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Strangled Time
Chapter 40
"You want your feet at least shoulder width apart, maybe a little more. Yeah, like that. Know why?"
"Uh…" Saburo looked down at his pant legs and then back up at the priestess. "'Cause it's more comfortable? It'll help ya ta stay on yer feet longer."
She chuckled. "Literally. Here, stand like normal." Kagome instructed, waving at him with the arrow in her hands. After he complied, shifting his feet to their usual position and cocking his hip a lazy bit, the much shorter woman sprang forward to give him a good shove. Not expecting the adorable assault, the blacksmith nearly stumbled back on his rear. He managed not to thanks to his much greater weight advantage, but still it unsteadied the giant.
"It's for balance." Kagome said, kind of miffed that he hadn't fallen. "Standing wide centers your bodyweight better and you are less likely to be knocked over if someone hits you. Not too much, though. Standing too wide will only make you wobblier. The sweet spot for your stance has a little range, so for now just do what feels best. I know it sounds cheesy, but once you practice stepping into it enough it'll become second nature. Okay. Think you're ready to try?"
As if he were casting off water, Saburo shook his shoulders to reset himself from her docile bludgeoning before getting back into position. Once he was ready he nodded. The shaft of the bow was long and the length of it looked just right on him, but it was still a thin, delicate thing that clashed with the man's bulk. He held the sleek black wood out in front of himself and drew back the string. Iron strength forged from forging iron made it easy, however his inexperience strumming those specific muscles and unfamiliarity with the string cutting an inner crease of his knuckles made him tremble at the effort.
Playing the role of the diligent teacher, Kagome walked around him to correct the twist of his left arm holding the bow. "Not bad, but always elbow out or you'll get a wicked bruise down your forearm. Great! Now I'll show you how to knock an arrow. Remember to let the string go super carefully. You don't want to—"
Thwump!
Not even halfway through her instruction Saburo lost hold of the string. It slapped the length of his inner wrist when he jumped and then it flung around to the other side where it smacked Kagome's shoulder. With a shriek, Kagome jerked away. Her arms rose in defense. Spooked like a horse, Saburo fell back into the tree behind him.
Kagome kept her arms over her head to brace against any fallout. When none came, she finished her sentence with a whimper. "—dry fire it…" Then, slapping palms to pinched eyes, Kagome dragged her hands down her face and groaned.
"Sorry Miss Kagome." The blacksmith clutched the bow to his heaving chest to keep it from attacking. "Thing's got a bit of a bite, don't it? Think maybe I should try with my other arm? I'm a lot better with th' left—"
"That is enough." She heard Toga's deep voice cut in.
"Hey, woah!"
She didn't want to know. She really didn't want to know. Reluctantly the priestess cracked open her eyes in time to see Toga pry the weapon from protesting Saburo with a jerk.
"If you loose a taut bow without an arrow you can cause irreparable damage." The dog demon scolded with a snarl. "Had this been a standard human bow, your foolishness may have cost you an eye. Or worse yet, it could have shattered one or both of the limbs. Always listen to the entirety of your teacher's instruction before acting."
"It ain't like I meant ta do it." Saburo snapped back.
"Toga, it's fine. We're good. It was all my fault." Kagome went to step between the two and defended her would-be pupil before tensions rose. "I should have laid down all the basics first, before I gave him the bow." Then she looked sympathetically to the other side of the fray. "Oh crud, Sab. I'm sorry. It really was my bad. I forgot that you're left handed. That'd make a massive difference."
Saburo brushed off her apologies with a little shrug of understanding.
A touch on her shoulder brought Kagome's attention back to Togashimaru. "I'm fine." She declared and pushed his hand away from where she knew a bruise was going to form. Her bruise was not nearly going to be as bad as Saburo's, though.
Molten gold irises hardened with hurt and skepticism for a brief moment before he turned. Toga carried himself with his cane across the small clearing to drop the bow onto the young woman's bedroll, next to the remains of their lunch. When his voice carried over to them it was calmer. "Regardless, this time would be more productive if it were used training one with preexisting foundation. There is no sense trying to instill the elements into an overgrown pup who has no use for such skills." The large demon winced when he bent to pick up the short sword that Kagome had removed the first chance she got when they stopped to eat. Then he turned and extended the weapon expectantly.
Surprised replacing her annoyance—she'd been this close to snapping at him for being mean to Saburo again—Kagome blinked back at him. "You don't seriously want me to teach you how to swing a katana, do you? It'll be a train wreck, trust me. I was only showed the basics and that was a long time ago."
The fallen lord smirked before tossing her the sheath. The young woman caught it from the air with a firm and practiced hand that completely contradicted the awkwardness in her voice.
