing the Aragami's own deaths in the process."
"But wouldn't that involve time travel?" Momiji asked, her brow furrowing as she tried to think past a headache that was beginning to build behind her eyes.
"Yes."
"I don't understand, who's ever heard of anyone being able to time travel?"
Matsudaira gave Momiji an amused look. "Who ever heard of plants becoming giant monsters bent on creating their own kingdom?"
"Good point," Momiji said, looking a tad sheepish.
"This is a bit of a stretch," Matsu said, her expression turning thoughtful once again, "But I wonder if it's possible that this so called time traveler has brought your ancestor to this time."
"Why do you wonder that?" Momiji asked.
"That red light and the melody we heard for a brief moment was very different from your usual reaction whenever an Aragami is near," Matsudair said, glancing at Momiji's mitama. "It's just a theory, and we certainly can't ask Kaede-chan if she experienced a similar reaction, but it does make some sense that you would react in some way if another Kushinada aside from Kaede-chan was to appear."
Matsudaira's brow furrowed, and then she abruptly turned and left the examining room. Momiji blinked at the empty space for a moment, before she hurried out the door and back into the small room that had been designated her dressing room whenever Matsu wanted to check up on her vital statistics. A few moments later she was dressed and went in search of the scientist. She didn't have far to go. Matsudaira was standing with Koume next to Yaegashi's computer, giving the young man instructions. Momiji wandered up just as Matsu was saying, "Don't limit it to just this area, I want the entire country checked."
"Checked for what?" Momiji asked, drawing all eyes to her.
"Matsudaira-san wants me to run a check on any mysterious disappearances or absences that have been recorded over a period of time," Yaegashi said, looking none too pleased about this prospect. "And she doesn't want it limited to just Tokyo, she wants me to check the entire nation."
"You can ignore kidnappings or missing persons reports, I don't think the person I'm looking for would be listed as such. If my theory is correct, then they should be able to go to and fro without any problems, especially if they did bring another person back with them," Matsu said encouragingly. "What I need you to focus on are absences such as school or work, anything that just doesn't fit properly."
"You do realize this could take several weeks," Yaegashi groaned.
"Aww, come on, Yaegashi!" Koume said, half encouragingly, half in exasperation, slapping the young man on the back so hard that his face nearly crashed into his computer monitor. "It's a challenge, and no man should back down from a challenge! You need to charge in there head first and blow all the obstacles out of your way!"
"I think you need to rethink your way of doing things," Yaegashi muttered under his breath, but Koume caught some of what he said.
"What was that?!" she demanded, grabbing him in a headlock.
"Ow! Ow, Koume-chan, lemme go!"
Deciding that a hasty retreat was in order, Momiji quickly excused herself from the group and hurried down the hallway. Her head was really beginning to hurt, and despite all the upheaval the Aragami and this new problem was causing, she still had a lot of homework to complete before the next school day. She was so deep in her thoughts that she nearly became a permanent fixture of the ceiling when a hand descended on her shoulder and pulled her around. She blindly struck out with her hand, and felt a spurt of satisfaction at the crack of flesh on flesh followed by a yelp of pain. That satisfaction quickly withered when she found herself gazing at Kusanagi, who was holding his nose and glaring at her.
"Damnit, Momiji," the cat eyed young man growled as he gingerly felt his sore nose.
"I'm sorry!" Momiji said. "But you really should give me more warning before you do something like that."
"I'll remember that," Kusanagi said, sniffing a little before taking his hand away from his throbbing nose. "What did Matsudaira say?"
Momiji gave him a quick run down of what had happened during the examination, ending with Matsu's theory of someone who was able to time travel bringing one of the Kushinada ancestors to the present. Kusanagi kept quiet through her explanation, his face thoughtful while his eyes seemed to gaze at something just past Momiji's shoulder. As she reached the end of her recitation, Momiji couldn't help but think that Kusanagi was wishing that Kaede was there instead of herself.
Kusanagi remained silent after she finished talking, and since he now appeared oblivious to her presence, she gave a shrug and began to walk back down the hallway. She hadn't gone more than a few steps before Kusanagi came up alongside her. Momiji felt a sudden spurt of irritation (first he ignores her and now he's decided to follow her?) and before she could get the emotion back under control, she acted on it.
"I'm going to look for Takeuchi-san," she snapped, causing Kusanagi to look at her in surprise. "You go and do whatever it is you do around this time."
She stomped away from him, muttering under her breath and hoping that he wouldn't follow her and ask questions she wasn't sure she knew the answers to. She was tired, and though she tried to hide it from the others, she was also feeling stressed out and more than a little frightened. She was still trying to adjust to the reality of her older twin sister being alive and Kusanagi's obsession with chasing her and the child like Aragami god down, and she still had to contend with the occasional attack by Murakumo if he felt that they were getting too close to whatever it was he had planned for both Kaede and Susano-Oh. Add onto that this new "disappearing" act that was usually heralded by debilitating pain, and she was vaguely surprised that she was still able to walk as if nothing had happened.
She sighed, thinking about the recent happenings. If Matsudaira's theory of a time traveler were correct, then a whole new level of trouble was going to be heading their way. She picked up her pace as she continued to hunt for Takeuchi while she ran through her homework list. With a start she realized that she was actually looking forward to breaking out the books. She hoped that by immersing herself in her studies she would be able to forget what was going on around her for a short while.
I never thought there would be a day when I'd actually look forward to doing my Math homework, she mused to herself. I must really be losing my mind.
Kusanagi stared after Momiji's retreating back, his jaw slowly sliding southwards in shock. He blinked, collected his misbehaving jaw, and stalked off in the opposite direction of the one Momiji was taking. He didn't know what she was so irritated at. He had simply asked what Matsudaira's findings were, and she had taken his head off for his troubles. He grumbled as he headed for the nearest window, fully intent on hunting down and then killing some Aragami ass. He had to let off some steam before he took up his customary position in the tree right outside of Momiji's bedroom window. If anyone had seen his face at that moment, they might almost have been tempted to feel sorry for any Aragami the young man came across. Almost.
To be continued . . .
A/N: Pretty much the same terms as used before. Kitsune-bi is generally translated as fox fire.
Thanks so much to everyone who's reviewed, encouraged, threatened, and been patient for this chapter. I didn't put in everything I wanted to because, well, the chapter would have been too long. ^^;;
Review Replies:
lady: Thanks so much! The main pairing for Inu Yasha is going to be Sess/Kag, because I'm crazy. ^_~
dumdeedum: Yeah, Blue Seed really does have a good ending, and the Kenshin manga does, as well. I hate that they never animated the Revenge Arc. *sigh*
*cackle* I'm glad you enjoyed the bath scene, I had a LOT of fun writing it! As a fellow hentai, I was very tempted to play with it more, but considering how Kagome was feeling and that I felt it was way too early in their "relationship" to have some fun in that area. ^_^ But man it was tempting.
shady: Thanks so much! I hope you enjoy this chapter, sorry it took me so long. ^^;;
SailorPanda: *laughs* Great minds DO think alike, woo! Thanks so much! I was hoping the "Kagome's a tad out of her mind so she's updating a captive audience on her life" was belivable. I"m glad you liked it. ^_^
kmf: Yay, I'm glad you like Blue Seed, it really is a cool series. ^_^ Once I get Sess and company on the other side of the well, there will be a lot more scenes with the Blue Seed crew. I think I answered your question about the presence Sess felt near his home in this chapter, but just in case, what he felt was Yamata-no-Orochi on the hunt for the Kushinada of the past. And yeah, the Blue Seed Universe is set in the IY universe so that the two worlds over lap, but since the time frame in Blue Seed seems to pick up the pace around the time I started this, I figure that the reason Kagome doesn't know about the Aragami is because it's a recent happening in her area of the city, while else where it's been going on for some time. *scratches head* I hope that made sense. @_@ And thanks!
