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Strangled Time

Chapter 11

"You need to aim lower when you shoot your bow."

Kagome looked up from her knife and vegetables and over to where Togashimaru was skinning her rabbits. "If you're making fun of my archery skills, I won't give you any dinner."

The demon general didn't look up at her; he kept his little smirk hidden behind the jagged silk of his silver bangs as he worked. The fur of the second animal pulled away with ease beneath the swift blade of his claw and a firm tug.

"There is no judgment. Your skill is quite fair. See here." He laid the cleaned bodies side by side on the timber between them. With the tip of his pinkie he pointed to one of the wounds made by her arrow, and then to the second. "The mark is consistent, which indicated a steady hand and straight aim. However, the shaft enters high in the shoulder." His hand lowered to the widest point of the animal's chest where he tapped his claw. "If instead you aim here to the rib, the heart will be pierced. When the heart is pierced the kill is cleaner and the creature will suffer less."

The priestess flushed and turned back to dicing her radish. "I do aim for the heart." She muttered under her breath.

"Then your arch is overcompensating for the distance at which you are shooting. I assume you are accustomed to attacking from a larger distance across an open battle field?"

"Yeah, that's usually the case."

"In such a clearing, you have to account for the wind and weight of your arrow as it falls. Yet now you are hunting in a dense forest where the trees shield most of the wind current and your prey is much closer."

A lightbulb went off above her head and her hands paused.

"It isn't going as far, so there's less hang time. I don't need to arch it so high because it won't fall as much as what I'm used to."

"Precisely."

"Thank you." Kagome told him, and her words were genuine. There was relief on her breath. "I'll keep that in mind next time I go out." She finished up her meal prep, dropped the vegetables into the small pot of stock that was started over the fire, and then collected her scraps on the old handkerchief where Togashimaru had deposited their dinners' innards. "I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong—I was doing it the same way as I always had, but I wasn't quite hitting the mark."

The dog demon nodded at that. Then he added to the small list of observations that he'd been keeping of her. "You are quieter when you return from hunts where you were unable to put down the animal quickly. The distress clouds your scent."

"Just because they're dinner, doesn't mean that they don't still feel pain." Kagome replied before countering his discovery with one of her own. "You're pretty humane, yourself. You don't want anything I hunt to suffer either."

The general gathered the slick skins from behind him and piled them on the wooden beam, and then he picked up one of the skulls. It was small and still pink with flesh, like an apple in his delicate grasp. "An animal is different than man or beast. They are innocents, and as such deserving of respect. For any other, respect is a privilege that must be earned."

Kagome had to hide her grimace when the man ran his thumb along the jawline of the decapitated rabbit's head. She pulled the corner of their makeshift trash basket closer for him to use, but he refused.

"I will be keeping these for the time being, while they still have use." Togashimaru said before elaborating. "During cold weather, hares begin to grow their thicker coats. It would be a shame to let them go to waste." He tossed the skull into the air and caught it. Thanks to a little splatter of blood that freckled his cheek, Kagome was no longer reminded of an apple. He, on the other hand, didn't seem at all phased by the gore. "Using the animal's brain, the hide can be preserved as a textile for future use."

"Oh." The word bubbled up from her throat with a little squeak. She shuddered and was forced to turn away when he cracked the bone on a rock like an egg. Slightly nauseous, Kagome distracted herself from further thoughts of food, before her appetite was lost completely. She quickly dumped the prepped rabbits into the pot and gathered the handkerchief to take care of in the woods.

Garbage. Garbage duty and washing. No bunny brains.

"You do your thing!" Kagome called over her shoulder without looking back. "I'll be, you know, this way. Yell if you need me!"

"Your stomach is still quite weak!" He yelled back, voice robust and humored. "We will work on that."

"How about we don't and say we did!" She chirped with a dismissive wave before leaping across the threshold of round headstones and into the tree line.

...

Togashimaru leaned against the large tree where he decided to stop and catch his breath on his walk. It was an ancient tree, he could tell by the energy that flowed within its branches above him, pulsing like a blood and flesh creature, and it allowed him to take shelter among its roots. He focused on the jagged bark digging into his shoulder instead of his more pressing issue.

He'd reassured his little human caretaker that he was beginning to feel better thanks to her handiwork, and that was not entirely a lie. It was true that he no longer felt as if his innards were on the verge of greeting him, the sun, and the open air, but the fickle bastard still refused to heal.

When his lungs were once more under his control, the !nu no Taisho loosened his sash and pulled away the thin cotton of his yukata. The fabric had dried to his wound and he was forced to peel it away, but he'd foregone the bandages intentionally to let it breathe and had expected such a result. Still, he winced until the stitches were exposed to the cold wind.

It was the wound of a corpse—which he most certainly would have been had the priestess not gotten tangled within his strings of fate—and the flesh of the dead did not mend. That was what Ryukotsuke's poison did: it killed the flesh. Even a demon as powerful as him was not immune to the dragon's slow and silent killer.

His son would have been immune, given his inborn poisons of his own, but Sesshoumaru was nowhere near strong enough to face such an opponent yet. He was still just a boy. A hotheaded, pompous boy whom Togashimaru hadn't even dared invite to that political meeting turned sour.

