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Strangled Time

Chapter Three

Morning came quickly. Too quickly if Kagome had anything to say about it. The sun had forced her awake and when she looked up she was greeted by a pink sky with small white diamonds. Confusion filled the priestess as she stared at the candy colored sky. She blinked. Her eyebrows furrowed. Seconds passed, and then a minute, until finally she realized that she was staring at her picnic sheet that was being illuminated by the sun.

And aching back brought her attention to a good sized bruise that was made from a rock she had landed and apparently slept on the entire night. But aside from that, much to her relief, she was unharmed.

However, Kagome couldn't say as much for her patient.

By the amount of dried blood that matted the back of her hair, the priestess could pretty much assume how much blood he had lost when she had reopened his wound in the fall. Frantically she turned and placed her head on his chest to feel for any breathing. Much to her surprise his breathing had actually improved since the day before. He even seemed to be healing. 'Well, not exactly. But the bleeding stopped.'

Taking that as a good sign, Kagome stretched as best she could without hurting herself and got to her feet.

She had been planning on changing his bandages first thing in the morning, and they were considerably filthy, but her priorities changed after seeing the state of the well. Blood was mixed with mud, attracting flies and worms to the dampness. The priestess nearly gagged at the stench that was only made worse by the warming sun.

"I don't know If demons can get infections..." Kagome started as she kicked the pile that was once his clothing. "But I don't really want to take a chance."

The well walls had dried in the night, but it was still difficult for her to climb with her new bruises and her heavy, damp fleece pajamas that were caked to her back with mud. Were they even worth trying to salvage? A sneeze nearly made her fall from the wall a second time, but Kagome clung to the vine for dear life.

A short walk to the stream cleared her thoughts and senses while the cold water that she quickly washed in chased away any lingering tiredness. Then, once she was ready to seize the day, Kagome started back to the well and down the rabbit hole to change into fresh clothing.

Kagome's trusty yellow backpack had tipped over into a bloody puddle during the night causing most of her clothes, which were at the bottom, to be soiled. Luckily the food and extra bandages were untouched. The only other things that she had to wear were the yukatas which was safe and dry within their box. Though, if she really took the time to think about it, it was probably for the best that she didn't stick out in that new era. When she had first arrived in Inuyasha's time period her uniform had caused her to be mistaken for a demon and almost killed.

A glance at the unconscious man proved that he wasn't going to be waking up any time soon, but just in case she tossed her shirt at him to hide his face after peeling it off.

...

The trip to the village went far better than she had expected. In her duller black yukata that was covered with white triangular shaped flowers she fit right in with the locals. Though she didn't bother putting her hair up, so she still got an odd looks or two and the occasional comment about her being from out of town.

Two stops for directions later and the priestess found herself outside a blacksmith's workshop. "Excuse me," She pushed away the curtain, "I was looking for a hoe or a spade. Something small and easy to carry?"

The smith looked up from attaching a handle to a farming implement that Kagome didn't know the name of. He frowned for a second before his lips twisted into a wry smile. "Out on errand for your husband?" He kept talking, not giving her the chance to reply. "Times are rough, it's understandable. As long as he ain't got your pretty hands out workin' the fields too. A fine woman should be taken well care of." The burly man shook his head and looked away from her. He gestured to a wall that had tools leaning against it. "You'll find what you need over there."

Kagome stepped over to the wall once the man got back to his task, her cheeks colored a light pink. The assumptions that people in the past jumped to amazed her. But, she easily admitted to herself, she much preferred being mistaken as a housewife than a powerful priestess. The lack of obligation made her heart feel light.

The feeling, even just a glimpse of it, helped her to understand how Kikyou had felt when she was alive. That bliss of normality.

The wall had tools in all shapes and sizes, most of which were for farming, some were for other purposes, but some of them were weapons. Modified sickles, spears and monk's spades. Her eyes lingered on the length of a monks spade, a small shovel on one end and a sharp blade on the other. She was slightly tempted to get it because it was two things that she needed in one, but not only did the priestess not know how to use a staff weapon but the thought of getting it down the well wasn't exactly safe.

"As I said," Kagome jumped when she heard the deep voice of the smith directly next to her, "Times are rough." Handing her a small, pickaxe shaped spade, he brought her attention away from the weapons. "That should do the trick."

The priestess smiled and twisted the handle in her hands. "Thanks, um... "

"Saburo."

"Saburo," Kagome repeated, testing the name on her tongue. "Well, Saburo, thanks and... uh... " The words trailed away as she dug in her sleeve and took out a small string of coins. It was her emergency money for Inuyasha's time since they had been spending more time in villages, but she figured that her situation counted as an emergency. "Do you take mon?"

The smith's dark eyes widened after looking at the coin that she had handed to him. He flipped other over a few times. "I've never seen a real one before, only counterfeits." Quickly he held back his words and when he was looking back at her he sobered immensely. "My lady," he threw in a bow as an afterthought, "I apologize for any overly forward remarks that I said." Saburo stumbled over the formalities. "I can't accept that coin, er, that is too much for such a small tool, is there anything else that you may need?"

Startled, Kagome took a step back and waved her hands frantically. "I'm not part of the upper class, you can just call me Kagome." She stuttered and hid the rest of the coins in her sleeve. Apparently inflation was different there than in the time she was accustomed to. "I don't have anything else... could you put it towards a credit?"

The blank look that he gave her was comical, Kagome pressed the coin back into his hand. She had more coins, spending only one wasn't any loss in the least. "I'll give you this now and I'll come back here when I need something else, alright? That way everyone's happy."

A few seconds passed before Saburo closed his hand around the metal disk. With his free hand he rubbed at the short bristles on his wide chin and smiled sheepishly. "Do you know what you might need so that I may have it ready for you, Miss Kagome?"

