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Strangled Time

Chapter 38

Periods weren't a thing that Kagome really had to worry about those past few years in the feudal era, since she didn't get much of one anymore. All of that running about and stress fighting Naraku put on her body had whittled them down to just about nothing, and the birth control prescription her mom recommended for her had helped to balance out the lingering hormonal bits. Unfortunately those little pills ran out about a week ago and Kagome didn't know she'd need a refill for a long-term journey.

That would have been totally fine and whatever if she'd been in her normal past, but for shit's sake she was traveling with a living god damn dog rescue infomercial. She could practically hear the sad warbly voice singing in the background from her television speakers.

He was just so—damnnit!

Kagome held her chin up to the early evening sky and fanned her face as she paced a circle around a boulder for the fifteenth time. It was a nice boulder, large and somewhat pointy at the top with moss growing alongside its northern side. Good for focusing. Great for circling.

Hot damn did she envy those with the ability to play it cool no matter what. She envied them and hated them.

One of those days she was going to find a spell to curse future Sesshoumaru and others like him with the symptoms of her monthly monster, just to see if they could rise to the challenge.

Until then, she'd be pacing.

If Kagome could keep herself from tearing up, if she could shove her excessive feelings down in her gullet and lock them away long enough to compartmentalize them between rational and irrational, then and only then would she return back to camp. Just one night; all she needed was to will herself past the hurdle of that one night and then all would be good and right again. It would pass. It always did.

…

"You have returned." Togashimaru said before Kagome stepped back into the clearing from the tree line behind him. With footsteps small and distinctive she was easy to identify, even had he been expecting another.

"Yeah, hey." Kagome replied in that soft tone she took when she was distracted. Instead of joining him by his tree or taking up her usual spot on her bedroll she went over to poke the fire.

"How are you feeling?" He asked when the sound of her silence made his ears itch.

"Fine." She replied. It was a lie. "How about you?"

"Fine." He mirrored. It was also a lie. "You were gone for quite some time."

"Yeah. I needed some fresh air, is all."

"We are outside, Kagome. All of the air is fresh."

Not taking a bite of his bait, the priestess continued, "I found a brook. Sat by it for a little bit and lost track of time." Then she turned around, taking in the campsite as if seeing it for the first time. "Where'd Saburo run off to?"

"He is out collecting wood for the fire." Togashimaru gestured off in his general direction. "It is one of the few tasks that I trust he will be able to accomplish unsupervised."

"Toga…" Exasperation shadowed her normal scolding with a thick miasma. Before she could start into it, however, Togashimaru raised his hand in supplication for her to hear him out. Heavy as lead, Kagome let her words drop. She didn't put up a fight and too easily let him have the floor.

Submission felt completely inappropriate coming from the normally obstinate young woman.

"That man—Saburo." He corrected himself before she could, even as she made no indication of an attempt to do so. Unaccustomed to using the blacksmith's given name, Togashimaru paused, but only for a moment. "He seems to be rather fond of you. He follows at your heel and assists where he can. More than that, he seems to genuinely care about your wellbeing. While not the strongest, there are greater qualities than strength to take in account when seeking a partner." He waited for her to walk over and plop down next to her bag before continuing. "Kagome, if you were to stay here, in this era, do you think you would ever be able to love him?"

Defying his expectations, the usual spark of annoyance and indignation did not spark within the miko. In fact there wasn't much of a response at all, as if something had leached the life right out of her. All Kagome did was pull her knees up to her chest to tuck under her chin and stare away down at the rocky outcropping of their new campsite.

"I'm not going to stay here, Toga." She responded after a sign. "I'm going to do whatever it takes to get the well working again once I get back to Edo. I miss my home. Saburo is really sweet and all, but I don't think he likes me the way you think he likes me. He's just a friend; a friend who is not used to having a girl as a friend. Besides, I'm not looking for any sort of relationship. I've already got…" Her thoughts drifted and she pushed a pebble away with the tip of her boot, not looking at him.