The demon lord much preferred his son to be alive, despite the youngling's rebellious attitude. He much preferred all of his loved ones to be living, in fact, which was why he vowed to sacrifice his life before harm could befall any one of them; why he had been ready to welcome death in the flames of the manner once Izayoi and the babe were safe.

And by the looks of the new purplish hue of the ragged skin just near his navel where the sutured gash began, that sacrifice may soon still be at hand.

Death was not a thing that Togashimaru feared, but something that he welcomed as an old friend after so many centuries walking the land. He'd taken the lives of countless others to get to his position and every battle was a flirtatious dance with the grim reaper.

What he feared was the thought of being taken before being able to see his precious family one last time.

...

"Those things are still hanging out in the tree. I should really just shoot them before they get any bright ideas."

"There is no need. They are unable to harm me."

Kagome paused. Skeptical. "...Are you sure? These ones are pretty big."

Togashimaru hummed and looked up to the tallest pine across the clearing. Two black shadows hung heavy in its branches.

"I've grown fond of them." He told her. "The one on the left I've named Sasu."

"You named them?"

"The one on the right is Kuu."

"On my god. Stop. They're not pets."

"They appear awfully hungry. Could we not offer them the scraps of our dinner?"

"Seriously!? We're not feeding the carrion crows, Toga!"

At the sound of her raised voice the demonic birds took flight and disappeared into the forest.

Togashimaru turned to her with a frown. "Must you deafen my entertainment, Kagome?"

...

The dirt road of the textile district seemed much larger as she walked it alone. Normally she walked them with Saburo's hulking figure by her side, she realized. Whether it was intentional or happenstantial, the priestess and the smith always ended up meeting there somehow. When they perused the few stands that lined the streets the man was always ducking under awnings and weaving between pedestrians. Without him there the foot traffic was a lot easier to navigate.

She would have invited him along for that trip as well, since she was on the lookout for a new outfit for Togashimaru—something thicker to fight the chill of the impending colder weather and darker to hide any blood stains that she couldn't remove were on her list of stipulations—since the two really were the perfect size for one another's clothing, but she hadn't wanted to interrupt him. He was no doubt a busy bee in his sweltering hive, hard at work making that tachi. So the priestess took to shopping alone. She was sure that she'd be able to eyeball it on her own.

Or at least she would have been able to eyeball it, if there was anything to eyeball.

The tables were missing the folded yukata that they had held however many days or weeks before. Even at that time there hadn't been a great selection, but now she was hard pressed to find even two. There was plenty of fabric, but no clothing.

After sifting through bolt upon bolt of wrapped cloth without coming across even a thread of stitching, she asked the merchant what was up.

"It is not profitable to provide finish garments year round. In the summer months there are tourists and travelers through this valley, yet they dwindle as the leaves change their colors and the tidal winds grow cold." The middle aged vendor that she wasn't familiar with cast a judgmental glance to her thin summer garb. It was starting to become threadbare in the knees and there were grimy spots she hadn't been able to get out from dirt and fire ashes. He sniffed at her. "In these parts, any decent woman can clothe her husband and children with needle and thread. If you are looking to get by on conveniences given to you by others then perhaps—"

An older plump woman interrupted the man just as Kagome was starting to get stiff and defensive. The lady told him something quietly, for his ears only. He froze, eyes widened. The woman disappeared behind the line of vendors.

The vendor coughed, and when he spoke again his tone had taken an abrupt about face. "Of course I'd be more than happy to assist you with finding a suitable fabric and—"

But the priestess had already tuned him out. She walked off, leaving his words hanging in the air like a sheet on a line out to dry. As she skimmed the other vendors on the street, searching for any signs of finished clothing, she instead found the stares of people watching her. There were eyes everywhere. Smiles. Whispers. A vendor across the street that she had dealt with before called her over.

She started to wave, to relax at the sight of a friendly face. But then she saw the plump woman again out of the corner of her eye, conspiring with another and pointing to the bag at Kagome's hip. The bag that was still fat with valuable coins.

A chill raced up her spine.

Perhaps it would be a good idea to come back another time. Like maybe in the spring, when she knew for sure that she could find what she was looking for and the people had forgotten her face.

Why were they all staring at her?

Kagome turned from the vendor and back to the street. She met the eye of a younger woman in a layered Kimono. The woman smiled. Bold. Direct.

The time traveler took a step back.

The woman started towards her.

Kagome spun away, heart racing. Palms sweating.

Her nose hit a wall. A chest. Another woman dressed in layers upon layers of fabric.

They had her surrounded.

End Chapter

(Author's note: On Toga's carrion crows, Sasu and Kuu are both different Japanese verbs for `to bite.' The more you know. Also, I'm thinking about picking up this story and updating it on a schedule. It's feasible for me since the chapters are so short and it doesn't intimidate me or bog me down as much as Just Instincts/With Reason. I will still be updating that story as well, just not as frequently while I'm still in college. Thank you to all who have reviewed! I hope you enjoy the chapters to come!)