Crystal: Here ya go! I'll try to find some other places to post, as well, which might make it easier for you to find. Thanks!
Sakura91: Blue Seed is kind of hard to find information on. It's an older series, and it wasn't really all that popular (for reasons I'll never understand) so it's not surprising that you're not familar with it, I have a feeling a lot of people don't know what it's about. ^^;; Thanks so much for your reviews, I hope you like this chapter. ^_^
Jump to the Future
Sesshoumaru listened quietly as Kagome described in full the first time the centipede youkai had attacked her. He didn't bat an eyelash or twitch an eyebrow as she explained about the well being a time portal to the future. He didn't stare at her disbelievingly as she described her trips to and from the Sengoku Jidai, but he did furrow his brows slightly when she mentioned that she didn't think there were any youkai in her time. Seeing his reaction she fidgeted a bit, then she thought about what she had said, and back tracked on her statement. After all, the Noh mask had come after her Shikon shards, and it had certainly been a type of youkai. So maybe there were youkai in her time, they were just very well hidden.
He continued to listen as Kagome began babbling randomly, but he was no longer paying attention. His thoughts were centered on his young ward and her new friend, and how he was going to prevent them from following him. Rin, he knew, would do whatever he told her to. It was the kit who could pose the biggest problem. It was obvious he regarding Kagome as a sort of surrogate mother, and wouldn't take kindly to Sesshoumaru leaving without taking him with them. He supposed he could knock Shippou out and tie him up, but then he'd have to deal with Rin's upset response, not to mention Kagome's own reaction. The whole situation was enough to cause his eye to start twitching slightly.
He returned his attention to Kagome when he realized that she had stopped speaking, and was watching him, her eyes wary. She expects me to refuse, he realized, slightly startled. With a smooth motion he got to his feet, and stood gazing down at her. With the barest inclination of his head, he said, "Very well," and left the room, sliding the door closed behind him.
Very well?? That's it?! Kagome wondered, gazing at the closed door. Just what does THAT mean?! She wasn't left stewing with her questions for long. Sesshoumaru slid the door open and entered, a young male servant carrying a bundle behind him. He set the bundle down near Kagome's futon, smiled at her, before leaving the way he came. Bemused, Kagome opened up the bundle to discover her cleaned uniform. To her amazement, someone had even gone through the trouble of pressing the wrinkles out of the material, and mending a couple of tears she had been meaning to take care of. She glanced up at the imposing figure who towered over her, and croaked out a heartfelt "Thank you."
"Have someone find me when you are ready to leave," he replied, turned, and left the room once again.
Kagome gazed at the shut door, her cottony brain slowly realizing that yes, Sesshoumaru was going to take her home. Elation filled her and gave her weary body a bit of a boost, so that she was able to change out of her yukata and into her uniform without too much trouble. She winced a bit when she noticed that her ribs were starting to show just slightly. She hadn't been able to eat much more than a weak miso broth while she was here, and it was obvious that she had lost a lot of weight over the past three and a half days. Ugh, I don't even want to know what the rest of me looks like, she thought. No doubt her face had a clammy cast to it, while her cheeks were beacons of brilliant red due to the fever. I probably have bloodshot eyes and I'll bet my hair is a rat's nest. She confirmed her suspicion when she pulled on her uniform's top and her fingers snagged on several knots, yanking hard enough on her scalp that tears sprang to her eyes. Oh damn.
Tiredly, she sat back down on the futon and reached over for her bag. She rummaged through it for a few seconds before her hand closed over the handle of her wooden hair brush. Kagome triumphantly pulled it out of the dark depths of her oversized hiking pack, and set to work on getting the tangles and snarls out of her hair. The task, however, proved to be more daunting than she had originally thought. Her muscles were exhausted from the fever, and even the simple task of working through her hair from the tips up to her scalp was proving to be a little more than she could handle. Her hands were so weak that when the bristles got caught on a particularly large and difficult knot the handle was pulled from her grasp, leaving the brush hanging from her hair while her arm dropped limply to her side.
Her temper flared, and she grabbed the handle of her brush in a death grip. She snarled, and began to yank heavily against the knot, tears of pain filling her eyes with every pull against her scalp. Finally, with an audible ripping sound, she hauled the brush through the knot, pulling out over a dozen strands in the process. With a half choked cry, she threw the brush at the opposite wall and dropped her hands to grip the material of her skirt with her fingers, glaring at nothing in particular while hot tears rolled down her cheeks and dripped off her chin. She HATED being sick, especially in a strange place with strange people and a care taker who, on normal days, would rather kill her than look at her. Why was it that she always seemed to have some run of bad luck every time she came through the well? It just wasn't fair, she wanted to be home in her bed with a hot bowl of Chicken Noodle Soup ™ and her mother nearby.
She knew she was wallowing in self pity, and she was angry at herself for crying and being unable to stop, but another bad thing about being ill was that her emotions tended to run towards the pathetic, and no matter how much she mentally yelled at herself for giving into tears, she just couldn't stop them. She was so involved in her mental battle that she didn't hear the door slide open, and she failed to notice the tall figure who stood there, watching her.
Sesshoumaru didn't quite know what to make of the weeping female, nor was he very experienced in dealing with one, human or otherwise. Usually whenever a female human cried in his presence, it was out of fear, and his response was to just turn and walk away, not wanting to see the filthy humans with their pathetic emotions. Yet the site of Kagome with tears running down her cheeks (and looking thoroughly disgusted and angry with herself over said tears) tugged at his heart strings in a way that was more disturbing than any tugs he had experienced in Rin's company. The strange sensation caused him to frown in annoyance, and he made a slight movement that finally caught Kagome's attention.
"Great," she muttered, scrubbing furiously at her damp cheeks, noticing that he was once again dressed in his usual kimono and armor. "I thought you were going to wait until I sent someone."
He raised a brow at her grumpy tone, before stepping fully into the room and glanced at the hairbrush that was resting innocently on the ground, dark strands of hair trailing from it's bristles. He bent down and picked it up, walked over to the futon and looked down at her. Apparently he had heard the sound of her brush striking the wall, and became curious. Her cheeks surged with more red color when she realized he had not only seen but heard her little temper tantrum, and she ducked her head, embarrassed.
"Would it be too much trouble to ask one of your servants to help me brush my hair?" she whispered, keeping her eyes hidden by her bangs.
"Yes," he replied, and her head jerked up. Her angry eyes widened and became confused when he moved around to behind her, but when she would have turned to face him he placed his hand on her shoulder, staying her. He then settled down cross legged behind her, and eyed her hair. "All of my servants are busy tending to other tasks, and I will not have them interrupted. Yurika has gone off in search of Jaken, Rin and Shippou to bring them back to the house before we leave. Now hold your hair with both of your hands."
Startled, she did as she was told, reaching behind her and gathering her hair into a pony tail, holding as tightly as she could with both hands, knowing if she let go he would sneer at her for being so weak. Even though she knew her thoughts were unfounded, he knew she was ill and not at her normal strength, she couldn't help but feel challenged by this simple task he had given her, and she resolved not to release her hair unless told to, no matter what happened.
Sesshoumaru allowed a small smile to escape his mask when the girl's fingers clamped around her hair. She was reacting the way he had wanted her to. This would make his self appointed task much easier, though he would never admit to manipulating her into helping him, or that he had needed her help in the first place. Instead he began to carefully work the bristles of the brush through the knots at the end of her hair, gradually working his way up towards her hands. It was slow going, her hair was such a tangled mess that he found his own scalp twitching a bit in sympathy, but the stiff bristles of the brush eventually made short work of the snarls.
Sesshoumaru found himself marveling at the brush in his hands as he pulled it through her hair, directing her to move her hands and clasp specific areas now that the majority of the length had been smoothed out. The handle was wooden, but the bristles were made out of a stiff material that he didn't recognize. It was vastly different from the comb he was used to using on his own silvery blue locks, and he found himself curious about how it would feel running through his own hair.
