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Strangled Time

Chapter 16

After depositing Togashimaru and her stuffed backpack among the gnarled roots of the Goshinboku, Kagome set to work combing the well's clearing with her bow. Back and forth she raced across the field, leaping over the ruins of the castle foundation, brushing the tall grass stalks. Purity crackled in the air around her, the conduit of her longbow glowed white-blue with power. Every trace of the injured dog demon's wakened aura was purified with a fine glitter of light; she could practically hear it crackle like a bug zapper each time she passed places where he had lingered the longest. His scent dissipated with each pass as well, but that was something that the priestess had to take Togashimaru's word on.

With each and every turn, Kagome could see the field getting lighter—feeling brighter—even as the sun fell lower. By the time she had reached the head of the trail the entire patch was aglow with soft blue artificial starlight. She watched for a second, just to be sure that the Miko power was going to fade away before setting back through the forest. It didn't take very long at all to find the sacred tree; she knew the path by heart and with her skirts hiked she could leap the fallen trees and stumps with a grace and speed that she never had back when she was fifteen and new to the past.

Silently, Kagome was grateful that she'd been given plenty of time to learn the new layout of that much younger forest before being pitted against such excitement.

No. Excitement wasn't the best word for it. The feeling in the pit of her stomach as she tagged the tree's fat root system was a lot closer to dread. Dread and fear and uncertainty. Her heart was pounding. Sesshoumaru was on the wind and closing in on them. Probably doing nothing more than passing through along the patrol of his lands, Toga had said, not looking for them specifically. lnuyasha's forest was technically a part of his territory, the very edge of it, thus the border patrol.

Was it even called lnuyasha's forest yet? Had it been coined after the half demon of the same name was pinned to that very tree? Or had Inuyasha been the one named after the forest?

Kagome shook her head. It was not the time to be asking those sorts of questions.

The idea of bumping into Sesshoumaru hadn't really crossed her mind since she first discovered where she was, and she hadn't even been all that worried about it when Toga told her that he was heading their way. It was Sesshoumaru; she'd dealt with him before, no big deal. She'd just pretend not to know him and not do anything to draw his attention. But that was before her current dog demon companion filled her in on a vital bit of information:

That particular son had been looking to take Togashimaru's life with his own two hands to acquire the blood won title of General. He'd been vying and failing to kill his father for years before the fall of the manor, and if the boy got the shock of learning that Toga was still alive and in such a sorry state, honor be damned, he wouldn't hesitate to act.

The boy.

Kagome found it really weird to refer to the Western lord as a boy—they were Toga's words, not hers. He was probably still far older than her, but compared to the four thousand year old demon in front of her, Sesshoumaru was still very much a child. Despite that, from what she could sense at that distance, his aura still felt the same as what she remembered. And he was probably still just as capable as the Sesshoumaru she knew from the future.

Thus the dread.

"Okay." The teen started, setting the tip of her bow on the ground to catch her breath. "Done. I did the entire field." She ducked among the roots into the little alcove and kneeled before Togashimaru. He was propped against the trunk of the tree, eyes closed to focus on his son's steady advance. "Barrier next?"

She got to work building it before he nodded, using the length of the bow to focus her energy once more. Toga didn't shy away from the glow, but he did lift an eyelid to watch it warily.

"Yes. Behind it we should be hidden. Without my scent lingering heavily in the area, he should have no reason to investigate. He should pass through without incident, none the wiser to our presence."

The translucent barrier wavered at the shoulds before it was fully formed.

"And if he does catch your scent somewhere?" Kagome looked over in time to see him tense.

His face twisted with a grimace. "Then he will surely hunt me down."

"Toga." She said the nickname like a curse, shocking them both. It was strong enough to startle him, and for once he actually looked intimidated by the little priestess. Perhaps his own nerves were getting the better of him as well. The incomplete barrier dropped and her hands splayed flat against the ground near his feet, glow gone. "I don't know everywhere you've been walking in this forest. I got the well and the trail here, but what about everywhere else?"

The demon lord was unable to meet her eyes. "We must trust that the wind has cleared it well enough."

"Could it?" Kagome searched the profile of his face and she didn't like what she found there. "Can the wind just blow away a day old trail that easily? Tell me, if you were in top condition right now, would you be able to track us?"

At that he hesitated. "If luck is on our side, he will not—"

"We're not relying on luck, Toga!" She shuffled out of their little hiding spot and got to her feet. Turning, Kagome fixed on him with a glare. "I'm going to clear the rest of it. You walked mostly down to the brook, right? Where else? It's not far, I'll be quick."

Togashimaru looked like he was going to get up and grab her arm, but halfway to pulling himself up he fell back against the tree and clutched at his side. He didn't bother to hide the pain from his face. Unable to restrain her, he amended his protest with words. Hissing through his teeth, he reminded her, "This boy is not the same Sesshoumaru you know."

Kagome stiffened. "I know that."

"He is not your ally. This Sesshoumaru holds no concern for human life. He will not hesitate to harm you."