There it was. The cute dusting of pink on her ears told the dog demon that she hadn't been completely stripped of her emotions. He clung to that and slowly tugged, hoping to bring the color back to her face and the life back to her eyes.

"You already have somebody that you are in love with." He guessed.

That hit the mark right there. Cheeks lit with a blush at the blunt declaration. Kagome tried to hide it in her knees but Togashimaru had already seen it.

Then, digging further he added, "You are in love with my son."

She fidgeted. As if she were a pup caught in the act of trying on her mother's jewels, just as Sesshoumaru had done so long ago, she fidgeted. It was rather adorable. Especially when she cast her dewy eyes up through her bangs and asked, "Is it that obvious?"

Smiling, Togashimaru nodded. "Whenever you speak of him it is with great fondness."

Kagome gave a soft smile and turned her head to look away. An acceptable reaction, however she was capable of better.

"You also speak of him with your greatest frustration, and an unfathomable annoyance." Togashimaru added with a toss of his bangs before leaning casually against his throne of a tree. He proceeded to examine his claws. "Are you certain that he is the one? Of your options, I would say that the wolf presents the more suitable mate."

That earned him a snort. The laughter that followed was a sweet melody of snerks, chiffs, and other strange noises that lifted a stone from his chest. Through her amusement she gave a helpless shrug. "Hearts are weird. They can't always be reasoned with."

"Indeed, they cannot." He agreed, pleased to see her somewhat back to her usual self.

He couldn't say whether or not Inuyasha was deserving of the priestess—he didn't know the child. However it was grossly apparent from her stories that the boy was still inexperienced and ruinous. There was a deep attachment within her that was nearly palpable whenever she spoke of her half demon companion, yet there was an equally tangible pain from the times he'd wronged her that she shared far less about. While Togashimaru wanted to think that Kagome would be capable of mending his son's broken and obdurate heart, he hoped that she would also not be afraid to step away if her feelings and efforts never become reciprocated in kind. Her life was so fleeting and Inuyasha could very well take a dozen years more to come into his own.

That was a matter Togashimaru wasn't going to press, even if he very much wanted to. He'd already meddled enough in the affairs of his sons' future; it had become almost a hobby of his in the nine months following Inuyasha's birth. But that was when the outcome was an intangible thing, unseen and unknown, and Kagome, sitting right there in front of him, was indeed quite tangible. He wouldn't risk pushing her too far from her own heart's desires.

Kagome was a very intelligent woman; she would pave the path best suited for her future when the time was right. And so long as she was happy, that was all that mattered.

…

Saburo returned to the camp carrying a massive pile of chopped hardwood not long after Kagome settled down to unwind from the crazy day. It seemed the huge blacksmith's hammer and splitting wedge he'd gotten from Yuugo's shop were already being put to some good hard use. The hammer, its steel head nearly as long and as thick as her forearm, nestled comfortably at his hip as if it'd always belonged there.

Speaking of things from Yuugo…

Kagome looked at the quiver propped up against her backpack and the bouquet of various arrows planted within it. She pulled out the last bundle the fox had given her, still wrapped in its gold ribbon and secured with an all-too-perfect bow. They didn't seem that much different from her normal arrows—perhaps a bit lighter. Hollow maybe?

Next to her Toga eyed her demon bow, then he reached to pull something small from a tiny inner pocket stitched into the garment he wore under his haori. "Are you familiar with kitsune illusions?" He asked her. Kagome looked up to see him twisting two leaves.

"Sure, Shippo can use them." She replied.

He nodded at that. "Kilin illusions work in a similar fashion, except that they are slightly more potent. Maki had given these to me for safe keeping. She said that we might find use of them. Of course, that was before I knew her true identity and still believed her to be an ordinary fox." Kagome watched the tiny, unassuming tree leaves as he spun them around and around. She would have never guessed they were magic. "Now in hindsight, considering who she was, I believe that they must have a specific purpose."

Kagome swallowed. "You don't think we'll have to hide from something, do you?" She didn't add again.

