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Strangled Time

Chapter 18

Lying on his back, Togashimaru stared up at the nearly purple clouds in the sky. The sun had just barely set. Winter had finally announced its arrival with thick blobs of falling ice. He didn't focus on them. Instead, the dog demon focused on the retreating spark of his son's aura. Surely his little trick hadn't worked. Surely the boy would turn around at any moment and return to find him vulnerable and immobile on the ground in that spot just beyond the roots of the great tree.

Surely it hadn't been that easy.

As soon as the thought passed his mind, his eldest son disappeared beyond the realm of his senses.

Togashimaru didn't know just how long he lay there, fully expecting a poison claw to appear at his throat. When the claw never came, he was grateful. And when the little human girl's aura appeared in his mind's eye once more, he felt relief. The moment her energy had disappeared he truly thought she might have been killed. He feared Sesshoumaru had taken her life without a passing thought.

Of course that couldn't have happened—she was too tenacious a creature to be killed so easily.

When sticks snapped and bushed rustled from behind him, signaling Kagome's clamorous return through the forest, the demon General craned his neck lethargically and watched as she jogged into the clearing.

"Toga!" Her voice was a song on the wind compared to the adrenaline and blood that had been rushing through his sensitive ears. She dropped to her knees behind his head, panting and frantic. Cold hands reached out to touch his cheeks, to confirm that he was still solid and breathing. They brushed against his markings. Her voice hitched when she added, "You're alive!"

"As are you." He replied.

"You're an idiot." She said, but there was no venom behind the insult.

"And you are a reckless fool."

Kagome laughed sharply through chattering teeth. "I thought for sure you were dead." That was when she took a better look at him. "Your bandages are gone."

They were. His burgundy haori was untied and splayed open, exposing his bare chest to the sky. The snowflakes felt good against the heat of his skin; they melted into tiny droplets and accumulated like dew. Togashimaru shifted his arm to surreptitiously cover the off-color of his wound with a sleeve. The last thing the priestess needed was to be fretting over that.

"Your hair and clothing are wet." He observed in response.

"But the barrier. How did you—"

"It is broken." Golden gaze fell to the two halves of the long bow that she had dropped beside him. "How close did he come?"

"It was close. You?"

"It was close."

"What did you do?"

Togashimaru closed his eyes. "I sentenced my friends to death," He told her, and before she could wonder what he meant by that, the tall demon pulled away from her touch and made to sit up. Kagome had to help him. Once he was propped and given his walking stick he looked back to the roots of the Goshinboku, where Kagome's personal effects were scattered. "We must leave."

"Leave?"

Glancing over at the girl and then back to the tree that would someday seal his youngest son for a misdeed he would be tricked to commit, the former Western lord grimaced. "We have a journey to attend, do we not? I see no better time than now to begin it."

The look she gave him was priceless. "You're not serious." Then her voice firmed along with her grip on his arm. "We made a deal. We weren't going to leave until I think you're ready."

"That trick will not keep him for very long. Soon enough, Sesshoumaru will return here looking for the both of us. When he does, he will not fall for such a ruse a second time."

Kagome hesitated.

"The village you spoke of. In which direction did you say it was?"

The both of them knew she hadn't specified before, but after a moment she provided the information. "Chichibu. It's about three days north-west." The young woman eyed his walking stick and then the hand that was clutched to his side with a frown before amending, "Five days. At least."

"Hmm." Togashimaru closed his eyes and craned his neck to the sky in thought. Snow clung to his bangs, glittery white on silver in the last bits of light. "That would put us along the boarder between the Western and Eastern territories the entire way. But if we were to travel farther north into the East and then over, he will not be able to follow us. Not so soon into his tenure as lord would he dare chase an enemy into a foreign territory."

"You can't even stand." Indignantly and to prove her point, Kagome stood. Without her for support he wavered unsteadily until he dug the stick into the ground at just the right angle. "Don't you dare tell me you're ready to travel. You just used up all of your energy. I can't carry you the whole way. You're not exactly a dainty little flower, you know."

He gave a hollow chuckle and adjusted his grip on the pole. "Give me a few moments rest to regain my strength. The border is just beyond this village. I can make it that far tonight, at the very least."

Skeptically, the priestess eyed him. She looked as though she wanted to argue and spit and yell in a way that most human women never did in public, but at the same time she also looked as though she'd just been thrown into the ocean and told to swim to shore. The fear that clung to her left a bitter scent in his nose, but it was her exhaustion that forced her hand. She deflated a bit when she looked out to the forest in the direction where Sesshoumaru had chased after his father's demonic energy signal.

