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Strangled Time

Chapter 25

Kagome wrapped Toga's hair once, twice, three times around itself until the length of the ponytail was a tad bit more reasonable, then she wrapped it again a fourth time for extra measure before securing it with a second elastic band. The result was a bun with the remaining delicate end wisps falling to the base of his shoulder blades; still pretty long, but if she wrapped it around one more time he'd look like he had a bee hive stuck to the back of his head, which was the opposite of evading attention. Pulling the fisherman's shawl from around her shoulders, the priestess draped it over the demon's head before flittering to his front to fix it around his face. There was only so much she could hide without obscuring his vision completely.

"You're going to have to keep your head down if we're going to make this work. Just follow my lead and keep your ears open. It's not a big village, so I doubt there'll be any demon slayers or monks that can sense your aura. But stay close, just in case. And don't draw any attention to your hands—they're not exactly wrinkly." Kagome finished mussing his bangs to look ragged and unkempt and stepped back to inspect her work. Satisfied, she handed him his walking staff and helped him back to his feet. "There, perfect! The more you slouch, the better. It'll really pull off the look."

"This ruse is ridiculous." Togashimaru said, speaking in a voice that was supposed to sound large and haughty, but it came out clipped short with amusement. "I am not nearly old enough to be your grand elder and it will take far less than the powers of a psychic to see through such a disguise."

With a shake of her head and a dubious smile hiding behind pursed lips, Kagome patted his shoulder. "You're not exactly the spring chicken you think you are, Toga."

Before he could extract the meaning behind her odd idiom that was no doubt an insult, however playful, one of his arms was pulled away from his cane and over Saburo's shoulder. The blacksmith, whose strength at that very moment was questionable at best, wrapped his other hand around Togashimaru's waist to give his full physical support to the injured demon.

"What do you believe you are doing?" Toga asked, annoyed. "I am capable of walking on my own legs."

"Yer actin' all wrong. Old folks are feeble. Of course people are gonna see through your little charade if yer not playin' the part." Saburo's eyes followed Kagome as she set about packing away her bedroll. As soon as her back was turned from them, his grip on the General's side tightened. The tips of four fingers found stitches, delivering a pain that the human male couldn't have even fathomed. Togashimaru would have lost his balance, had he not been secured upright by his assailant. He had to bite the inside of his lip hard to keep from making a sound. Saburo looked more sick to his stomach than pleased. "Yeah, more like that. I gotta play my part, too. What sorta guywould I be if I wasn't right here to help my dear ol' Grandfather?"

"Grandfather?" Togashimaru grit through sharp, clenched teeth. The hand that was slung over the Smith's shoulder crept to grab the fabric of the man's haori's collar, revealing a major fault in Saburo's display of dominance. Taking care to dimple the skin but not puncture it, the demon ran the claw tip of his thumb down the pulsing jugular. He was seconds away from death, should Togashimaru wish it. Luckily for the human, Togashimaru didn't wish it, so long as the boy learned his place.

"Again with the 'Grandfather.'" The dog grinned a little, baring teeth when the scent of fear spiked like a sweet perfume. "Grandfather is such a cold and distant title, worthy of a heartless sire. My father-in-law was a Grandfather. I happen to be fond of 'Papa,' myself. It is more inviting and most endearing when spoken in remorse by naïve, troublesome pups. Wouldn't you be inclined to agree?"

Saburo sneered, then his face cleared to a jovial smile. "Not sure. What da you think, Miss Kagome? 'Papa Togashimaru's' a bit of a mouth full. How about 'Papa Togues?'"

The demon smoothed both his hand and his features in record time as Kagome turned her attention back to them. He almost thought for a moment that his efforts had failed when she grimaced. But it was the name that made her turn up her nose, not their feud.

"Nope, no way. Not going to happen." She shot it down without taking any time to think about the proposition. "I'm not calling you 'Papa.' It's kind of creepy. This whole thing is weird enough, but that's a step too far, even for me. " Turning back to her pack, Kagome finished putting the last of her items away and began the tedious process of hefting the bag to her back on unsteady legs. "I can settle for 'Grandpa,' if you want. Not too crazy formal. And we'll only be calling you that if we absolutely have to, like if we get separated. The whole point is not to say your name. We don't know how deep the rumor mill goes."

Grumbling, Togashimaru replied, "That will suffice." He had somewhat hoped that she would see the absurdity of the entire plan and call it off, but it seemed he was due no such luck on that day. It had been funny at first, but the impending actuality of walking into a human village while in such a weakened state was beginning to unnerve him. The presence of the blacksmith only seemed to escalate the matter.