He shook his head. "I am not sure. Although it is likely, as there are three of them and three of us."

"Oh."

"It would be best if we each held onto one, should anything happen."

Nodding, Kagome took the two leaves when he held them out. She offered one to Saburo when he appeared beside her. It was impossibly green for that time of year and felt almost waxy, like a leaf from one of those ficus trees that were always in office waiting rooms. At first it just seemed like a normal plant, but the longer she focused on it with her mind's eye the more she could feel the push of power sealed within.

"Be careful with it." Togashimaru warned her when her own powers of purity rose a bit to prod the newfound energy. "They are primed for activation and will react to any triggering thought."

Suddenly wary, the priestess held it a little more cautiously.

Saburo looked as if he were watching a ticking time bomb in his palm. "What's that supposed ta mean?"

"This is a onetime use shape shifting ticket." Kagome explained. "You picture what you want in your mind and whatever or whoever you put the leaf on will become that thing until you take the leaf off. Right?"

"That is correct."

"So try not to picture anything while you're holding magic leaves, 'kay? Not until you actually want to use it."

Trying not to look as uncomfortable as he was, Saburo wrapped up his leaf in a handkerchief and hid it away in his bag far, far away from where he could accidently touch it. Kagome did something similar, but tucked it in her pocket for easy access, just in case. Then she picked her arrows back up and started untying the finely wrapped bow.

"Thanks for telling us, Toga. Hopefully she was just being on the extra-cautious side and we won't actually need—" Four small somethings slipped from beneath the gold ribbon she'd loosened and clinked to her lap. "—leaves…" Kagome blinked and looked down at them. Slowly, she picked one up to show the guys with a nervous chuckle. "Oh look. Leaves." The gold hued trinkets glinted in the firelight; they were almost the exact same size and shape as Maki's, only made of metal. "Yuugo gave me leaves."

"I think those are menuki, Miss Kagome."

She looked between the men. "What are menuki?"

It was Toga who answered. "Menuki are charms for the hilt of your blade. They are woven beneath the wrappings to hide the pins as well as bring good luck to the wielder. Although I do not believe those charms to be any ordinary menuki." He took one of the leaves she handed to him for a closer inspection. Beneath his touch they seemed to glow. "Just as I suspected. These are specially crafted menuki that serve a greater purpose than to bring luck; they mark you as an individual under the protection of this specific kitsune clan. You must have performed a great deed for Yuugo to grant you such an honor."

Kagome gaped. "But I didn't… I just met him. Seriously? What in the world could I have done?"

The dog demon paused to think about it, turning the leaf over in his palm. It was dwarfed against the wide expanse of his hand but ethereally pretty nonetheless, like a blue firefly on a lily pad. From Saburo's lack of reaction, Kagome knew that he wasn't able to see the little fairy light.

"Could it be," Toga brought her attention back to him when he finally got an idea. "That it wasn't something you have done now, but instead something that you had done in your past? Or, moreover, in our future? If Maki is aware of the events of my life to come, could it not be possible that she be aware of yours as well?"

Kagome shook her head slowly in an attempt to whisk away the emotion building in her sinuses. "You mean… like something I haven't done yet? Or…"

"Have you not adopted an orphaned young fox kit?" The dog demon asked quietly. "Is there a possibility that he was one of theirs?"

Kagome choked up. She hadn't thought about that. Small hands rose to cover her mouth as she reconsidered the striking resemblance between the two foxes. It wasn't really a coincidence that Yuuko looked like an older, off-colored version of Shippo, was it?

Holy crap, Shippo and Yuugo were related.

"Miss Kagome, yer cryin'." She heard Saburo say. "Damnnit, look. Ya made her cry."

"I'm fine." She replied with a hiccup as she scrubbed away the tears falling down her cheeks. They wouldn't let up. Clutching the beautiful charms that remained in her lap to her chest, Kagome tried to smile up at Togashimaru through the burden of her overwhelming emotion. "Can we put those swords together now? I think now's a good time to do that."