By this time he was finishing up on the knots nearest to Kagome's scalp, and he blinked in surprise when the girl's head dropped forward slightly, before leaning into the feel of the brush. Even though all the tangles had been worked out, he continued to run the brush through her ebony tresses, watching her reactions with interest. She was obviously enjoying the feel of the bristles running through her hair, and made no effort to hide her pleasure. His curiosity continued to grow with every stroke, until he decided that once he was finished he was going to use the brush on his own hair. He didn't notice when his fur ornament snaked out and touched Kagome's hand.
Kagome had closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of the brush smoothing through her hair when something furry touched her hand. Opening her eyes, she glanced down and saw that part of Fluffy was resting near her hand. As she watched, the tip reached over and brushed the back of her hand again. Curious, she asked, "Does Fluffy have a mind of its own?"
"Do not call it Fluffy," he growled, not pausing in his ministrations as he glanced down at the low level youkai. "Yes, it does have a mind of its own, though for the most part it doesn't initiate anything on its own unless I am in danger."
Kagome watched the fur brush over her hand again, then, "May I touch him?"
Sesshoumaru didn't answer, so she took that as a yes. Tentatively, she reached out and placed her hand on the part of the fur that was closest to her, and blinked when she felt it move underneath her, pressing against her hand in a way similar to Buyo when he wanted attention. She hesitated a second, then stroked the silky fur, smiling when she felt Fluffy press into her hand again. She gave a hoarse giggle and scratched, which seemed to please the lower youkai greatly, for it pressed even harder into her hand.
Sesshoumaru watched the antics with little expression on his face, and stroked the brush through Kagome's hair one more time before he stopped, checked to make sure Kagome was fully occupied, then gave an experimental run through his own hair. His scalp tingled from the sensation. It was a strange feeling, and one that he was coming to like more and more as he continued to run the brush through his hair, always keeping half an eye on his guest. Kagome was fully occupied with his fur, and didn't notice when he placed the brush behind him, sliding it just under the futon and keeping it from view.
Standing, he gave a barely discernable snort of disgust when his fur lengthened itself in order to remain under Kagome's scratching fingers. For some strange reason he felt as if the lower youkai were betraying him. It never crossed his mind that he might have been feeling the tiniest slivers of jealousy as he watched Kagome's fingers work into the thick fur. He vaguely wondered what it would feel like to be scratched, but he quickly dismissed such thoughts as being below him.
"Sesshoumaru?" she asked, returning her attention to him while continuing to absently scratch the lower youkai.
He met her eyes, and taking that as permission to continue, she asked, "Would it be possible to find Inu Yasha and the others and tell them what happened and to not worry?" It never crossed her mind to suggest that the hanyou take her through the well instead of Sesshoumaru. She knew instinctly that Sesshoumaru would refuse. He considered her to be under his protection, and as such no one but he would see her to the other side of the well. Besides, she was still miffed over Inu Yasha's belligerent attitude regarding her idea during the New Moon.
"Idiot," he said. "It would be a waste of time trying to hunt him down."
Kagome agreed with a sigh, knowing that the longer they waited, the more severe her illness would become. Still, she hated not leaving word of some sort for her friends. She knew that they were probably tearing the countryside apart looking for her . . .or he could think that she had vanished on purpose to pay him back for his rather rude comments before she stomped off. Maybe . . .
"Do you have a pen and some paper?" she asked suddenly. He stared at her, and she quickly revised her question. "Um, a brush and some parchment?"
He looked at her for a few more moments, then gracefully stood and walked to the door. The fur stretched itself out so that it didn't have to leave Kagome's scratching fingers, and yet still remained attached to Sesshoumaru's shoulder. Kagome blinked and had to keep from giggling when she realized that, at the moment, Fluffy resembled a rather bizarre leash. She bit her lip and watched as Sesshoumaru talked quietly to someone on the other side of the door. It wasn't long before whoever it was returned and handed something to the youkai lord, and he turned and returned to the futon, some rolled parchment and writing instruments in his hand. Kagome noted that as he got closer to the futon, Fluffy's length retracted, and she was once again reminded strongly of a retractable dog leash.
Sesshoumaru decided not to comment on the slight smile that was lifting Kagome's lips. He instinctly knew that whatever she was thinking would annoy him. He handed her the materials she had requested, then folded his legs and sat with his back against the wall, watching her intently. He wasn't surprised that she knew how to write despite the fact that it was rare for anyone who wasn't from a noble house to possess such a skill.
He furrowed his brow as Kagome deftly dipping the tip of the bamboo brush into the ink she had made, before gracefully moving the bristles over the parchment. Perhaps males and females were educated equally in her time, if the story she had told him had been the truth. He had no reason to doubt her, but the fact that her body was still wracked with fever was enough to give him slight pause in believing her entirely. It wasn't uncommon for people to babble about hallucinations while in the grips of a high fever, but so far Kagome hadn't said a single word that didn't make sense. Even her stories regarding Inu Yasha and the others were clear and concise despite her eyes being foggy and remote.
Kagome sighed and set her brush aside for a moment, folded the letter a few times, then wrote Inu Yasha's name on the back. She reached over and picked up the small ribbon that had been placed with the writing instruments, carefully tying it around the letter to keep it closed. She knew that eventually Inu Yasha would go to the well to look for her, and she intended to drop the letter off on the ground next to the wooden wall in hopes he would see it and read it before jumping through the well after her. The last thing she needed was for Inu Yasha to show up while Sesshoumaru was handing her over to her mother and start a fight. They would never be able to explain the resulting damages to the neighbors in a satisfactory way.
As she completed her task, Kagome idly wondered what was taking Yurika so long to find Jaken and the kids. She tried to push the spurt of concern away by telling herself that they must have wandered farther from the house than they had anticipated. So she returned her attention to the silent youkai who had silently watched her every move, and furrowed her brow at the hint of puzzlement on his face.
"What?" she croaked, wincing as she realized her voice was sounding worse.
He waved an elegant hand towards the writing instruments, and asked, "Is writing considered to be a common skill from your time?"
She nodded. "Almost everyone can read and write back home. There are places where people can't read or write very well, or at all, but the majority can. It's not common to get a good job if you can't read or write, especially now that the majority of businesses use computers for everyday use."
"Computers?"
Kagome sighed, knowing it would be difficult to explain the concept of a computer to him, especially since he didn't even know what a TV or type writer was, but she was interrupted by her door being flung open and Yurika rushing in. Instantly Sesshoumaru was on his feet, his eyes taking on a blank, almost frosty hue as he took in Yurika's frantic state.
"Sesshoumaru-sama!" she gasped, her words disjointed as she struggled to catch her breath. "Jaken . . .the children . . .attacked . . .strange . . .non-youkai . . .to the west."
Sesshoumaru paused just long enough to give Kagome a stern look that clearly said Stay here! before vanishing out the door in a blur. Yurika collapsed to her knees, still winded from her race through the forest. Worried, Kagome searched around her immediate area and quickly located a bowl of water she had set aside when Sesshoumaru had entered her room. Grasping the wooden bowl, she shakily made her way over to the exhausted kitsune, and held the bowl out to her. Yurika took it from her and gratefully downed the contents, her breath gradually slowing to a more normal pace.
"What happened?" Kagome asked, her stomach knotting in a way that had nothing go do with her illness.
Yurika took a steadying breath, and said, "I had just found Jaken and the children when this . . .thing appeared. I have never seen anything like it, it looked like a combination of some bizarre plant and an eight headed dragon. They tried to run, but it attacked before they could take three steps. Jaken turned to fight it, and I grabbed the kids and tried to run, but it reached out with this . .vine like appendage and knocked me to the ground, ripping Rin and Shippou from my arms. Jaken turned and went after them, yelling at me to get Sesshoumaru-sama."