"No." He replied and stepped slowly to the center of their break site where the high sun lit a near perfect circle through the canopy. His presence transformed it into a glowing combat arena paved with pine needles. "I intend for you to be the student, Kagome. It seems your hands are growing restless, and I would feel more comfortable if you knew how to adequately wield your own sword than if we were to arm the blacksmith."
Kagome deadpanned. She wanted to tell him that there was nothing wrong with teaching Saburo how to use the bow; with it he could help out with the hunting and be able to defend himself if anything happened. But she didn't. She didn't say a darn thing because she was too busy realizing the opportunity he was giving her.
It was an opportunity of a lifetime to be taught by Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's father—one that she wouldn'thave again once she returned to her own time. It was the hugest opportunity that Inuyasha never got to have.
And yet there he was, extending to her.
Helplessly Kagome looked back over to Saburo. He'd slid down to the base of the tree and settled in for the long haul. The smile he offered her was crooked and teasing. "Go on." The burly man told her. "I wanna see those swords gettin' some real action. My bit'll wait, I've got patience."
She smiled at him and then again from behind her she heard, "Do you accept? Or you do not believe yourself capable of rising to the challenge against so shattered a beast?"
Her grin bared teeth. When she turned Kagome pointed her sheath at him and she laughed in the face of his challenge. "I can take you, old man. Show me what you're made of. I better be impressed!"
He rumbled with approval. Kagome retied the sword to her hip and met him in the center of the light. And then Togashimaru got to work teaching her the fundamentals of swordplay in the gentlest and most docile way she'd ever experienced. He walked her though each step and parry with thorough explanations and made alterations to her stance with the lightest of touches. His own movements were slow, which made them easy to watch and replicate, and he never once criticized her for the many mistakes she made. Learning from Togashimaru was not a thing like learning from the hot headed Inuyasha or Miroku, who too easily moved onto other things when she became stumped.
Kagome was, indeed, very impressed.
…
Holy bleeding kilns of fire did it hurt.
Sitting at the sidelines as the demon taught Kagome a strange dance of patterns that were supposed to help her use her opponent's strength and weight against them, Saburo watched the color pool under his skin where the string slapped his arm. The injury had swelled and stiffened to a hard lump that he hoped wasn't permanent and the bruise was quickly becoming a ghastly type of purple. There was a scrape in the center of it all where the bow had claimed a wick of skin, but it wasn't big enough to bleed more than seep. A flex of his fingers told him that everything was still in working in order; still it stung and ached like a bastard.
Kagome hadn't even batted an eye at her own injury—hadn't even looked at it. How many times over the years had she been nipped by her own bow for her to have gotten so friendly with the pain of it? She was a strong one, that warrior priestess, so much stronger than he was. He'd be lying if he said that wasn't at least a smidge intimidating.
"Oh, come on. Katas are boring." The blacksmith heard said priestess complain like a little kid. "It doesn't need to be formal, just keep showing me new stuff. I'll remember it all, I swear."
"No. You will not." The dog demon replied matter-of-factly.
"Boo. You're no fun. I want my money back."
Yes. That woman, in all of her innocence, was terrifying.
By the time Saburo looked back up to them Kagome had settled into her assigned rote while the dog watched from behind. That beastly lord that should have been dead, he watched her with an intense and indiscernible expression that Saburo did not want to dissect. Then he looked down at the ground. His breathing was hard, the blacksmith realized, labored from the exercise. The extent of the demon's strain was hidden well from the girl.
The painkillers he took to fix it were also hidden well from the girl.
Why though? Saburo though as he watched the demon slip the bottle back into his sleeve. Why hide something like that from Kagome when she so obviously wanted to help him? She could minimize his pain if he just told her about it. Instead he was going out of his way to make it worse.
Right then the General stepped back up to the young woman to correct the twist of her wrist as she shifted from one form to the next. Kagome craned her neck to look up at her teacher, ponytail subsequently giving the demon a mouth full of hair. At that he scolded something quiet that mocked her petulance. The laughter of her response was something ethereal. Her joy brought the sun just a little closer to earth to dazzle the clearing with extra rays. Saburo dared to think it was the mightiest pretty sight he'd ever seen.
And suddenly he understood why Togashimaru did it.
…
Bored from walking for more than an hour and sore from her mini sword lesson, Kagome trudged forward down the forest path and mindlessly fiddled with the bow in her hands. The fibrous twisted cord didn't feel much different from the strings she'd pulled in her past, but her senses told her otherwise. There was power woven through it, a mysterious link to innumerable possibilities that lay just out of her reach. There was nothing she, as a human, could do to awaken the beast within.
For her it existed in a permanent state of look don't touch.
It sucked.
It sucked because she was curious.
Once more she tried to coax out the kitsune energy. She felt for it, relaxed herself, and then tried to pull it forward. Instead of lighting up or resonating with her, the little spark felt her purity and retreated deeper into the sinews of the cord.