Finally, she asked, "You think that'll keep him occupied for a bit?"

Togashimaru nodded, although she wasn't looking at him to see. "For a short while. That one is going much faster than the other had."

"Okay." Kagome replied with a sigh. When she turned to face him there was that fiery determination in her eyes that he was beginning to grow both familiar with and fond of. "Do you think you'll be okay here on your own for a little bit?" At the questioning cock of his head she elaborated. "I'm going to run down into the city real quick. There's something I need to pick up before we go."

…

Kagome stopped in front of the shop door, hands on her knees as she caught her breath. Her raised and tattered kimono was dripping a small puddle in the dirt at her feet. She'd gone beyond the point of being cold. Once she could breathe again, the priestess reached out to touch the door. Then her hand pulled back. Whispers and stares at her back made hairs stand on the back of her neck.

What rumors would spread about her now?

Who cared. She was leaving that village.

But what rumors would haunt her friend?

From beyond the door, Kagome heard laughter; one roaring and full bodied and the other, more familiar, a reserved chuckle.

Ichiro.

Face twisting to a scowl, the young woman held her head high and proud despite her bedraggled appearance, and slid the door open with twice as much force as necessary. It bounced on the track when it hit the wall. Then she stepped over the threshold like a tornado with a purpose, and once more walked right into the broad chest of a stranger.

"Woah, little miss!" The man quickly rose the sharp bladed sickle in his hand above her head to keep from nicking her. With his other he touched her shoulder to keep her from falling backwards. "Where're you goin' in such a hurry?"

Kagome jumped away from him and twirled to get past his hulking frame. The man was built like an ox; he was on the shorter side, but wide with musculature. His face reflected Saburo's kindness and concern like a mirror. They could have been twins, save that Saburo had long hair and this man had a shiny bald scalp, and where Saburo had an untidy scruff this one had a thick and well-manicured beard.

Another brother.

"Is Saburo in? I need him." Kagome asked, looking around the open shop for her blacksmith friend.

Ichiro stared at her wide eyed from where he was leaned against a partial wall between the kilns. He kept his pretty little mouth shut.

"He just went ta get somethin' inside. Be right back, he 'll." The new brother started. "Wait just a sec, miss and I can—"

But the priestess had already started for the back door. Ichiro nearly tripped over his feet letting her pass. It seemed her little outburst earlier that morning did sick with him. Good. Serves him right.

"Was that th' girl?" She heard the stouter man ask, but she shut the door behind her before hearing the eldest brother's reply.

Outside in the courtyard Kagome looked around. It was a circular garden like a little cul-de-sac that was shared by three modest homes. A cobblestone alleyway led to the streets, but the main road wasn't visible from there. There were some well tended chrysanthemum bushes about and a tree next to the bench. Red, orange, and green leaves were already dusted with a thin glaze of snow. Kagome stepped to the center. Between the houses, all older but sturdy structures, there were a few homey touches. On the side of one doorstep sat a collection of colorful vases. In the window of another someone had pasted paper cutouts of trees and rabbits.

Before she could guess which one to knock on first, the door to the second house slid open to reveal Saburo. He had to duck a little bit to get through the low doorway, his hands full with a heavy wooden box.

Halfway to pulling the door closed, he spotted her. His parcel clattered to the ground. Long, bounding strides brought him right up to her before he could finish saying "Miss Kagome!"

"Hey." She started awkwardly. "Is that sword done yet? I really don't want to rush you, but something's come up and Toga and I need to get going. It would make me feel better if he had something—"

The large man cut her off by taking off his outer jacket and wrapping it around her shaking shoulders. He flushed, rubbed his nose, and looked away from her bare legs. "You're freezin'. Yer gonna get yourself sick like that."

She didn't fight him. Actually, she welcomed the warmth and curled the jacket tighter. It was practically a dress on her.

"I can't stay long, it's too dangerous. I don't want him drawn to the village." Kagome said in a rush without going into detail about who 'he' was.

Saburo didn't ask.

Instead, the blacksmith gently placed an arm around her shoulder to steer her around and guide them both back to the warmth of the smithy. "Then we'll be quick." He said without question. "I gotta admit, I wasn't the one who did mosta the work. You can thank Jiro fer that—he does weapons. But they're lookin sharp. They're not completely done, they still need th' finishin's. But I'm sure yer demon friend can handle that."

Kagome peeked up at him. "'They'?"

Saburo smiled and slid open the door once more.

"Let me show ya what I got."