Kagome didn't like the uneasy feeling in her stomach one bit. Slipping the letter into a pocket on her back pack, she asked Yurika if there were any bows and arrows on the premises. The kitsune healer said that there were, and she sent a servant to go grab a quiver and bow at Kagome's request. The girl carefully got to her feet, grabbed one of her back pack's straps, and proceeded to drag it towards the door. Horrified, Yurika grabbed the other strap and halted Kagome's weak progress.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm going to help him! Shippou and Rin are my friends, I can't sit here and do nothing!" Kagome protested, giving a weak tug on her strap.
"In your condition, you'll be more of a hindrance than a help," Yurika said harshly, and Kagome sagged, knowing she was right and hating the helpless feeling that washed over her. When the servant returned with the requested bow and quiver, she released the back pack and instructed for it to be placed just outside the front entrance. She slung the quiver on her back and grasped the bow, turning when Yurika protested again.
"I'm not going after him," she reassured the healer. "You're right, I would be more hindrance than a help. But I can at least be waiting for them in front of the mansion so that all he'd need to do is pick me up and take me where I need to go to get well."
It was obvious Yurika wanted to disagree, but the common sense of Kagome's statement won out, and the kitsune leant her shoulder to the weakened girl and helped her outside of the mansion. With a sigh Kagome sat on the grass and leaned her back against her bag, while Yurika settled down next to her to keep an eye on her sick charge. Kagome hoped, no, she prayed that Sesshoumaru would save the children. Something about the whole situation just felt wrong to her, and it all circled back to the comment Yurika made about the attacker not being a youkai.
******
The forest blurred by as Sesshoumaru raced through the trees at an incredible speed. His passing was only discernible by the rustling of the leaves from the underbrush he passed by, and by the time the sound reached anything's ears he was long past. His thoughts raced as quickly as his steps, constantly coming back to the same question. If the attacker was the same strange presence he had felt in the forest earlier, why was he unable to sense it now? The thought of Rin being in danger made his blood run cold, and he opened all of his senses to the forest around him in an effort to locate his young charge quicker.
He was rewarded by the faint sound of dark laughter followed by two young voices raised in pain. Having pinpointed their location, he unsheathed Toukijin and raced in their direction. In mere seconds he reached the edge of a large meadow, and he paused long enough to take in the situation. Jaken was crumbled in a heap near a tree, but he was breathing so Sesshoumaru didn't give him more than a glance. Several tall, darkly colored pillar type objects rose from the ground in the center of the meadow, and next to the strange structure was a creature he had never seen before. It resembled an eight headed dragon, but it's body looked like it was composed of several plants that had fused together. The heads were lifted above the strange pillars, and surrounding the structure were several hundred vine like appendages. Rin and Shippou were hanging in the middle of the pillar circle, one of the vines wrapped snugly around them. Shippou had his arms wrapped around Rin and was yelling at the monster to let them go, but the strange being had other ideas and laughed.
"At last!" a deep, booming voice cried, triumph ringing from its every word. "With the death of the Kushinada of the past, the future shall belong to the Aragami!"
Rin screamed in pain as the vine began to tighten around her and the kit, and Shippou frantically tried to gather some kitsune-bi in hopes to burn them free from the creatures grasp, but in mere seconds he was unable to move at all. He tried to puff out his body to allow Rin some room to breath, but even he was starting to feel the force that was slowly crushing them to death.
Sesshoumaru moved, racing towards the structure and swinging Toukijin in a wide arc. The sword's cutting force hit the area, turning the very air into a weapon. Several of the creatures vines were cut, releasing a spurt of dark green blood as the creature howled in pain. Racing forward, Sesshoumaru sliced the vine that was binding the kids, his fur wrapping around them and removing them from the structure as he bound past. He whirled to face the creature again, his fur releasing its hold on Rin and Shippou, and without pausing to look over his shoulder, he commanded them to run. Not taking time to see if his order was followed, he leapt towards the creature again. He was a bit disoriented, half of his attention was on the creature, this Aragami, but the other half was trying to figure out why he was still unable to get a sense of what he was up against. He dodged the vines that were sent hurling his way, cutting through them in an effort to get to one of the heads. As the combatants danced around the dark pillars, Sesshoumaru finally got a grasp of why he had been unable to sense the Aragami earlier. The strange pillars had been concealing its presence, and as long as it had kept the pillars between them, he had been unable to sense where it was going to strike next.
With a smirk, Sesshoumaru leapt into the air, aiming for the head closest to him, poison pooling on his hand and dripping off the hilt of Toukijin. Movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he turned to see Shippou flinging himself and Rin out of the way of another vine as it tried to grab them. Sesshoumaru never noticed one of the vines, now resembling a long green spear, racing towards his back. He stiffened as the weapon slammed into him, piercing through his side in a bloody spray before using its anchor hold to fling his body to the side. He impacted with one of the larger oaks, his body smashing through the trunk with such force the tree exploded in a shower of splinters and bark.
Breathing deeply to control the pain, he got to his feet and quickly assessed his injuries. Blood flowed freely from the puncture wound in his side, and his back would be covered in bruises. But compared to the damage he had taken from the Tetsusaiga's Cutting Wind attack, these wounds were paltry and easily dealt with. By this time the Aragami had turned its attention from him. Apparently it figured that the injuries it had caused were enough to either kill him, Sesshoumaru, or wound him to where he would be unable to fight. Sesshoumaru smirked. It was not smart to underestimate your enemy, and that's exactly what this Aragami had done.
Sesshoumaru readied his grip on Toukijin, and prepared to dart towards the base of the head that was closest to him. He began to move towards his target, then halted, his eyes barely widening when he saw the tableaux that was taking place on the other side of the meadow.
One of the giant heads had stretched out behind the frightened kids, effectively blocking off any chance of them running to the forest. In front of them was the black pillars, and behind it was another one of the monstrous heads. The other six heads were lifted above the pillars, the Aragami's eyes focused completely on the children. Shippou was standing in front of Rin, his arms spread out as he sought to protect the little girl by any means possible.
Shit, Sesshoumaru swore. He had to get the kids out of the area, there was no feasible way for him to defeat the Aragimi and keep Rin and Shippou safe. And from the look of it, the Aragamie was targeting one or both of them, and while he, Sesshoumaru, fought one or more of the heads, the unoccupied ones would zero in, drag the children back into the center of the pillars and kill them. SHIT.
Sesshoumaru ground his teeth in frustration. The desire to kill his adversary, to sink his claws deep into its flesh was so strong that he could already feel the warmth of the strange green blood splattering him as he ripped his foe apart. But another desire was making itself known; one that was new and very unwelcome considering the circumstances. It was the desire to protect the two innocent lives (three if he counted Kagome, but he wasn't counting and she wasn't here, so she didn't matter) that were, even now, staring death in the face.
With a snarl, he sheathed Toukijin and released the hilt, concentrating on preventing his poison glands from reacting to the surge of adrenaline in his blood. He waited, tense, watching as the Aragami steadily forced Rin and Shippou back towards the pillars. Shippou faltered briefly, and Sesshoumaru moved, leaving a small trail of his own blood behind.
Reaching the main mass that was the Aragami's body, he reached out and allowed his claws to bite deep into the creature's flesh, smiling slightly at the resulting roar of pain and spray of green blood. He was moving before a drop of the substance could get on his clothing, leaping onto the back of the creature and gouging out another strip of flesh, darting off before it could grab him with one of its vines. He continued to dodge the spear like appendages, never taking his eyes off of his goal.
Both Rin and Shippou could see him coming, and Shippou had grabbed Rin in an effort to both protect her from the thrashing Aragami and keep her from running towards Sesshoumaru. The little girl's eyes were fixed on the approaching youkai, and she appeared to be completely oblivious to the danger surrounding her.
Sesshoumaru made a final leap, and raced by the children, wrapping them with his fur as he darted past in order to keep his claws free to attack. Once the kids were secure he leaped into the air and formed a cloud of youki, moving swiftly from the still roaring Aragami.
