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Strangled Time
Chapter 26
They slept most of that first day. The high stretches of noon came and went without interruption. Four walls and a roof hanging securely over their heads brought a lull of security that allowed them to momentarily forget the hidden dangers that lurked within the forests well beyond the city grounds. Even Togashimaru, the one most displaced by being there, fell prey to its comforts.
When Kagome woke the sun was still up in the sky, its already clouded light filtered even more gently by the paper of the closed screen doors. She had to dig herself out from under the blankets that had been placed to cover her and from under the table that she had at some point rolled beneath. Aside from the lightly rustling of her fabrics, the only other sounds in the room were the breaths of her companions, both slow and deep with sleep.
In the middle of the room Saburo was sprawled haphazardly across the floor as he slept off the last of his food poisoning, looking more like a pile of laundry than a man. Pulling one of her blankets along with her, Kagome crossed the mats on light feet. She draped it over him, knowing that he wouldn't wake from it. He probably wouldn't even wake if she started dancing near his ear. The blacksmith was a very heavy sleeper.
Togashimaru, on the other hand, was the exact opposite, so her care was for his benefit. Creeping as silently as she could, the priestess tiptoed past the demon. He was propped up against the seam of the closed screen doors, ready to pounce on any interloper that dared break in and wake him from his slumber. She wished that he would allow himself to relax more, but at the same time she knew that asking a dog demon to let down their guard completely in a new place was a lot like wishing for the moon.
The fact that he was letting himself sleep at all was a big deal, and she accepted that.
Thankfully, it was much easier to be quiet in the clear room of a hotel than on the debris strewn floor of a timber and brush forest, and she made it to the other side without so much of a hitch in his breath. Opening the door just wide enough to slip through, Kagome closed it slowly behind her with only the barest whoosh of wind.
Outside the room, the hall was empty. Not even the clattering of feet in other rooms could be heard. That made sense, she figured. Not many people were just hanging out at inns in the middle of the day. Come nightfall the place was sure to be bustling.
Her stomach rumbled, reminding Kagome why she'd stepped out into the hall in the first place. They'd slept through lunch, but she hoped she might be able to catch their deer-like hostess for a snack. Looking again down both directions of the hallway, she wondered which way would take her to where the innkeeper was or even to the kitchen. She didn't need to search very far for food though, because the innkeeper was already one step ahead of her.
A covered clay pot sat on a tray just outside of their other room—the one that she was supposed to be sleeping in—and inside it was a medley of vegetables, mushrooms, and shrimp on a bed of still steaming rice.
She could have hugged that tiny little woman.
Excited at the prospect of a real, hearty meal, the priestess picked up the tray and ducked quietly into her room. She dropped it on her table and dug in straight from the serving pot. The rice was sticky and sour with vinegar, the toppings boiled and seasoned to perfection. It was heaven! Their rooms were heaven, all warm and cozy. In lieu of squeaking in delight, fearing that would wake her boys next door, she squirmed in silence, eyes pinched in pure bliss.
In that moment everything was good and for a spit second she felt as if she were back home in the future, on vacation at a fancy resort eating fancy traditional foods.
The thought made her frown. Coming down from her high, Kagome took another bite and slid to her back. The food was delicious. It reminded her of the Barazushi that her mom used to make on Girl's day when she was little. Her mother would have loved it.
She was spoiled in her usual feudal era, being able to jump back home whenever she wanted. She really should have appreciated it more.
Should she be journaling her new adventure? If for whatever reason she could never return home, could she leave a notebook or something for her mother to find? So that she knew what became of her daughter?
No. One step at a time. Worry about Toga first, mama later. She couldn't give up hope.
Going to that village had been the right choice. Staying at that inn had been the right choice, too. Helping Toga fulfill this wish before he died was the right thing to do. Her mother would understand if she was a little late getting back, she always understood. Kagome wasn't about to let nostalgia and fear ruin what was supposed to be a nice, relaxing time.
They were heading in the right direction.
Refusing to let the tears fall, Kagome fanned her face for composure before picking herself up from the floor. Solemnly she finished her portion of the meal. Once done she placed what remained on the opposite side of the door connecting their two rooms so that the guys would have something to eat when they woke up. Then she layered on one of her peacock colored kimonos with Saburo's jacket and left the inn to stretch her legs and clear her head in the streets.
She needed that, because she was beginning to feel a headache coming on.
People mulled about casually in the chill of the late afternoon, finishing up their daily chores and shopping for that night's dinner. There were more people then there had been earlier that morning, but still not as many as Edo. The streets were thinner too in that part of town; open strictly to foot traffic, not for carts or palanquins. It was tight, but not claustrophobically so. Actually, it was somewhat companionable. Weird thing to think, surrounded by strangers. But the fact that they weren't all staring at her probably had a lot to do with the feeling.
She didn't get very far down the streets into the little shopping district before her head began to spin.
Riight, she didn't think to take her bufferin before she left. Her mom always warned her about getting over eager at the end of a cold, because chances were good that it wasn't over yet.
Gripping the wooden support beam of the closest vender for her own support, the time traveler had to pause to catch her breath. She wasn't going to stay there long, staring unseeing at the merchant's wares. Just long enough to get her dizziness under control and then she would head straight back to the inn to rest. Doctor's orders.
