XI.
Quid? Quidni
Kaede held her tongue and passed behind him and out over the threshold. Kouga hears her voice outside, summoning help out of the village, and men come with her when she returns. There is a moment of stillness when they see her guest, but only a moment. Kouga ignores them; he isn't interested in humans, just thisone, fascinating woman.
"Kouga-kun -"
He lifts his eyes to Kagome's face again as she speaks.
"Just call me Kouga, sweet Kagome; I want to be close to you, after all."
Closer than anyone else.
"I – alright, Kouga."
The flush is back in her cheeks; he likes it there.
"Kouga, where are you taking me? Why are you taking me? I – I don't have any idea what's going on or how I got here, so why do you want to take me somewhere else? I'm grateful, of course; I couldn't have paid Kaede for her help -"
"Don't worry about that; it's not like we don't need to eat too. Anyway, have you got anywhere better to go than with me, Kagome?"
She hesitates, rubs her hands together, flashes him a pained smile.
"Well no – not really – its not – its not that, but I've got no idea how I got here and I really should try to get home. My mother's going to be so worried – and my grandfather, and my little brother -"
She stops and swallows, takes a deep breath as she remembers.
"My little brother...Souta saw me get attacked; but I got pulled through the well and no one is going to believe him if he tells them what happened. There's not even a body..."
Kouga is curious now; she was pulled through a well?
"Where are you from, Kagome? I won't lie, you're a lovely woman, but you're not dressed like you're from around here even if you speak excellent Japanese."
"I – I don't know if I can explain. I'm from Tokyo, the capital of Japan, but -"
Kouga's laughter interrupted her words.
"What are you talking about, woman? I don't know much about humans but even I know that Kyoto's the capital; has been for..oh, I don't know, maybe four hundred years."
Kagome's eyes grow wide and she pales; she repeats him, stuttering, and doesn't understand.
"Kyoto – Kyoto's the – capital..."
And her mind processes, very slowly, the importance of the other detail he has transmitted. Kyoto is the capital; has been for...oh, I don't know four hundred years.
Four hundred years.
Kyoto had been the capital of Japan for almost eight hundred years, before Tokyo took its place. If it has only been four hundred years...
"Kouga – Kouga, please can you – can you tell me the date? Can you tell me what year it is?"
He scowls and considers her question.
"Year? Ah...well...it's not Daiei anymore...is it? I don't think – Kyoraku...maybe? Or that one might be over too – it's the sixth year of something, I know that -"
Kagome grins despite the situation, despite the insecurity of her circumstances. Kouga reaches up one hand and ruffles his bangs above the fur of his headband.
"Sorry, Kagome, that's the best I can do – Ginta's the one who keeps track of that kind of stuff."
"That kind of...the year is a kind of stuff?"
He shrugs, chagrined.
"Well no, not really – but I assume you want a human date, yeah? Ginta keeps track of the human stuff we might need to know; he likes it, thinks humans are interesting."
Kagome thinks, but though the era-names he's given her sound faintly familiar, history is not her best subject; still, she knows those aren't the names of any era since the Meiji.
"Kouga -"
He shrugs and smiles his apology, but she's not concerned with his lack of knowledge any more. The truth is close to her now; it weighs on her, and she feels suddenly lightheaded again, dizzy with possibility. She speaks in low tones.
"Kouga I think – that centipede-woman, I think she took me from the future."
He stares at her with surprise but only for an instant; then he shrugs.
"I guess that explains the clothes; but I don't see how it changes anything, Kagome. The future or a far-off place, it doesn't matter, I haven't got a clue how to get you back to where you came from. The thing that grabbed you might have the power to travel in time, I don't."
Kouga's fingers reach out and stroke her cheek, brush a stray lock of hair back away from her face.
"Sorry, Kagome."
She sighs and shrugs.
"It's not your fault; I...I'll have to find some other way home than how I got here."
"Until you do, you can stay with me. You can visit with my wolves; I'll show you Echigo and its forests, the wild mountains and the powers that sleep in them – you said you'd never seen a youkai? I'll show you the dens of beasts men have forgotten, magic enough to fuel your dreams forever."
She stares at him; her pulse quickens to his words. In the future, her life is ordinary; school, family, friends...nothing will change when she gets back; if she gets back. For now...for now, can't she just enjoy being part of something more? Something spectacular; something magical; something unbelievable that's just her own.
Kouga sees that he's almost won her; the yes he wants is right there, on the tip of her tongue -
"So what about it, Kagome?"
His blue eyes glitter at her intensely; her heart jumps and thuds in her chest.
"Will you come with me?"
She hesitates only a moment more, and then nods.
"I...yes. Why not?"
His smile outshines the sun.
A/N: Today's chapter title, "Quid, Quid ni?" means "Why - Why not?" - for obvious reasons of course. Kagome makes her decison; Kouga is inevitably pleased by it; and we...go onwards tomorrow, my dears! I send love to all those who have reviewed, and especially to velvet_sometimes and Miss Millarca who help me plot the doom that moves steadily on!
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