Chapter Forty-Two: The Ascent
Deep within a dreamless void, he floated. Numbness pervaded his senses, insulating his body as if he were in a tomb. The sleep of the dead or of those who hovered close to it, a shallow sigh away.
A rhythmic chirp, faint at first, penetrated the void. It bridged the synapses of his mind, drawing him close. It breathed feeling back into his senses. The coolness of cotton sheets. The pungency of cleansers and disinfectants. The quiet rush of an air conditioner.
Something was pinching his right forearm.
With eyelashes crusted with sleep, Ishida opened his eyes. Glaringly bright, sunlight filled his vision, and he squinted into it, waiting for the blurry world to take shape.
He lay upon a hospital bed, his lower body covered in white sheets and blankets. At the tip of his index finger, he noticed a clamp with a cable that flowed from its end. In his other arm, he discovered the source of the pinching sensation, an IV taped in place, its long tube plugged into a plump bag that hung from a pole. Beside it, he spotted a monitor that displayed graphs of his heart rate, blood pressure, and blood oxygen levels.
Beyond the bed, he spied polished wooden floors and watercolor murals of the deep forest painted on rice paper walls. With his eyes still aching, his gaze drifted towards the floor-to-ceiling windows and the field of skyscrapers reflecting the summertime afternoon on the other side.
Absently, he scratched at his stubbled chin, noting a couple days' worth of growth.
Then his vision came into sharp focus. Leaning forward in an armchair with her elbows resting on her knees, sat the oyabun. A smartphone held her attention as it lay balanced on her palm, and he could make out the motion of a video playing across its screen.
"O-Oya-sama," he rasped, and for a breath, he was surprised by the hoarseness of his voice. Then the searing pain in his chest robbed him of any further thought as wracking coughs shuddered his body.
Before his second cough, she was at his side, untucking the top half of his gown to reveal his bruised chest and abdomen plastered with an array of sensors. Centered over his heart, she placed her hand upon him. An iridescent glow radiated from it and his coughing fit subsided. Every inhale and exhale became easy and he was overcome with a strange euphoria that reminded him of morning dew clinging to blades of grass.
Feebly, he reached for her hand and gave it a thankful pat.
And with a nod, she withdrew.
"What happened?" he asked, glancing at the medical instruments attached to him.
"What do you remember?" she replied.
He looked up as he thought back. "I remember that we let ourselves be caught by the Demon of Namidabashi and his crew. We were in that parking structure across from the nightclub. You were about to kill him when that weird girl with the glowing arrows shot me in the leg. I fell…" He shook his head. "But after that, there's nothing."
She nodded and started to pace. "The arrow struck an artery. You were bleeding out. I managed to get you to the closest hospital in less than a minute." She paused. "But you had lost so much blood that your heart stopped beating."
"Ah," he sighed, feeling at the bruising that mottled his chest. "That explains the broken ribs."
She began to walk again. "Between my powers and the blood transfusions, they were able to stabilize you and repair the artery. They advised bedrest for now and likely physical therapy later. If patience is observed, they anticipate a full recovery."
He smiled to himself and then reached for the bed remote. The whir of a motor engaged as he raised the head of the bed. And when it was fully upright, he crossed his legs, hissing at the pain that throbbed from his thigh.
"What are you doing?" she asked, her pacing slowing to a stop.
"You saved my life," he grunted as he mustered his strength to lean forward and bow deeply. "I'm required to express my gratitude."
She grasped him by the shoulders. "Please don't. It was my arrogance that endangered you. I desired to play and gave them an opening that nearly killed you."
He let her push him back onto his pillow and chuckled when she seized the remote to lower the head of the bed.
A smirk kinked his mouth. "Have to admit that they played a good game though. Can't be angry at that. Especially the girl. She did what she had to do, and the outcome was not chance."
She scoffed. "I should have killed that filthy youkai when he was lurking outside the tower that morning. But it had been so long since I had dealt with one that I wanted to have some fun. Instead, I had to hope that the collapsing parking structure would finish the job."
"The parking structure collapsed?"
She nodded. "And despite being crushed by it, he still lives."
He raised his eyebrows.
Leaving his bedside, she walked over to the armchair and picked up her smartphone and when she returned, she cued up the video before handing it to him.
"Police footage," she explained before he could play it, "Emergency services were conducting their rescue efforts that evening when one of their dash cameras caught this. There's no audio and it's not public yet."
He nodded and then tapped the play icon.