Totally could have been worse. She could have been out there on an empty stomach.
The man shopping at her left shot her a concerned glance.
"Miss Kagome?" Kagome felt the warmth of a large and familiar palm at her back. "You alright?"
Looking up at Saburo standing behind her, the priestess found that focusing on his eyes helped the world stand still. She didn't answer his question right away, as she was still taking a personal inventory. "Sorry, did I worry you?"
"Only a little bit." He answered honestly. "But I figured ya wouldn'ta left far without lettin' us know."
"You were both sleeping good. I didn't want to wake you. I was just taking a little walk to get some fresh air. Looks like I got up too fast, though. Whoops." She turned around to face him so that she didn't have to keep straining her neck—it really wasn't doing her head any favors. "Is Togashimaru awake yet?"
Saburo grinned. "I can never tell. He's worse than the statue of a foo dog sometimes."
Beside them something porcelain shattered. Startled and unsteady, Kagome moved to grab the table behind her, bumping into the other customer and knocking something else off in the process. The merchant shouted at the both of them.
"Miss Kagome!" Saburo joined the ruckus.
"I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" The priestess asked the crouching man she'd hit when she saw that he'd nicked his thumb. "You're bleeding!"
Quickly, the stranger recoiled his hand, squeezed it to a fist and turned to address the flustered old man behind the counter. "I shall cover payment for the damages." He said in an overly formal baritone that made her feel small.
"W—what?" Kagome stuttered. Head swimming she looked between the shards of the shattered pottery and the man.
"I said I shall cover the payment." He looked down his nose at her and Kagome watched, dumbstruck, as he wiped away his blood on the breast of his very expensive looking robes. "Go home, girl, before you cause more mayhem to fall. You are obviously disturbed. Leave, lest you infect us all."
"Excuse me?"
"Miss Kagome, he's right. Yer not fully better yet."
"No, that's not what he—" A ping of pain at her temples cut her off and Kagome cringed. Don't snap, she repeated to herself like a mantra. Don't snap, don't snap, don't snap. Letting her temper rise, getting her adrenaline all hot and bothered? That was the last thing she needed when she could barely stay steady on her own two feet.
But snapping was one of those things she did best.
So she made a compromise.
Bowing deeply in remorse, Kagome held her hands to her stomach. "I'm really sorry you were hurt." She said truthfully, fingers finding the pouch stashed in her obi. "And thanks for offering to pay." When she rose, her hand slammed down on the table. Pulling away revealed two silver coins—more than enough to pay for a couple small vases, she'd learned. And then she turned to walk away.
"Jackass." She hissed under her breath."
A rough grip caught her shoulder, yanking her back around. She saw the back of his left hand, swinging down fast and hard. Bracing for impact, Kagome shut her eyes tight and turned her face away. There was the loud slap... but the sound was not accompanied by any pain.
The young woman blinked to see what had happened.
Saburo was standing behind her, easily towering over her frame, with the other man's wrist cinched tight in the unforgiving grasp of his huge hand. Their opponent wasn't a massive man, but he wasn't particularly scrawny either. Toned, plain face, late thirties, perhaps even a samurai with those scars. But Saburo was a hulking ox.
She stood stuck and small between the two.
"Don't you ever lay a hand on a woman, you dirty sack o' shit." The blacksmith shot cold venom through his teeth.
Seeing that all eyes were now turned their way, the other man yanked free from Saburo's grip. He didn't start a fight; he probably realized that in a hand to hand fight he would be at a disadvantage against the younger metal worker. So, cutting his losses, he swung around, sleeves billowing, and pushed his way off though the crowd without another word.
"Hey! You get back here!"
His knuckles slammed to the table. The vases much have jumped a good five centimeters. Luckily for the merchant, nothing else broke.
Kagome set a hand on Saburo's chest to keep him from chasing after the guy. He looked down at her, face a furious red with his anger. Then, seeing the widened shock in her eyes, his expression fell to a deep, deep humiliation.
She'd seen him snap.
"Did he hurt you?" He asked, suddenly as timid as a field mouse.
She shook her head.
With a flush of a different sort, he looked away. Kagome did too. She peered around at the gawking bystanders that had gathered, realizing that they'd just made a huge scene right in the middle of that once peaceful place.
So much for being just another anonymous face in the crowd.
"You wanna go back?"
Kagome nodded. Slowly and somewhat unsteady with her head pulsing drumbeats through her skull she stepped away from him and began to walk back to their Inn.
"Yeah." She told him. "A nice long soak in the hot springs and a nap sounds really good right about now."
With a tender care, Saburo touched her shoulder and turned her to the correct direction of the River Crossing Inn, and then the two of them walked back in silence, somewhat perturbed by their dramatic event of the day.
End Chapter
(Tsarashi – Hello and thank you all so much for reading this week's chapter of Strangled Time! I actually had this one prepped ahead of time, because this week and next are finals (And I'm procrastinating). I've got over 30 pages of essay to write before next Friday—the LAST of the essays. You heard that right, once I get through this, I've FINALLY finished my higher education! Wish me luck! There might not be a chapter next week because of this, so I'm sorry in advance. But just think of all the freedom I'm have to write after this is over with! Anywho, thank you all for sticking it out with me and all who review. Your reviews mean so much to me!)