"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin squeaked, and sensing danger, he dodged to the side, just barely missing being impaled by more of the spear like vines. He glances swiftly behind him, and a small shock went through his system. He, Sesshoumaru, had underestimated his opponent. Despite the fact that its size suggested otherwise, the creature could fly, and was closing in on his charges and him rapidly.
"KUSHINADAAAAAAAAAA!" the Aragami bellowed, sending out more of its vines in an attempt to both spear Sesshoumaru and rip his charge from his grasp.
Snarling, Sesshoumaru dodged the projectiles, but one stray spear slammed through his left shoulder before he sliced the vine in half, green and red blood spraying in a macabre fountain of color. Ignoring both the pain from the blow and Rin and Shippou's startled, frightened cries, he dove towards the ground, knowing that the density of the forest would at least slow down the Aragami's progress and provide them some shelter from the creature's long reach.
He hit the ground moving, nerves on fire from the pain in his shoulder and side, but his mind remained clear and cold. He bared his fangs as he ran, hearing the faint sounds of the brush crackling as the Aragami chased after them. Everything in his being was screaming for him to turn and face his opponent, to not run like a coward. But he knew that if he hadn't removed Rin and Shippou from the battle, he would have never been able to fight to his full ability, and that knowledge grated more than his running away did. He was Sesshoumaru, Youkai Lord of the Western Lands, eldest son of the great Inutaishou. Nothing should be able to distract him in the middle of a battle, but somehow this human child and her kit companion had managed to do just that. Sesshoumaru snorted in disgust at himself. He needed to make some changes before this trend continued to lead him down a spiral that he wouldn't be able to return from.
A soft scent caught his attention, pulling his thoughts away from their darkening path, and he lifted his head and took a deep breath, never breaking his stride. He was approaching the safe house, and he knew he was smelling Kagome, for even when tainted with illness she had a very distinct scent about her. The fact that her scent was coming to him so strongly told him that she was outside of the safe house, most likely sitting on the ground waiting for him to return so that they could leave immediately. The knowledge caused him to smile slightly despite the puzzle that was this sudden surge of danger surrounding his ward. He had predicted her reaction to his command to stay put perfectly. Kagome had a rebellious streak in her a mile wide, and from what she had told him in her fevered ramblings, she didn't take orders very well, especially when danger was involved. Most likely she had tried to come after him in an effort to help fight (he snorted at that thought) but common sense had prevailed and so she had settled down to wait for his return in a strategic position that allowed for no time lost in getting her to the well by entering the safe house after her.
It would be a simple run and grab, though she was going to have to do most of the hanging on since the other half of his fur would be occupied with that overgrown bag. He had wanted to leave it behind, but she had insisted, quite vehemently, that she was taking it with her. According to her, it contained all her school books and homework. Thinking at the time that the kids would be staying in the safe house while he returned Kagome to her home, he had agreed. Now he cursed that decision and the girl that had originated it, despite the fact that it wasn't Kagome's fault the Aragami had attacked. He just knew she was going to cause him even more trouble than what she already had.
******
Kagome sneezed and rubbed her nose, then gave into another fit of coughing. She sighed and glanced up at the nearly cloudless sky, her thoughts whirling around in her head. Once again she cursed being sick. She didn't like waiting, wondering, worrying, and she especially hated the weak, helpless feeling that assaulted her when she remembered the panicked look on Yurika's face when she bolted into her room. She knew that, at the moment, she was virtually useless, but her stubborn nature and her pride chafed at the knowledge. She wanted to DO something, to help, but this weakness kept her still and frustrated.
Yurika tensed and lifted her head, testing the wind. "Sesshoumaru-sama's coming," she said, frowning while reading the news the wind brought to her.
Instantly Kagome sat up straighter and glanced over at the healer. Coughing prevented her from asking the question that was on her mind, but it didn't prevent her from picking up on the worry in Yurika's voice.
"He has Shippou and Rin with him," she paused for a few more moments to read the air, and she paled. "And they're being chased by that monster that I saw attacking them in the first place."
The kitsune got to her feet, and looked down at Kagome. "I must retreat back into the safe house to help protect it from being discovered. Judging by the way Sesshoumaru-sama's scent is rapidly increasing, he's heading in this direction at full speed. He will most likely grab you on his way by, so you shouldn't move from that spot. Good luck, Kagome." With that, the kitsune vanished from Kagome's line of sight.
Great, Kagome thought sourly. I'm supposed to sit out here like some virgin sacrifice just waiting for either Sesshoumaru to come by and snatch me up, or this unknown monster to decide I'd make a good lunch. Lord, that sounds like a plot for a shoujo manga series. At least I know he got the kids safely.
Kagome's thoughts were brought to a halt rather suddenly when a clawed hand wrapped around her waist and pulled her off the ground. She was pressed up against someone's side, her legs and arms dangling down from the hold on her waist, and she had a brief mental picture of being carried like a sack of potatoes. She glanced up and caught an upside down glimpse of Sesshoumaru's tense features. The muscles in his jaws were taught, and his eyes were narrowed in concentration. She looked to the side and had to close her eyes against a sudden surge of motion sickness. Inu Yasha was fast, but his speed was nothing compared to his brother's. The trees were nothing but a blur of brown and green, with the occasional burst of color from a blooming bush.
Kagome's eyes popped open when she felt a warm wetness touch her side, and she glanced over and saw a spreading stain of brilliant red creep over Sesshoumaru's kimono. The wetness she felt was his blood seeping into her uniform.
"You're bleeding!" she croaked, hoping to be heard, but fearing the wind had taken her words away.
He glanced down at her briefly before returning his gaze to the front, but that glance said what he didn't take the time to voice. He, the great Sesshoumaru, was not concerned with his wounds, and would she please stop stating the obvious?
Kagome snorted and would have given him a piece of her mind (had she been able to muster up enough of a voice to do so, and been able to complete the commentary without a single cough) but something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention, and bracing for possible nausea, she glanced to the side and stared. What looked like several green stripes against the brown back drop were sliding by at a pace nearly equal to Sesshoumaru's own.
Sesshoumaru noticed them too, and he cursed rather violently, reinventing a few words in his mental tirade. He was weaponless, his one arm holding tightly to Kagome, while the other half of his fur was occupied with hanging onto her oversized pack. He couldn't drop Kagome at his current speed, the risk of injury was highly probable because she was a human and ill. He would just have to dodge and pour on more speed, though from the sense of things the main body of the Aragami was far behind him. But he hadn't been aware that it could stretch out any part of its body this far, so chances were that even if he dodged, the spear like vines would still find their target.
Kagome felt Sesshoumaru tense. He suddenly darted left in a move that sent her head snapping to one side, and caused Rin and Shippou to cry out in surprise. The move was ineffectual, because the green stripes simply moved with the youkai, and Kagome didn't have to rely on any extra sense to know that they posed a danger to them all.
The vines curved and raced towards their targets, the sharpened points almost appearing to gleam in the dappled sunlight. Sesshoumaru skidded to a halt and prepared to drop Kagome so he could reach Toukijin, but the vines were faster and were upon him before the plan could fully form.
"NO!" Kagome screeched, the word filled with fear and anger and sounding more like a harsh whisper than a yell, but it was no less powerful for its lack of volume. She threw out both of her hands in a futile effort to ward off the green death that raced towards them.
Suddenly, her entire body appeared to glow, the light marching down her arms and centering in the palms of her outstretched hands. Sesshoumaru again felt that tingling, burning sensation, and then his gut jerked when a blast of raw spiritual power burst from the girl's outstretched palms, impacting the oncoming vine spears and disintegrating them instantly. Far behind he could hear the Aragami's roar of anguish as what was left of the green vines turned brown, the sickly color racing down the outstretched appendages, heading towards their host.