Let glance at the wall of weapons and the priestess had already made up her mind. "I'm going to need arrows, and a bow if you know where I can get one."

His eyes widened at the odd female.

...

The walk back to the well was uneventful, the people chattered as they milled about but hardly anyone gave her a second glance. the sun was midway to its zenith and the streets were far more crowded than when she had arrived. More people meant that it was easier to overlook her. Not a single person asked her about her nationally or home village because for the first time, if no one looked at her close enough to see her blue eyes, she actually seemed to fit in.

The overgrown path to the well was sleek from the rain of the night before and she nearly slipped when she heard an eerie cry.

The sound was unmistakable. Not only had it been one of the first demons that she had encountered in the past, but they had frequented most of the old battlefields that she and the group had come across.

"Carrion crows!" Kagome yelled as she rushed into the clearing with several small rocks that she had grabbed along the way. Just as expected, several of the large birds were perched on the brim of the portal. Their red eyes focusing between the new threat and the potential dinner that they could smell beneath the tarp.

"Get out of here you nasty scavengers! He isn't dead yet!"

The stones in her hands glowed and cracked with her power, the birds focused on her. With one more threat the priestess chucked the rocks, hoping that they would hit their mark. Two of the rocks made contact, burning holes into the lesser demons' flesh as they fled. Kagome gagged at the rotten smell they left behind.

...

The small spade worked perfectly in the practically nonexistent free space in the well. She was even able to fit it in her sleeve to get down the vine. Kagome had started by turning over the dirt at the bottom, burying the blood under the mud in search of dry soil. It would have gone a lot faster if she could have just purified the blood.

After several long minutes of grueling work she stopped, she stared at the scoop and then nearly hit her head. She was perfectly capable of doing just that. It was no bow, but if she could purify a couple rocks then why couldn't she do the same to her little shovel? Using the spade as a conduit to channel her powers, the priestess began to dig again, each scoop being purified of blood and impurities.

That was a wonderful thing about demon blood. She could make it disappear.

When one corner of the well was clear Kagome was forced to spin the unconscious demon until she was able to reach the next corner. That pattern went on for about an hour until he was back where he started and the only place that she hadn't reached was directly beneath his back.

"Alright," Kagome started, her voice falling on deaf ears. "I moved you from the wall, so I can put you back."

The teen wasn't as weak as she looked, and after years of shard hunting in the past her strength was well deserved, but she still wasn't nearly as strong as Sango and it was rather difficult for her to move the demon. Especially because he was at least a head taller than Inuyasha and had a bulkier build.

Now, she wasn't one to call Inuyasha scrawny, but against that guy it was a good comparison. Heck! That guy made Sesshoumaru seem downright dainty.

With her arms under his Kagome dragged him up and tried her hardest to position him against the wall. A growl-like moan resonated against the stone walls, Kagome dropped her patient who landed partially propped up at an uncomfortable looking angle.

She fell to her knees in front of him, looking for more signs of life. Her eyes grew as she watched his clawed hand creep up to grasp and pick unsuccessfully at the bandages that she had wrapped around his abdomen and chest.

"Hey, hey, hey," the priestess chided, carefully reaching out and pushing his hand away. The sharp claws glinted lazily and she was pretty sure that he didn't have the energy to even cut paper. "You'll rip your gash open again. You've already lost a lot of blood, almost all of it judging by the pond I just cleaned up." When his muscles tensed and his fingers started to twist around her wrist Kagome added, "I've dealt with treating difficult demons before and if you don't chill out and let me help you out, I'll have to make you."

After her threat, as empty as it was, his body fell slack and Kagome could see that his chest was once again falling and rising in a steady rhythm. He was asleep. Better than being passed out in a pool of blood and better than trying to kill her but still worse than she would have preferred.

"Now," Kagome continued as if he could still hear her, as if he had even been listening to her just moments before, "Let me just finish this one spot and then I'll gladly change your bandages."

...

The air was cold by the time night fell. The summer kimono felt lighter than it actually was and goosebumps covered her arms with each draft that ran through the hollow space.

Her bed roll had ripped against one of the headstones during the storm the night before, leaving it's non-waterproof polyester and cotton fill open to the elements. Not even the autumn sun had been able to dry it all the way. At least all of the clothes that were in her bag had dried.

After Kagome had taken the chance that it wouldn't rain and placed the picnic sheet at the floor of the well, all she had left to sleep with were a few spare tee shirts, her school skirt and two yukatas. She didn't even bother trying to wash her ruined pajamas and they were laying in a heap somewhere by the stream.

Wearing one yukata and using the other as a blanket seemed to be her best way to stay warm that night, but it didn't seem to be warm enough. At least her bag made for a comfortable pillow.

The demon hadn't moved since the late morning but, she happy accepted, it was probably for the best. If he was anything like Inuyasha then he wouldn't even give his wounds time to think about healing before running off and making them worse. That possibility was definitely something that she was actually worried about, because as far as she could tell his wound still hadn't started to heal at the normal rate.

Kagome glared at the demon's feet, her modesty forced her to sleep head to foot beside the demon with a good distance between them. Already he was beginning to be more of a hassle than she signed up for. She would have felt horrible if he died in her care, but she was still blind to how he would receive her when he woke. What if he held the same strength of animosity that Sesshoumaru had for humans when they had met for the first time? In his state she would probably be able to fend off his attacks, but then she would be left alone in that strange time.

'But until he wakes up,' Kagome thought as she pushed away from the chilly rock wall and scooted closer to the older demon so that there was still a few centimeters of space separating them, 'I'm just going to steal a little of his mighty demon body heat.'

End Chapter 3