"I'll still call ya Papa, if that's yer heart's desire." The aforementioned human joked, twisting words at the demon's expense.

A growl began to rumble in the dog's chest, but he quelled it with the patience of an ancient god. Togashimaru focused his attention on the Priestess and began counting down the minutes to when they would be leaving that foul village. Only then would he be able to put some more distance between himself and Saburo.

…

It didn't take very long for their party to make it to the village, even walking as slowly as they were. The path was rocky and steep going down the hill for half a minute until they reemerged on the beaten road, and then it was smooth sailing. The only traveler they passed had even offered them a polite morning greeting.

In the lead and coming up on the town's gates, Kagome looked back to check on her two companions. With how gingerly Saburo was carrying the veiled Toga and how Toga was holding his weight against his walking stick, it really did look like a young man escorting his elderly grandfather on a long journey. Toga's odd bulk was even easy to overlook with Saburo's equal mass standing straighter beside him. They balanced each other out, proportionally speaking at least, and filled in the blanks for onlookers. Two big guys? Obviously related.

At least, that's what she hoped they thought.

The streets of the village itself were not as crowded as Edo, thankfully, and as far as Kagome could tell the only looks they were being given were the usual ones granted to travelers. No looks of terror or shock. No distaste or contempt. No shrieks of 'it's a half-demon/demon/monster!' or cries for the help of a priestess. Only a bored curiosity, perhaps a second glance at her kimono from the truly brazen. But really, everything was calm. Was that what it would have been like, traveling in the past without Inuyasha by her side? Without Shippo or Kirara on her shoulder? So calm and quiet? The peace of it was really actually kind of…

Odd.

Neither particularly unwelcome nor overly comforting, it was just different.

The scent of food on the air was mouthwateringly tempting, and her stomach growled with dire urgency at the sticky sweet smells of sauce coated meats, but Kagome stuck firmly to her mission. At the first vender they passed, a hostess pointed them down a long mercantile street to a green roofed building that promised good lodging. Inns always had food, usually very good food if you were staying for longer than a quick rest, but more than that they had privacy.

She knew it wasn't fair to force Togashimaru so far out of his element, but they needed a place to recuperate. And she didn't want the boys to keep up this charade much longer than they had to, so she headed them straight to the Inn with the tunnel vision of a stubborn bull, where they would be free to let down their guard behind the safety of four closed walls.

Once they were there, behind the cream curtains painted with the green name of the River Crossing Inn, Kagome was finally breath out an air of relief. They'd made it without incident. Step one complete.

The small elderly woman from behind the counter looked up from her books and greeted them with formal pleasantries. When Kagome asked if they had any vacancies she replied that they did before giving the party a cursory inspection. Her eyes moved from the gaunt young woman to the two men behind her, softening in pity when she landed on the hunched form of Togashimaru. Then she looked between Saburo and Kagome once more before finally saying, "Is it a single room you will be needing, young madam? We can provide additional screens if you so please."

"That should be fine." Kagome started to say, but a cough cut her off. Peering behind her, she couldn't tell which one of the men had been the one to make the noise; it easily could have been either. Saburo nearly dropped Toga, his nose Rudolph red, and the demon's grip on his staff was knuckle white as he tried to keep himself upright under the human's fumbling. When they disentangled, Saburo reached up to scratch the back of his neck as he always seemed to do when he was feeling awkward, but the sight of his palm made him pause and he wiped it on his jacket. Seeing her watching him, the Blacksmith flushed even more furiously and turned away.

What a dork, Kagome thought.

And then she realized what she had insinuated.

"Two!" The young woman corrected, rounding back on the innkeeper in a fluster. "Two rooms, please! Two rooms for two nights!"

"Yes of course." The older woman replied, politely hiding her smile behind a sleeve. The motion made her look much younger than she was. "We have vacancy to accommodate."

"And lunch? When will lunch be served?" Kagome asked casually, trying to cover up her embarrassment.

After closing her ledger, the innkeeper stepped out from behind her counter and down a ledge to the main platform. She was even smaller than Kagome had thought, her height barely reaching the priestess's shoulders. Unlike the eccentric seamstresses of inner Edo, her grey hair was pulled back in a relatively demure braid. In fact, Kagome couldn't recall a single woman in that new village who's hair was pinned up tall, which helped the priestess to fit in all the more.

"Why, it's still a while early for lunch." The elder woman replied. She had caring brown eyes that somehow reminded Kagome of a deer; lithe and delicate but also deeply nurturing. "But let me see what I can make for you from what wasn't used in the breakfast meal. Your travels must have been hard; you look as though you're about to faint, young madam."