"Then I'll run." She answered. "I'll be there and back before he even gets here. He's still way over the mountain."

Soaked through with concern, Togashimaru realized that he wasn't going to be able to convince her to stay, and he had no way to force the matter. Slowly, his shoulders slumped. When he looked up at her his eyes were tired, eyebrows pinched upwards and irises shimmering with glowing flecks of molten gold despite the thick clouds blocking any of the early evening lights that could have been reflecting in them.

He looked dejected.

It was the same look that Inuyasha gave her whenever he felt truly helpless. It almost made her change her mind.

"I cannot run with you." He stated quietly.

With a teasing chuckle that came more from her tightly bound nerves than insensitivity, Kagome asked "Are you worried about me?"

"Yes." Was his blunt reply.

Kagome swallowed. The only sounds in the silence between them were their breaths on the air and the rustling of wind through the last of the autumn's dead leaves. Goosebumps rose on her bare shins and forearms. Sesshoumaru's aura tickled the back of her mind, drawing closer. It was absolutely freezing, but at that moment she couldn't help but feel very warm.

With a stifled sigh, Kagome rested her hand against the large roots of the tree that encased him. She regarded him softly.

Apologetically.

"...Thank you." Kagome said in earnest. "But I'll be fine. Right now we're worrying about you."

And then she raised the barrier between the roots, locking him safely away behind it, and ran off in the opposite direction.

...

An arrow loosed down the fork of a path, one of many that made its way down to the water, its light cast eerie shadow behind every tree and shrub it passed until finally hitting the trunk of its mark. The air in its wake was clear and fresh, but the blackening clouds loomed overhead with a threat that seemed to negate her efforts. Wind twisted and spun the forest debris at her feet as she turned, knocked another arrow, and released it down the adjacent road.

They weren't really roads; they really weren't any type of foot path made for man. They were actually deer trails that wound throughout the mountainside, far from the beaten roads that the villagers frequented. That made them safe for her and Togashimaru to navigate without being seen, but that was also what made them dangerous. If you weren't paying attention to where you were going, it was easy to become lost or run into the bears and lesser demons that also utilized the paths. Many people disappeared in the forests of Japan, following trails that they thought would lead them to the safety or a village, only to wander endlessly down the rhyme-less trails of beasts.

Kagome didn't worry about suffering that fate—she had them memorized. At least, she knew all of the ones in the immediate area of the well. They were how she hunted and moved about. Even in the dim she knew right where she was. But at that moment, merely knowing her way did little to ease her mind.

She raced down to the curve of the next trail and shot another blazing arrow. It did its job perfectly, clearing Togashimaru's presence, aura, and the lingering scent of his blood. Yet, at the same time, each shot worked against her. Every arrow was a firework against the bleak and grey; a flare gun of power that screamed for attention from anything that could sense it.

Good. Let them sense it.

It was only a matter of time until Sesshoumaru found her, right?

There was no way that she believed he would overlook their presence so easily, not with her marking his territory in such a loud display of power. No, he was bound to show up. And when he did, she was going to lead him far away from where his father lay prone and poorly hidden.

She was being reckless. The knot in her throat and her pounding chest knew that she was being reckless, but her feet moved on their own accord. Her hands lifted the bow once more, moving mostly on muscle memory and adrenaline. Fingers drew string taut to her cheek. Dampness gathered on her skin, but she couldn't tell if it was from a cold sweat or rain.

The tickle at the back of her neck grew stronger with each shot.

Kagome loosed the arrow and ran.

The edge of the brook was in her sights then, the cascading roar of water a welcome relief. That was the farthest that Toga had gone. That was the very last of it.

She aimed at the shallows, to the boulder where she had brought the injured General to bathe.

The sensation of a familiar power pulled at her. Faster. It was coming. Faster and faster.

Then it was gone.

The tickle left her neck, leaving prickling hairs in its wake. More than just a feeling at the edge of her senses, the aura had engulfed her. She couldn't pinpoint its location in the distance any more than one could pinpoint water in the ocean.

The crack of a branch behind her forced every ligament in her body to tense.

Before letting her fear and rapidly beating heart to take complete control of her body, Kagome let go, finishing the task she set out to complete. The arrow landed with a hard thwack in the mud and sand just at the edge of the stream.

She didn't watch as the purity spread. Instead, quick as the dragonflies that skidded from the water's surface, she nocked another arrow—her last arrow—and spun on her heels to face down her opponent.

The sight of him tore the wind from her lungs in a way she didn't expect.

Not ten meters away, stood Sesshoumaru. He took a step forward, out from the shadows and into the glowing path she'd created. The remnants of her purification were will-o-wisps casting blue light on the sharp silver of his hair and white of his clothes. He wore a look of cold loathing that lit fear in her veins. His eyes narrowed, a cobra staring down its prey.

Territorial.

Vicious.

Young.

He really was just a boy.

At that moment, time frozen still with shock, Kagome realized that it had begun to snow.

Chapter End