…

"Will it do?" Kagome asked as Toga studied the naked blade and tang. The handle, guard, pins, sheath, and other mountings were still in the cloth that Saburo had wrapped neatly together for her so that nothing would get lost. She was sure the dog demon would know how to piece it all together, once they had time do so.

"Yes." He scrutinized the rugged hamon ripple along the sharp edge. Then he put it back in it's wrap and offered it back to her. "It will suffice. What is that one?"

The teen grinned and uncovered the smaller blade and sheath that she was putting away in her backpack—Toga had gathered all of the things back inside it while she was gone to see her friend. It too was in pieces. "Think you can help me puzzle it out on the road?"

He smiled at that. "With that will you be able to teach me the correct form of your futuristic katana swish?"

Kagome was so glad that he was joking. It helped to ease their situation and make it feel less dire. She had no clue if she'd be able to get the both of them over the border and into the East before Sesshoumaru caught up to whatever trick Toga had played. It was only a matter of time before the boy was back to hunt them down. But being able to smile and laugh in light of that helped her feel less afraid.

She grinned. "Nope. Probably not. Miroku barely showed me the basics. And this technically isn't a wakizashi, so everything will be upside down, right? You'll have to teach me how to use it." Kagome paused. "If you think you're up to it."

Togashimaru's head jerked to look at her. His eyes narrowed. "Is that a challenge, little one?"

The priestess stifled her smile and shrugged. "I don't know, old man. Does it need to be?"

"'Old man?'" The General pushed from the ground and, with help from his walking stick and the roots behind him, stood. Even in that crippled form he towered over her like a hulking beast, glaring down his nose like that. Haughty and proud to the end. "No lord would dare turn down a challenge after such an insult."

Kagome took a step closer to him and playfully poked him in the chest, nearly knocking him over. "But you're not a lord anymore."

With that revelation, his nose scrunched. Then he grumbled and looked up to the canopies of the trees and away from his human nursemaid. "This is true." He said, feigning distress and glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

After a moment of silence, they both snickered.

A rustle in the bushed cut both of their humors short.

Kagome dropped her bag, heart suddenly in her throat once more, and turned to block Toga from whatever might be out there. But her protective guard dropped just as quickly when the intruder pushed away a dense branch and stepped into the clearing. She jogged forward to meet him.

"What are you doing here!?" She demanded in a harsh whisper, indignance raising the pitch of her voice an octave. "I told you, this forest is not safe right now."

"Ya sounded like you could use some help." Saburo responded. The blacksmith looked over to Togashimaru and nodded. The demon lifted his chin in a cordial return.

"No. No, you are not coming with us." The priestess watched as he walked right around her protesting form before she started after his heels. "I'm not dragging you into this mess."

The human stepped up to Toga, where the two regarded each other with a stark and icy formality. Then he reached out his arm. The dog demon eyed the proffered appendage skeptically, before grabbing it with a rough clap. Saburo then pulled Toga's arm over his shoulder to support him as a third leg.

They really were the same height.

"Why?" Kagome asked him in a small voice. "You don't have to come with us—this isn't your problem. This journey is going to be rough and really, really dangerous."

"Kagome—" Toga started, but Saburo interrupted him.

"A brave woman once told me that when ya care about someone, or if it's just th' right thing ta do, ya make sacrifices."

Kagome stared at the two men. The demon cast an approving glance to his new support beam. The merchant-class blacksmith had probably never camped a day in his life, but he was willing to jump into a mysterious and potentially demon-infested journey to find some other guy's lover and run away from a murderous cardinal child lord, not for her patient, but for her. She had to bite her lip to keep from tearing up.

"What about the shop?"

He chuckled. "I've got four brothers. If they can't handle it on their own fer a bit, then there's a problem."

After that, Kagome took a deep breath and turned her back to them. She picked up her pack from the ground and replaced it on her back once more before reaching down to grab the broken halves of the bow.

"Fine." She said without turning to look at them. "I won't stop you. Let's get out of here before Sesshoumaru gets back."

And then they were a party of three.

They took to the trails before hitting the main road. Walking in silence, slow and steady, but much faster than it would have been with just Kagome to help Togashimaru along. When they came across a black carcass in the road, their already quiet caravan fell as silent as death itself. In the lead, the priestess paused. She stared at the bandages that were tied to the carrion crow's huge claws and still emanating the faintest traces of Toga's aura. She tried not to look too closely at the deep, gouging marks that had nearly torn the bird into four.

When the men caught up to her, Toga reached out to brush a wild strand of her still-damp hair behind her shoulder to get her attention.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"Yeah." She replied, straightening her shoulders and continuing north. "We'll be fine."

End Chapter