Sesshoumaru didn't wait for his stomach to stop churning from being in close proximity to such strong, untapped spiritual energy; he began to race through the forest once again, sparing a glance at the young girl who was staring at her hands in bewilderment. Seeming to feel his speculative gaze upon her, she turned her eyes up and met his own. He read shock and confusion in her frank stare, and he vaguely wondered why someone with as much strength as she possessed had never been formally trained in the miko arts. Perhaps the place where she came from no longer believed in a miko's powers and had abandoned the training.
Kagome tried to crane her neck around in an effort to see Shippou and Rin, but gave up after a few moments. She knew that they were with them, but fear was most likely keeping them silent. Frowning, she did a mental count and came up one short.
"What about Jaken?" she asked hoarsely.
For a moment Sesshoumaru was silent, but figuring that Kagome had bought them some time with her spiritual attack, he answered. "He was unconscious, but he's a youkai."
And that, Kagome thought, Explains everything.
They continued their breakneck speed through the forest, Sesshoumaru refusing to let up in his pace despite the sense that the Aragami had retreated to lick its wounds. Kagome looked like she was starting to suffer from his uncomfortable hold on her, and he knew being held in this position was irritating her illness. He was also vaguely concerned with the fact that his wounds hadn't healed over yet. There was no poison coursing through his system, and he of all youkai would have been able to recognize if any poison had entered his body. So why were his wounds still open?
"There," Kagome suddenly called, pointing to a break in the woods. Between the thinning trees Sesshoumaru could see an old wooden well sitting innocently in a meadow ahead of them. He bared his teeth. The smell of his half-brother was exceptionally strong in this area, a fact that he didn't like at all. He slowed, caution telling him to approach the well slowly, making sure that his brother wasn't around to attack first and ask questions later.
As Sesshoumaru slowed to a gentler pace, Kagome looked around and saw that Fluffy was wrapped around her pack's straps, holding it close to her. Reaching into the front pocket, she extracted the letter she had written to Inu Yasha, and held it in her hand. She prayed that when she released the letter that it would land outside of the well instead of in it, and that Inu Yasha and the others would find it before it got rained on.
Assured that the meadow was clear of demon hunters, monks, and bastard little brothers, Sesshoumaru emerged from the trees and made his way to the well. For a moment he stood looking down into its depths, his brow furrowing as doubt set in. If the girl wasn't telling the truth, or had been truly delirious when telling him of the well, then he was about to do something that could prove quite embarrassing, and the great Sesshoumaru did not like being embarrassed.
"Just jump in," Kagome urged, dropping the letter so that it landed, name side up, on the ground next to one of the wooden walls.
"What are we doing here, Sesshoumaru-sama?" Rin asked, speaking for the first time since he had grabbed Kagome outside of the safe house.
"Going to my house," Kagome croaked, shifting a little in Sesshoumaru's hold, bringing his attention back to just how uncomfortable his hold was.
With a barely audible sigh, he gently tilted Kagome until her feet touched the ground and she was standing upright, but he didn't remove his arm from around her waist. Grateful, Kagome took a deep breath and promptly gave way to yet another coughing fit. When the shudder's subsided, Sesshoumaru checked to make sure that his fur youkai was securely wrapped around both the kids and Kagome's bag, tightened his hold around her waist, and lifted into the air, gently stepped over the wall, and dropped down into the waiting darkness.
Kagome sighed wearily as she felt the ancient magic that transported her from one time to the other wrap around her like an old, well loved blanket. She was going home, and granted she wished it was under better circumstances, but any chance to spend time with her family was eagerly grabbed. She just wondered what her family would think of Sesshoumaru and the rest of her "guests". Her final thought, more of a prayer, before the magic did its work and sent her back to her time, was, Please let Inu Yasha understand. Please don't let him come through after me, I don't think the shrine could stand the battle that would follow when he found Sesshoumaru there.
******
"MOMIJI!" Kusanagi yelled, catching the young Kushinada as her words were cut off mid tirade and she seemed to crumple in on herself. Up till now everything had been normal. A walk through the city, Momiji yelling at him for some perverted comment or other, and then her voice had cut off midword.
He frowned when his panicked cry refused to garner a response, and his face became downright thunderous when Momiji's mitama began to pulse in time to a rhythm only it knew. He couldn't sense any Aragami around, and he quickly hurried into an alley to prevent too many stares that a glowing chest would attract. Kusanagi continued to call to Momiji as he moved into the shadows, but still didn't get a response.
He began to shake her lightly when he noticed something that caused his blood to turn to ice in his veins. Worry turned to fear when he noticed that he could see his forearms quite clearly through Momiji's unconscious body. She appeared to be vanishing right in front of his eyes, and he was quickly reminded of what Matsudaira had told him when he'd cornered her in the TAC building the other day and demanded an explanation without a single scientific word attached to it. Only this time the gradual vanishing of Momiji's body seemed to be worse than what Matsu described to him. Now he could only make out a faint outline of where her body was, and he was beginning to feel like he was holding a specter instead of a living human.
Momiji's form suddenly solidified so fast that they were both dragged to the ground as her weight returned full force. Kusanagi managed to twist so that he landed on his back and Momiji on top of him, and for a moment he relished in the feeling of her heart beating, albeit a bit fast, against his chest. He felt her lungs fill with air, and the knowledge that she was breathing filled him with relief. He kept his arms wrapped around her, and watched her face, waiting for when she would open her eyes. Only then would he be satisfied that she was truly all right.
Momiji stirred, her nerves feeling as if they'd been stripped bare and dipped in acid. Every sensation sent a burning pain across her skin, and she wondered why this time her heart hadn't simply burst into flames. She wanted to open her eyes, but her lids felt like Koume's bazookas were attached to them. After a struggle, she managed to open them and gazed fuzzily around at her surroundings. Blinking a few times, she managed to bring everything into focus, and became aware of a pair of very warm arms wrapped around her. She glanced down and found herself meeting Kusanagi's worried gaze.
"Are you all right?" he asked, tension giving his voice a rougher edge than usual. Swallowing Momiji nodded slightly.
"What happened?" she asked, surprised when her voice sounded normal instead of the rough croak she had expected.
"I don't know," Kusanagi said, carefully shifting so that he could sit up, Momiji cradled momentarily on his lap. "But I'm taking you back to TAC headquarters."
"I'm all right now," Momiji insisted, then squeaked when Kusanagi stood with her in his arms. He glared down at her.
"I don't like feeling the way I just did a few moments ago, Momiji," he said gruffly. "Matsudaira needs to know what happened, and she's going to want to run some tests."
"But she's already run tests on me," Momiji protested as Kusanagi leapt to the top of the buildings and began to make his way back towards the building everyone called Home Base.
"I could barely see you!" Kusanagi burst out, his face tightening at the remembered feeling of her body vanishing from his arms. "You were more like a ghost than a person, and if going by what Matsu told me about the last time is any indication, this time was a hundred times worse than before!"
Momiji opened her mouth, then the full realization of what Kusanagi said slammed home. She had nearly vanished, poof, gone in midair, and no one would have really known what had happened. If that movie Matsu had quoted was any indication, she would have ceased to exist all together, and no one would have known that she had even lived. The thought caused a cold chill to run through her body, and unconsciously she turned her head into Kusanagi's warm shoulder in search of comfort.
Within moments the pair were in front of the TAC headquarters, and Kusanagi wasted no time. He barreled through the doors and had bounded up the stairs before Momiji could even open her mouth to protest. She took one glance at his face and all thoughts of protest flew from her mind. Kusanagi's face was set in harsh lines, his tension clearly visible for all to see. Though she didn't like what had happened to cause such a display of concern on Kusanagi's face, Momiji couldn't help but feel a small spurt of warmth at this evidence that he at least cared a little about her, though that spurt of warmth quickly vanished when he burst into the TAC's main office with her still clutched in his arms. This, of course, quickly led to mass panic among her fellow coworkers as she was whisked away to the examining room by a pale faced Masudaira, leaving Kusanagi behind to answer the questions the rest of the staff threw at him.