Weak but relieved, Kagome smiled. "You have no idea."

Sagely, the woman nodded and didn't press for any details. Just like that, as if she completely understood exactly what sort of troubles they'd been up to and simply accepted them as fact. Kagome wondered if that was more telling of the times or the deer woman's own past.

The innkeeper gestured them forward. "Right this way, young madam. I have a pair of adjacent rooms already prepared for visitors. Somebody will by shortly with a fresh change of clothes. A medium height, I assume? Extra Large for the men. Young sir, please do well to watch these here steps. We would not want for your poor father to trip."

"Yes ma'am." Saburo replied with a pleasant gratitude. He leaned to the demon beside him. "Hear that, pops? Careful of th' steps."

From under his blanket, Togashimaru hummed.

Kagome didn't need to be able to feel the spike in Toga's nearly depleted aura to be able to sense his smugness at being promoted from 'grandfather' to 'father' in a single sentence. Okay, so maybe didn't look like he could be their grandpa, even covered, but he was definitely more than old enough. She didn't correct the woman, and allowed the dog to revel in his win, small as it was. They passed her, the demon sharing with her a bemused grin, and then she too followed the innkeeper to their highly anticipated rooms.

…

"Kagome, are you feeling well?" Toga asked when the priestess returned to the men's shared room, hand to her forehead. She'd changed into the clean green yukata that the Inn provided them so that her own garments could air out."

"Yeah. My fever's mostly gone. I'm just a little dizzy."

"Then you should sit and eat. Our hostess left soup for you."

Kagome looked at the screen that the guys had put up to hide the room from the doorway. A simple yet effective way to keep people from accidentally walking in on a demon. "Just me?"

Saburo looked down at his bowl, somewhat sheepish. It was clean and untouched. Turning away, he picked up his own yukata, the tinge in his cheeks almost matching the color of the fabric. Then he made to step through the doorway of their connected rooms so that he could change out of his own reeking clothing. "I'll try dinner, Miss Kagome." He reassured her. "I promise."

"No rush. Let your stomach rest. Toga?"

"I've already eaten my share." The demon was sitting against the frame of the open door that led to their own little private garden, his hair untied and splaying loose around him in a cape-like halo. He pushed an empty bowl by his knee. "I now realize that I should have waited for you. That was rude of me and I apologize."

Kagome walked over to him and picked up the dirty dish. "Never apologize for eating when you're hungry, Toga. Was it good?"

"It was delicious, but not as enjoyable as your burnt rabbits."

She paused and pointed the bowl at him. "Hey, those burnt rabbits saved your butt. And I recall you liking my cooking just fine, after that first one."

"I was not being sardonic." He replied with that voice of liquid gold—both heavy and pure. "It is more the company that makes the meal, less the flavor."

Lowering the bowl, Kagome smiled. She walked across the room to where they had pushed the table—originally it had been in the direct center of the eight tatami mats—and set down the dish next to the bigger serving pot. "Flattery got you far in life, didn't it?" She asked before settling down on a cushion and leaning against the wall. Support straightened her back, a very welcome comfort. Eyes closing, the priestess allowed herself to truly relax.

"Quite far indeed." He answered.

At that she chuckled.

It would have been easy to fall asleep there. She was so tired that she almost did just that. When eventually she reopened her eyes, she found him staring. His gaze held hers, curious and concerned. Mannered and gauging. Then his eyes shifted to the warm fish broth and vegetable soup before switching again back to her.

He was loud and nagging without even making a sound.

Hefting a dramatic sigh, Kagome found her own bowl and a ladle. "I'm eating, see? Get off my back, dad. Jeez. I was only going to rest my eyes for a second!" She brought it to her lips and took a large swig of the savory broth. Warmth enveloped her, filling in the empty chasms that had started to fissure in her joints and tissues. It really was delicious. She pulled the bowl away and rounded on him with grandiloquent achievement. "There. Are you happy now?"

Togashimaru blinked. The look he gave her was an unfathomable thing that she couldn't quite dissect. All at once he was seeing her for the first time and seeing right through her to the back wall. Heavy, hollow, pained, happy? She just couldn't tell. The confusion in the mix told her that maybe he didn't know what it was he was feeling either.

"Yes." He answered once his features had been ironed straight. Still, his hand rose to touch his upper lip, ensuring that it wouldn't betray his confidence, and he turned his head to look out over the garden once more.

Ever so casually, the large demon's elbow rested on his knee and suddenly the movement became intentional.

"Quite."

Sometime between finishing her meal and watching Togashimaru for more signs of weirdness, Kagome fell asleep. Right there at the table.

End Chapter