Chapter Two: Waking in Strange Places

Sleep clung to Kagome like stubborn cobwebs. She woke slowly, aware of a warm body pressed against her hip and a rock digging into her back. Her groan didn't stir the child who held her, but the sound echoed through her pounding head. Her limbs were heavy, and she spent a long moment staring up into the cold and distant stars, waiting for her tired body to get the message that it was time to move.

She was accustomed to sleeping on the ground; there weren't a lot of options while traveling the feudal countryside and Inuyasha wasn't one for creature comforts or luxury, but normally if she passed out early someone would at least toss a blanket over her. Tonight, she was bare except for her miko garb. It was damp. Chilled dew blanketed the ground around her while a dim fire sputtered uselessly on the other side of her snuggle buddy.

Her neck popped when she turned her head. Silver hair caught her eye. "Inuyasha!"

She reached for him, and the child shifted.

Not Shippou, she realized too late, squinting in the light of dying embers. And if that's Rin-chan, then this must be...

Her eyes trailed up from where her hands had fisted in white silk across hard thighs, past breastplate and shoulder guards, to the piercing eyes of a tenuous ally who looked like he smelled something awful.

"Erm... hi," she offered.

"Release this Sesshoumaru."

She gasped and staggered back, rubbing her hands together like she was washing their contact away. She could still feel his heat on her hands. "Sorry."

The Western Lord rested against the trunk of a towering tree. The scent of smoke stuck to him, so strong that even she could smell it. He gazed over her shoulder, clearly pretending that she wasn't there, and then he closed his eyes again and leaned his head against the bark. She waited patiently for him to acknowledge her, to explain, to say or do something, anything! He did not stir.

She shifted uncomfortably into a kneeling position. Pressed her fingers together. Shuffled forward on her knees. Finally, she couldn't take his silence any longer. "Sesshoumaru-sama?"

He let out a nasal "hn" without opening his eyes.

"What am I doing here?"

"Annoying me."

Anger sparked through her, but she was too exhausted to hang onto it. "How did I get here?"

"I saved you."

"...From what?"

"You tell me."

Kagome groaned at what was quickly growing into the least productive conversation she'd ever had. Why was he being deliberately vague? "Sesshoumaru-sama," she tried again. "What is going on here?"

She waited for a long moment. She counted stars, breathed in the scent of smoke, studied Sesshoumaru's striking features, and tried to think back. What happened?

The last thing she remembered was hiking up a mountain trail. The path was laid out in packed stone. It was inviting and vaguely familiar, with moss skirting the edges of the steps and creeping up the ancient trees that hemmed the path. The winding road had started up at a random point in the mountain woods, and she realized that it was one-sided- it led to somewhere but from nowhere, a lost and lonely traveler's salvation.

She was neither lost nor alone; Shippou raced ahead of her.

I'm holding him back. The thought struck her like a smack to the face.

It was just the two of them on this journey, but the reason why eluded her. Memories that were as light and elusive as smoke skirted her consciousness, like a dream she'd half-forgotten. The sun felt very far away, even though it was mid-afternoon on a cloudless fall day. The autumn chill had crept in and sank into her bones and there was no warmth in the sky or on the path. She searched for a familiar landmark, looking for Inuyasha's unmistakable shade of red, but it was just the two of them, the yellowing leaves, and the cold blue stones of the path.

She tried to share in his excitement when he ran towards her and leaped into her arms.

"How long will you be gone?" She asked. She hated how needy the question sounded. How many times had he seen her off without complaint? How many times had she left him behind, all of them behind, and gone where they couldn't follow? She wasn't accustomed to being so powerless. Now she was the one without choices.

"As long as it takes to get strong. Don't be sad. I'll visit you!"

"You'll be great," she promised.

Metal jingled behind her. A monk's staff? The others must have followed. She paused to fluff Shippou's bangs and he jumped down to race ahead again while she waited for her friends to round the bend behind her.

And then... Nothing.

"I was taking Shippou to school." The words were as much for her as they were for him. "He asked me to take him. I wanted to get away."

"From what?"

Unease unfurled in her stomach and all she could do was shake her head.

It was supposed to be an easy journey, one that was relatively safe. "Where's Shippou?"

Sesshoumaru gazed at her with a weighty solemnity that made her pulse race. "Go to sleep. We will look into this further in a few days' time."

"I need to go now! Shippou is- he could be- I don't even think I told Inuyasha where we were going!"

"I cannot travel. You will wait for me."

Panic set its claws into her and she hissed, shooting up. "You and your brother – you think you can always tell everyone else what to do! But it isn't your decision to make! I'm going!"

His eyes flashed red but he made no move to follow her as she stalked off into the dark woods.

Prompt: Chie's monthly prompt for December 2020, Star

A/N: Thanks for reading! =)