Illuminated by floodlights, a jumbled mountain of gray rubble appeared on the screen. The only sign that it was someplace that he knew existed at its edges where the remnants of the parking structure still stood. In the foreground, flashing red lights spun and rescue workers fluoresced green as they worked the scene. Then the camera began to tremble, and the workers scrambled back behind their vehicles. Beyond them, the rubble shifted as what remained of the upper levels tumbled to one side. The time stamp at the corner of the video ticked by as a strange stillness persisted. The workers crept forward. Then they fell back when the trembling returned. A white blur exploded from the mountainside in a hail concrete and behind him, the rubble cascaded down, nearly swallowing him up.
"Damn…" he muttered, replaying the clip in slow motion. "I don't know how many tons of concrete that was, but he was definitely pulling more power than when he fought you." He looked up at her and frowned. "It was the kind of move I'd expect from someone in your weight class. No disrespect, my lady."
Her dark eyes hardened into a glare.
Letting out a sigh, he bowed his head. "Apologies."
She looked away and her expression softened.
"So, what happened to the others that were with him," he asked as he held out her phone. "Did they escape, too?"
"It's unclear," she replied as she took the device and slipped it into her pants pocket. "Emergency services are still searching the rubble for survivors. According to our sources, they've found no one alive or dead."
He hummed thoughtfully. "Well, I doubt he'd make an escape like that and leave them behind, so they're probably alive somewhere in the city."
A scowl soured her expression and she paced. "He's youkai trash. When it comes down to life or death, such creatures only care about their own kind. No one else matters, even if they share their blood."
"Oya-sama."
An opalescent glow shimmered in her eyes. "He dared to look upon me with disdain and label me an abomination."
He blinked slowly. A fallen tree in a lush forest overwhelmed his senses. Soft with rot, clusters of red-capped mushrooms protruded from its thick trunk, and under the bark and deep within its crevices, insects scurried and scratched. He inhaled the air and an earthy redolence filled his lungs, inspiring thoughts of death and renewal.
"Oya-sama," he repeated weakly.
"He will not escape me for long. I will destroy him. And I will destroy any humans that harbor him."
"Oya-sama, please."
"What?" she demanded.
"Your aura," he sputtered, drool seeping down his chin. "I can't…"
The imagery blew away like smoke and he was in the tower again. The opalescence faded from her eyes.
"I understand that you feel strongly about this demon," he said, wiping his chin clean. "But let me continue to handle it as your wakagashira. It's my duty as a first lieutenant to deal with your enemies so that your hands stay clean."
"You're injured."
He tapped his temple. "I don't need to walk, or to even leave this room, to strategize. With a phone and a laptop, I can assemble teams to gather intelligence. I'll find the demon and his crew, if they're still alive. And when they're found, I'll set another trap and make any sacrifices necessary to ensure its success, even if it's at the risk of my own life. But please, let me do it."
With her arms crossed against her chest, she eyed him.
"No," she avowed, anger hardening her voice. "I will hunt this prey myself."
OOOOOOOOOO
With her thumbs tucked under the thick straps of her old, yellow backpack, Kagome took a break from her hike. Absently, she reached for a side pocket and pulled her water bottle free. Flipping its top, she took a refreshing sip of its cool contents before turning to look back down the steep mountain and see how far she had come.
Like feathery spires, tall conifers blanketed the world, broken only by the ribbon of gray that marked the train track coursing through the valley below. Eclipsed by the dark green, she could still make out the white station where they had disembarked. To justify having a train stop, she had expected at least a small town nearby, but only a couple vending machines had awaited them. That and a trail half hidden by the encroaching forest. Given a dearth of options, they had spent the better part of the afternoon hiking it as it carved its way up the mountainside.
"Can you still see the train station?" Souta asked, his question garbled by munching sounds.
"Barely," she replied and turned towards him.
Steadily plodding along, Tora headed up the trail with his backpack slung across his chest and Souta riding on his back. The second switchback had defeated the boy and much to Tora's surprise, he had been given something more to carry.
"That's cool," Souta remarked as he crunched down on a pretzel and chewed it noisily. "How far do you—"
"Okay," Tora interrupted, irritation clipping his words. "The real question is how much money did Sesshoumaru give you to buy snacks? Because I'm pretty sure that you've been chewing in my ear for the last half mile."
"Like four-thousand yen," he replied matter-of-factly before popping another pretzel into his mouth.