At that point, Momiji began imagining burying Kusanagi alive, but with her luck, and since he was technically made up of plant matter, he'd simply sprout more of himself, which would serve to drive her into the Looney bin. She understood and accepted the fact that her coworkers worried about her; Hell, she was even flattered at times, but there was always the little voice in the back of her mind telling her that the only reason they were so concerned was because she had to remain in good health so that she could save Japan, and, by association, the world, with her death. Talk about irony, Momiji thought sarcastically.
Matsudaira sighed, bringing Momiji's attention back to her as the older woman rubbed the back of her head and peered at one of the many computer readings. She muttered a few words of scientific jargon before reaching out and adjusting one of the many dials that currently surrounded Momiji. A few seconds later she readjusted the dials again.
"Is something wrong?" Momiji asked, resisting the urge to scratch at one of the electrodes that was attatched to her body.
"No, I just wanted to make sure that the settings were the same as the last time we measured these particular wave lengths. From what Kusanagi-san said, it sounds like this latest episode was much worse than the last time. Can you tell me what happened on your end?"
Momiji thought for a moment, took a breath, and told Matsu what had happened. She left out the fact that she had been yelling at Kusanagi because he had pulled up her skirt, again, but she didn't leave out anything else. She told Matsu about the overwhelming pain, her own confusion, and lastly, the vision she had had shortly before blacking out. She hadn't had a chance to tell Kusanagi what she had seen, and she was surprised how many details she remembered. As her vision was graying out, she had seen a small girl in her mind's eye as clear as if she had been standing in front of her. The dark haired, wide-eyed child had been clutched in the vine like appendages of an Aragami Momiji recognized as Yamata-no-Orochi, the first Aragami to attack her shortly after she had first met Kusanagi. She knew there was some significant about the child, and she had wanted to reach out and snatch her from the Aragami's grasp, but the vision faded with the rest of her sight, leaving her more than a little confused when she had managed to open her eyes and find herself looking into Kusanagi's concerned face.
Matsu remained silent through the retelling, absorbing what Momiji was saying while absently checking the readings on the computers. She shook her head in response to Momiji's asking if she knew what the vision meant. Momiji was silent for a moment, then she said, "I've never had visions before, Matsudaira-san. Why did I have one now?"
"Momiji-chan, you're a direct descendent of a strong line of psychics," Matsu answered, frowning a little at a reading that had started to change ever so slightly. "You were trained in the miko arts, and even though you've never had a formal vision of this type, I'm sure there have been times when you've had an inkling of one."
Momiji thought back and had to agree with what the scientist said. She distinctly remembered a strange chilly feeling running down her spine in the early morning of the day she had first met Kusanagi and become aware of the existence of the Aragami. Her grandmother had said her feelings had stemmed from her blood, and though at the time she didn't know what she had meant, now she fully understood her grandmother's words.
"Well," Matsu sighed, bringing Momiji's attention back to her. "I can't see anything abnormal in your readings. Heart rate, brain wave pattern, everything looks just fine. The Kushinada Pulse is a little erratic, but that tends to be normal. Which makes these strange happenings all the more troubling. There is absolutely nothing here that can explain what's going on logically."
Momiji thought that there was a lot that involved the Kushinada and Aragami that couldn't be explained logically, but she wasn't about to mention it when Matsudaira looked so disgruntled about the whole affair. She knew the scientist was concerned about her well being, and she felt a quick spurt of remorse that she was the cause of Matsu's worry. She opened her mouth to apologize, but what emerged was a harsh gasp as her hands flew up to clutch her chest and a familiar white light began to pulse from the Mitama embedded just beneath her finger tips.
"Momiji-chan!" Matsu cried, reaching out to touch the girl when a harsh, insistent beeping filled the air. The scientist instinctly turned to the source of the noise, and her eyes bugged slightly when she saw that the instrument that measured the Kushinada pulse, a strange wave pattern that only two people, Kaede and Momiji, emitted, was screeching out the harsh alarm, while the monitor was displaying a bizarre wave pattern. For a few moments the Pulse seemed to be beating so fast that the entire screen had turned green, and then it would slow down into a more recognizable pattern before speeding up again.
"Momiji-chan," she began as she turned towards the young girl, only to stop in mid-sentence. Momiji had slumped forward slightly with her hands pressed against the pulsing mitama. Her eyes were wide and staring, their vibrant green color appearing washed out and gray. Matsu felt a chill go down her spine. The last time Momiji had looked like that had been shortly before Susano-Oh's birth, and the unborn Aragami god's power had called to Momiji, drawing her to his resting place.
"We must," Momiji began, then paused as if she were listening to someone or something that only she could hear. "We must protect the Kushinada of the past."
"We must what?" Matsu asked, staring at the younger Kushinada.
"The safety of the past is necessary to insure the future. The Kushinada of the past is in danger."
Before Matsudaira could ask any questions, the light that had surrounded Momiji faded as the color returned to her eyes. She blinked a few times, then sat up and regarded Matsudaira curiously.
"What was that?" Momiji asked.
Before Matsu could even begin to form an answer, the machine measuring the Kushinada Pulse began to once again give off a harsh beeping alarm as the psychic pulses once again began behaving erratically. Momiji's eyes grew impossibly wide as her body was once again surrounded by light, but instead of the pure white that was usually emitted from her mitama, this light was a bright red in color that held steady instead of pulsing with her heartbeat. A strange, haunting melody filled the air, the notes appearing to come from Momiji's very soul. The song lasted for a few more moments before the light flickered faintly, then vanished. Momiji leaned forward and grasped her racing heart, only now noticing that her body felt extremely tired as sweat began to roll down her face and drip off her chin.
"Momiji-chan," Matsudaira's worried voice brought Momiji's head up, and her eyes met those of the scientist.
"I'm all right," Momiji said, glad to find that her voice was under control. "Just feeling a little tired."
Matsudaira nodded and handed Momiji a paper towel for her face, before turning to check all the monitors once again. Momiji gratefully wiped the sweat off of her face and took several long, deep breaths, relieved to find that her heart was beginning to slow down to a more normal pace.
"Everything appears to be normal now," Matsu said as she gazed at the blips and patterns of the monitor's still hooked up to Momiji. "The Kushinada Pulse has regained its normal, gentle wave pattern, but your energy levels are a tad low. I'm glad to see your heart rate is steadily declining back to its normal pace."
Recognizing that Matsu's constant commentary about her wavelengths getting back to normal was as much to convince herself instead of Momiji that the young girl was, indeed, back to normal, the young Kushinada held her peace until the scientist had finished checking all the other equipment and finally removed the electrodes from Momiji's chest. Only then did Momiji voice the question that was sitting forefront in her mind.
"What did I say earlier, Matsudaira-san?" she asked as she hopped off the examining table.
"You said something about having to save the Kushinada of the past in order to protect the future," Matsu answered, turning to give the young girl her full attention.
Momiji blinked. "What does that mean?" she asked, confusion on her face.
Matsu lifted her hand and rested her chin in her palm, assuming her "thoughtful" pose, as Momiji and the other TAC members liked to call it. She was silent for a moment, her face revealing nothing of her inner thoughts, and Momiji had to fight the urge to squirm impatiently.
"Well, if we're going to keep comparing this to that old American movie, then I would say that something, or someone, is interfering with the past. More specifically, they're going after one of your ancestors in an attempt to cause the Kushinada line to die out."
"Yamata-no-Orochi?" Momiji asked.
"Maybe, but that doesn't explain how he was awakened before your and Kaede-chan's birth, nor how he intends to actually kill off your ancestor without causing the Aragami's own deaths in the process."
"But wouldn't that involve time travel?" Momiji asked, her brow furrowing as she tried to think past a headache that was beginning to build behind her eyes.
"Yes."
"I don't understand, who's ever heard of anyone being able to time travel?"
Matsudaira gave Momiji an amused look. "Who ever heard of plants becoming giant monsters bent on creating their own kingdom?"