Her annoyance huffed a visible cloud in the cooling air.
"Hmm?" Rose Toga's query. His own little cloud told Kagome that he used his nose to make the sound. Saburo looked at her from around Toga.
"It's not working." She said, then admitted, "Not that I ever really thought it would. Even if it did its thing for a normal human, I'm a priestess. My powers would only fight the demonic energy. It's just a bow for me. But I wish I knew what it was capable of, you know? It's like a birthday present I can never open. I mean I guess I could have Inuyasha take a look at it when I get back home or—" Kagome jerked to a halt. Eyes wide, she watched Toga carry on ahead for a moment before she bounded back up to walk beside him. The priestess bounced from foot to foot in her excitement. "Hey. Hey, Toga? Toga, you want to help me out with something?"
He stared straight ahead. "I will not."
"What? Why not? I didn't even ask you what I wanted yet."
The dog demon snorted air. "You are going to ask for me to draw forward the abilities from within the bow. To which I will not. To show you the power that you hold but cannot use would only be cruel. You would yearn for it. It would be easier for you to not know."
Kagome's lips pulled to a frown. Then she thought of just the quote that might help her out. "You know, they say it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. You agree with that, right? Shouldn't I at least have the chance to experience it, just once?" Okay, so the context didn't exactly match up, but close enough. Anything was worth a shot. And besides, if he wouldn't do it she always had Inuyasha to fall back on.
Amusingly, her words actually gave the half demon's father pause. This time he was the one to stop as he considered that line of thinking. Kagome and then Saburo stopped walking in turn. Then, after a longsuffering sigh, Toga held out his open hand.
Oh, how easily the hopeless romantic caved.
The young priestess squealed in triumph as she passed over her bow. "Yes! Light it up!"
Annoyance set a dimple in the left corner of his mouth. Nevertheless he plunged forward to fulfill her wishes. Pointing the bow to the ground, Toga curled his long, clawed fingers around the string as if he were going to draw it to draw it back. He held it there and still as he worked his magic. Kagome could feel his energy rise. His aura was a haggard but warm little blaze that whispered rumors of the massive wildfire it had once been. Her own purity responded to it, crackling across her goosepimpled skin until the air was filled with an atmospheric scent.
With a snap of urgency the cadence of the bow's power synced to his and the entire string lit beneath his touch. Literally. The bowstring caught fire. Green and blue, the flames licked the air, consuming the demon Lord's hand. Smells of purity were quickly overwhelmed and replaced by the nutty stench of burning foliage.
Kagome panicked almost as much as Saburo.
"What in th' hell!?"
"Put it out! Put it out! Put it out!"
Just as quickly as it came to life, Toga released his grip and the flames died. He held up his hand in a mute fascination as the last of the foxfire clung desperately to his claws. Like a birthday candle, he blew them out.
"Oh my god, are you okay!?" Kagome grabbed his arm but aside from the blue-purple stripe that painted it, there were no other blemishes. It didn't even feel warm. "Wha...?"
"You've gotten into the habit of procuring the most spectacular of items, Kagome." Toga said, sounding breathless as he continued to stare at his claws. Then, without moving his low turned head, his amber eyes flicked up to meet hers. "I've only ever heard tall tales of a weapon the likes of this.
Kagome felt her mouth go dry. She stared down at her simple black bow in shock. "S-seriously? Is it really that powerful?"
He didn't move, his still expression was severe and his eyes super serious. Several moments passed in dead silence and Kagome could have sworn that she could feel her heart beating—pounding—in her toes. Holy crap! If her bow was really strong enough to make Toga speechless, then maybe she shouldn't be the one carrying it! What if it possessed her!? What if it possessed one of her guys!?
Very aware of the inner turmoil beginning to start a little coup in her head, Togashimaru snerked. He snerked and then he chortled, and then that chortle turned into a full blown laugh. Mind boggling and eyes popping from her head, the priestess slowly turned back up to face him. Before she could register what was happening, the dog demon handed her back the bow.
"No, there is nothing powerful about it, Kagome." He said through his humor. Her jaw was still slack as he wiped something from his eye. "What you have there is a bow capable of producing a vision of foxfire. Not only is it completely harmless, but it is also the most commonly crafted charm within kitsune wrought weapons. It merely produces an illusion of fire for the intent of intimidating enemies and fooling gullible priestesses."
Without saying another word, Togashimaru stepped past her frozen figure and continued limping down the road.
Saburo gave a long, drawn out whistle.
"He gotcha, lady." The blacksmith said, his tone both impressed and amused. "He gotcha good."
And then he too left her there, gaping like a fish out in space and clutching her utterly useless demon bow to her chest.
Oh, how easily the eager teen was had.
Chapter End