He sighed. "Remind me to counsel Sesshoumaru about finance management when this is all over. But in the meantime, you and I need to strike a bargain, Souta-chan."
"Oh?"
He cleared his throat. "In exchange for being your horse, I require regular snack and beverage service during this trip. Hand fed to me, by the way, since my hands are currently occupied."
"You want me to feed you pretzels?" Souta asked.
"Yep, just pop them in my mouth."
"Okay!" he agreed with a grin. Stuffing his hand into the bag, he pulled out a pretzel and reached blindly around to Tora's face.
"Ow, that was my eye! And that's my nose. Try again. Hit my tooth there, so we're getting close and…"
Souta yelped. "You bit me!"
"Sorry," Tora apologized as he munched on the pretzel. "Hazards of feeding a tiger. Get me some water."
Reaching forward, he plucked a water bottle from the backpack and unscrewed the lid. Moments later, they were both laughing with half the water splashed between them and only a quarter of it having made it into Tora's mouth.
Kagome sighed as she eyed the drenched bandage that covered the gash Tora had received when the parking garage collapsed.
"Are you still feeling okay?" she asked, tapping her head in the same spot as his wound. "This is a lot of activity for someone recovering from a concussion."
His laugh sobered to a smile. "Don't worry. I'm paying attention to how I'm feeling. No dizziness or light-headedness. And I'm apparently drinking plenty of water. Mostly."
She opened her mouth with a ready objection.
"We're nearly to the crest," Sesshoumaru spoke up. With three backpacks weaved across his chest and Grandpa perched upon his back, his pace had been the slowest as he picked his way along for the smoothest path. "When we reach it, you may check him for any signs of ailment. Until then, we should press on before the sun gets low."
"What are we going to do if there's nothing at the top?" Souta asked as he shoved the empty snack bag into one of the backpack pockets.
"We will camp out for the night. I will return to the station for provisions or if desired, I can provide through hunting."
His eyes widened. "Cool."
With Kagome taking the lead, they continued their ascent. Buried under thick piles of pine needles, the trail disappeared and reappeared as they made their way, leaving her to rely on the hint of its unnatural rut as guidance. The low-hanging sun transformed the forest with its golden hues, casting long shadows as the late afternoon reached its zenith. And as she hiked around the bend, her jaw dropped open.
The trail ended in a steep flight of stone steps and midway up them in bright red, a huge torii gate loomed.
"Amazing," Grandpa murmured, excitement brimming in his voice. "Look at the craftsmanship. There's no mortar."
Sesshoumaru nodded. The steps had been carved and fit together so precisely that the seams were barely discernable. The effect made it appear as if the flight had been crafted from a single massive stone.
Following Sesshoumaru, they started the climb. Despite the blanketed state of the trail, not one pine needle touched the steps. Lining the way, sets of stone lanterns stood, the light within them igniting as they passed by. However, their pace slowed as they approached the gate and a strange tension electrified the air.
"It feels like a barrier," Kagome noted, "But not one that's divine, so I don't think you'll get purified."
"That's hardly reassuring," Sesshoumaru commented dryly as he reached towards the gate, feeling the shape of the barrier. He frowned thoughtfully.
"What is it?"
"Its shape isn't meant to repel or destroy. Tell me, can you sense anything beyond it?"
Closing her eyes, she pushed her senses, trying to feel for what lay at the crest of the mountain but discovered nothingness instead. She shook her head.
"It's a dead zone designed to keep this place hidden except from those who are meant to find it."
With his customary confidence, Sesshoumaru passed through the gate and blue light rippled the air around him. Kagome followed suit, and as she crossed the barrier, the songs of birds and wind-rustled trees filled a silence she hadn't realized existed.
"Oh, that was really weird," Tora blurted out behind her. Then patterns of ripples inundated the air as he hopped back and forth through the gate, testing the effect. "So weird!"
Kagome sighed wearily.
With the lanterns guiding their way, they continued their ascent, the atmosphere thinning as they climbed. And when they reached the crest of the steps, the trees parted into an open courtyard. At its center stood a beautiful shrine built around a gigantic, mammalian skull, its long upper canines serving as a pair of pillars that framed its main entrance.
And waiting on its front steps stood an elderly woman in her sixties with a hammer slung against her shoulder. Long, gray hair spiraled down to her hips and she wore a sporty bikini that showcased a body in peak physical condition for her age. Tilting her chin up, she stared at them.
"Who the hell are you people?"