"Good point," Momiji said, looking a tad sheepish.
"This is a bit of a stretch," Matsu said, her expression turning thoughtful once again, "But I wonder if it's possible that this so called time traveler has brought your ancestor to this time."
"Why do you wonder that?" Momiji asked.
"That red light and the melody we heard for a brief moment was very different from your usual reaction whenever an Aragami is near," Matsudair said, glancing at Momiji's mitama. "It's just a theory, and we certainly can't ask Kaede-chan if she experienced a similar reaction, but it does make some sense that you would react in some way if another Kushinada aside from Kaede-chan was to appear."
Matsudaira's brow furrowed, and then she abruptly turned and left the examining room. Momiji blinked at the empty space for a moment, before she hurried out the door and back into the small room that had been designated her dressing room whenever Matsu wanted to check up on her vital statistics. A few moments later she was dressed and went in search of the scientist. She didn't have far to go. Matsudaira was standing with Koume next to Yaegashi's computer, giving the young man instructions. Momiji wandered up just as Matsu was saying, "Don't limit it to just this area, I want the entire country checked."
"Checked for what?" Momiji asked, drawing all eyes to her.
"Matsudaira-san wants me to run a check on any mysterious disappearances or absences that have been recorded over a period of time," Yaegashi said, looking none too pleased about this prospect. "And she doesn't want it limited to just Tokyo, she wants me to check the entire nation."
"You can ignore kidnappings or missing persons reports, I don't think the person I'm looking for would be listed as such. If my theory is correct, then they should be able to go to and fro without any problems, especially if they did bring another person back with them," Matsu said encouragingly. "What I need you to focus on are absences such as school or work, anything that just doesn't fit properly."
"You do realize this could take several weeks," Yaegashi groaned.
"Aww, come on, Yaegashi!" Koume said, half encouragingly, half in exasperation, slapping the young man on the back so hard that his face nearly crashed into his computer monitor. "It's a challenge, and no man should back down from a challenge! You need to charge in there head first and blow all the obstacles out of your way!"
"I think you need to rethink your way of doing things," Yaegashi muttered under his breath, but Koume caught some of what he said.
"What was that?!" she demanded, grabbing him in a headlock.
"Ow! Ow, Koume-chan, lemme go!"
Deciding that a hasty retreat was in order, Momiji quickly excused herself from the group and hurried down the hallway. Her head was really beginning to hurt, and despite all the upheaval the Aragami and this new problem was causing, she still had a lot of homework to complete before the next school day. She was so deep in her thoughts that she nearly became a permanent fixture of the ceiling when a hand descended on her shoulder and pulled her around. She blindly struck out with her hand, and felt a spurt of satisfaction at the crack of flesh on flesh followed by a yelp of pain. That satisfaction quickly withered when she found herself gazing at Kusanagi, who was holding his nose and glaring at her.
"Damnit, Momiji," the cat eyed young man growled as he gingerly felt his sore nose.
"I'm sorry!" Momiji said. "But you really should give me more warning before you do something like that."
"I'll remember that," Kusanagi said, sniffing a little before taking his hand away from his throbbing nose. "What did Matsudaira say?"
Momiji gave him a quick run down of what had happened during the examination, ending with Matsu's theory of someone who was able to time travel bringing one of the Kushinada ancestors to the present. Kusanagi kept quiet through her explanation, his face thoughtful while his eyes seemed to gaze at something just past Momiji's shoulder. As she reached the end of her recitation, Momiji couldn't help but think that Kusanagi was wishing that Kaede was there instead of herself.
Kusanagi remained silent after she finished talking, and since he now appeared oblivious to her presence, she gave a shrug and began to walk back down the hallway. She hadn't gone more than a few steps before Kusanagi came up alongside her. Momiji felt a sudden spurt of irritation (first he ignores her and now he's decided to follow her?) and before she could get the emotion back under control, she acted on it.
"I'm going to look for Takeuchi-san," she snapped, causing Kusanagi to look at her in surprise. "You go and do whatever it is you do around this time."
She stomped away from him, muttering under her breath and hoping that he wouldn't follow her and ask questions she wasn't sure she knew the answers to. She was tired, and though she tried to hide it from the others, she was also feeling stressed out and more than a little frightened. She was still trying to adjust to the reality of her older twin sister being alive and Kusanagi's obsession with chasing her and the child like Aragami god down, and she still had to contend with the occasional attack by Murakumo if he felt that they were getting too close to whatever it was he had planned for both Kaede and Susano-Oh. Add onto that this new "disappearing" act that was usually heralded by debilitating pain, and she was vaguely surprised that she was still able to walk as if nothing had happened.
She sighed, thinking about the recent happenings. If Matsudaira's theory of a time traveler were correct, then a whole new level of trouble was going to be heading their way. She picked up her pace as she continued to hunt for Takeuchi while she ran through her homework list. With a start she realized that she was actually looking forward to breaking out the books. She hoped that by immersing herself in her studies she would be able to forget what was going on around her for a short while.
I never thought there would be a day when I'd actually look forward to doing my Math homework, she mused to herself. I must really be losing my mind.
Kusanagi stared after Momiji's retreating back, his jaw slowly sliding southwards in shock. He blinked, collected his misbehaving jaw, and stalked off in the opposite direction of the one Momiji was taking. He didn't know what she was so irritated at. He had simply asked what Matsudaira's findings were, and she had taken his head off for his troubles. He grumbled as he headed for the nearest window, fully intent on hunting down and then killing some Aragami ass. He had to let off some steam before he took up his customary position in the tree right outside of Momiji's bedroom window. If anyone had seen his face at that moment, they might almost have been tempted to feel sorry for any Aragami the young man came across. Almost.
To be continued . . .
A/N: Pretty much the same terms as used before. Kitsune-bi is generally translated as fox fire.
Thanks so much to everyone who's reviewed, encouraged, threatened, and been patient for this chapter. I didn't put in everything I wanted to because, well, the chapter would have been too long. ^^;;
Review Replies:
lady: Thanks so much! The main pairing for Inu Yasha is going to be Sess/Kag, because I'm crazy. ^_~
dumdeedum: Yeah, Blue Seed really does have a good ending, and the Kenshin manga does, as well. I hate that they never animated the Revenge Arc. *sigh*
*cackle* I'm glad you enjoyed the bath scene, I had a LOT of fun writing it! As a fellow hentai, I was very tempted to play with it more, but considering how Kagome was feeling and that I felt it was way too early in their "relationship" to have some fun in that area. ^_^ But man it was tempting.
shady: Thanks so much! I hope you enjoy this chapter, sorry it took me so long. ^^;;
SailorPanda: *laughs* Great minds DO think alike, woo! Thanks so much! I was hoping the "Kagome's a tad out of her mind so she's updating a captive audience on her life" was belivable. I"m glad you liked it. ^_^
kmf: Yay, I'm glad you like Blue Seed, it really is a cool series. ^_^ Once I get Sess and company on the other side of the well, there will be a lot more scenes with the Blue Seed crew. I think I answered your question about the presence Sess felt near his home in this chapter, but just in case, what he felt was Yamata-no-Orochi on the hunt for the Kushinada of the past. And yeah, the Blue Seed Universe is set in the IY universe so that the two worlds over lap, but since the time frame in Blue Seed seems to pick up the pace around the time I started this, I figure that the reason Kagome doesn't know about the Aragami is because it's a recent happening in her area of the city, while else where it's been going on for some time. *scratches head* I hope that made sense. @_@ And thanks!
Crystal: Here ya go! I'll try to find some other places to post, as well, which might make it easier for you to find. Thanks!
Sakura91: Blue Seed is kind of hard to find information on. It's an older series, and it wasn't really all that popular (for reasons I'll never understand) so it's not surprising that you're not familar with it, I have a feeling a lot of people don't know what it's about. ^^;; Thanks so much for your reviews, I hope you like this chapter. ^_^