Gently, Toga returned her smile. "Yes. I do believe that is a wonderful idea." Then he returned to her the glowing blue charm.

Four menuki in total, four little leaves. Two per sword. One for him, one for her.

For the time being, that protection extended to Togashimaru.

For now they were both to be kin to foxes.

…

"These look really great, Saburo. You and your brother did a killer job." Kagome said as she slipped the pieces of her hilt onto the tang of her short sword in the same order as Toga—collar, washer, guard, washer, collar, tightly wrapped handle. Wrapping the handle itself had been the hardest part, really. Toga had to hold her little gold leaf charms in place for her while she figured out the twist in the pattern.

The two swords lacked a good polish and shine, but other than that they looked pretty darn professional.

"Indeed." The dog demon before her said with skepticism as he looked up from Kagome's busy little hands. "However did you manage craft them in such a short time? A fair sword normally takes months, if not a full year to complete."

Sitting at the third point of the equilateral triangle they made up and acting as overseer of the event, Saburo cleared his throat. Uncomfortably, he rubbed the back of his neck before his fingers moved on to pull at the hairs coating his chin and underside of his neck in a short forest. "Really, I just made the finishins' with a mold cast. Jiro'd been workin' on a couple o' those on the side off and on fer about three years now and they were nearly done. The hard part was convincin' him ta finish 'em up and let me give them off ta someone else." He looked away, embarrassed. "Ta be honest, I didn't do much at all."

Toga chuffed before turning back down to place the first of the two pins that would secure the handle to the tang. "Do not sell your efforts short. All components of a sword hold an equal importance. Even a blade of the highest standard would be rendered useless, should the guard turn out brittle. These are solid and near seamless—heavy. It is clear they will be strong. You have given them the attention they deserved, that much is evident."

Surprise lit up Saburo's face, genuine and open. He watched the demon lord's hands in a new spark of appreciation as they finished their work with the hardwired skill of a hundred lifetimes. "You don't think the collars are too thick?"

Never looking up at him, Toga replied, "Of course not. So long as they do not protrude, I find that a slight thickness adds to the longevity of the collar."

"And the spacers? There's enough of 'em?"

"Just enough."

"What do ya think about th' guard?"

That sent Toga and Saburo down a rabbit hole. Biting back the dampness that threatened to cloud her eyes again, Kagome watched with an immense joy as the two men continued back and forth about the construction of various sword components and guard styles in the longest and most pleasant conversation they had ever shared.

It wasn't a perfect bromance, but in her sensitive state it might as well have been.

And Kagome was a sucker for a good bromance.

…

Keeping guard over his human companions as they slept like quiet little field mice, Togashimaru worked on his own craft by the dim of the low burning fire. The perfect, shimmering metal of the needle reflected a pinprick thin star of light from the flames as he pulled it through, trailing a tail of red thread. After pulling through a second, the dog demon paused to inspect his work. It was never going to be quite as perfect as the stitching found on Kagome's bag from the future, but it was also not nearly as poor as Saburo had criticized his handiwork to be.

Togashimaru didn't think it was awful.

Although, Togashimaru hadn't thought his crow carving had been awful either until Kagome so gently pointed out the flaws in his vision.

Using the sharp blade of his claw, the demon trimmed away a frayed edge of material before folding it back over and continuing his hem. He'd never been a tradesman or crafter—had never had the time to devote to such artistic pursuits—but in the past month he'd found the act of creation to be rather relaxing. It was an enjoyable way for him to distract himself from his pains and worries when he was left so utterly alone in his thoughts. He envied the human craftsman for his ability to breathe such life into his work.

Perhaps, in another timeline or in another life, Togashimaru would have had the opportunity to become an artisan as well.

Perhaps there was another world in which he had taken up Totosai's offer so long ago to become the old blacksmith's apprentice.

Perhaps elsewhere, but for him there now that missed opportunity would only ever exist as the strangest regret he never thought he would ever have.

Chapter End