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Strangled Time

Chapter 44

The fall of the snow grew gradually thicker into the late afternoon. Snowflakes clustered to voluptuous, fluffy chunks that were whipped and carried helplessly along the blustering winds. They stuck to everything, every surface—to the bare bark of trees, to the dormant moss of boulders, and to all three of the travelers wandering through that deep and stormy wood.

Togashimaru found himself blinking more frequently than usual as they trekked against the fury of the wind, yet even still the white of ice had begun to grow upon his lashes. If not for the deep burgundy of his haori, the dog demon might have been lost against the snowscape; he was certain that even the bush of his heavy black eyebrows were dusted in a fine powder of ethereal crystals. Kagome ahead of him was in a similar state, with the dark tresses of her high ponytail nearly the same pallor as his own and the green of her shawl barely peeking through at her shoulders like a bed of new grown grass struggling to find light in the earliest days of spring.

The robes of the Earthen Phoenix kept her warm despite the painful chill of the air that caused Saburo to bundle beneath a generous draping of the priestess' more feminine garments and her unzipped sleeping bag.

For the most part the forest was quiet. The swirling snow cushioned each sound to a comfortably empty din. It was hollow, silence interrupted by only the crisp crunching of boots on fresh powder—the crunching of the boots and the faintest chirp, chirp, chirping noise of something very small and lost beneath the white. Togashimaru slowed. He brushed a few straggling strands of his overgrown bangs behind a pointed ear and leaned into the sound. Then he strayed off, not too far from their non-existent path.

"Hey, what's up?" The young woman from the future asked as she was doubling back to where he'd bent down to the snow.

In response the dog demon turned back to her and slowly opened his long, chilled fingers to reveal the tiny body of the baby bird cupped within. The little thing was nearly naked, with only the barest of mangy black feathers to protect it from the cold. It shivered as Togashimaru's body heat melted its layer of insulating frost to wet dew.

Again, the creature peeped.

"It's so small!" Kagome squealed as she bent to get a better look at his discovery. After a moment of cooing she looked up at Togashimaru in confusion. "But isn't it the wrong time of year for baby birds? They normally hatch in the spring."

"Carrion crows can breed throughout the year." The older demon explained in such a way that she knew he didn't think her foolish for not being aware. "Many choose the winter to spawn, as that is the time when their food source is the most abundant. The birth of a new winter is when the old and feeble succumb at a greater rate, and as you know, they are scavengers that feast on the flesh of the dead. The mother is likely out seeking a fresh corps to reanimate and bring back to its nest. The chick will then inhabit the body until it no longer bears nourishment and the mother is forced to retrieve another."

Kagome pulled a face and eyed the tiny little bird with a new sight. She was examining it—searching for its barely detectible demonic aura. It would be almost impossible to find. Infants and younglings in the demon world were difficult to sense for the sake of hiding from predators, and it took almost to adolescence for them to fully grow into their aura. Until then they usually imprinted to their parent by scent.

Seeming satisfied with what little she was able to pick up, the priestess gave the hatchling a grim, yet still somehow affectionate smile. "Well… that's pretty gross. But he's still kind of cute. You gotta do what you gotta do, I guess. Right little guy?"

"Should ya… be touchin' it like that, though?" Saburo asked, coming up beside them to get a better look at the diminutive ball of evil.

Togashimaru gave a casual shrug. "This one has not yet lived within a corpse, so he should be free from the diseases of the dead."

This time Kagome and Saburo shared a look. Kagome gave an awkward laugh before pointing up to a dark mass in the trees above them. "Is that the nest? Should we maybe put it back?"

Nodding, the large dog demon covered the baby once more. It pecked at his palm. He was going to name it Kamu. "That would be best. Exposed to the ground, it will perish before the mother returns."

"Alright. We can do this." The young woman followed the arm of the tree branch to the trunk and gauged its climbability. "It's not that high, I could probably—Eeeyaahhh!" She shrieked as she was lifted abruptly into the windy sky. Her arms flailed to keep balance until they grasped something solid. "What are you doing!? Put me down right now!" Kagome demanded, her hands locked tight around Saburo's head.

The blacksmith held firm around her legs, her bottom perched atop his shoulder. The sleeping bag and a few other garments pooled to his feet. He tried not to flinch at the claws of her grip. "Can ya reach it from there?"

Teetering uneasily, Kagome realized what he was trying to do and let go. She reached up to feel for the dark woven sticks and torn fabrics that made up the nest. "Yeah, I've got it!"

Togashimaru passed her the chirping little ball of angry, barely-there fluff. Kagome handled it carefully like the delicate, bloody little flesh eater it was. It brought the General great amusement to watch as their human tower tilted and swayed in their attempt to return the carrion crow to its throne. The blacksmith laughed every time Kagome commanded him to stand still, which of course only made him move all the more. It took three creative attempts before being successful.

Once the baby was reaffixed gently back in its rightful place, Kagome and Saburo erupted in cheers. The outburst nearly sent them off balance and Kagome needed to cling to her large friend to keep from falling, which led to another round of laughter from the whole party. That laughter echoed throughout the cold and silent forest, filling the empty drear with the warmth and joy of a job well done.

Once they had settled and Kagome's feet were again on solid ground, Togashimaru felt himself compelled to ask, "Did you truly find the fledgling to be 'cute,' Kagome?"

Beside him, rifling through her bag, Kagome snorted. "Gods, no! That thing was freaky looking! I just didn't want to hurt its little feelings. It's not his fault he looks like a balding feather duster." She pulled out a water bottle and handed it out to him. "Here."

"Thank you, but I am not thirsty at the moment."

"Wash your hands, dummy." She demanded before grabbing another bottle to pour over her own hands and scrubbed. "I know you're the bird whisperer and all, but we don't know what that thing's been eating."

Bottle in hand, Togashimaru lifted his gaze above the priestess' head to meet Saburo's humored expression. Together the tall men shared a look, then a grin, and then the two looked away to snicker to themselves.

Of all the ways she could have responded to his query, that was by far the least expected.

As such it was the most Kagome.

…

"My knack with the tracks tells me that the animal I seek is quite small but sings sweet."

Nose trained to the ground, Kagome swept her eyes back and forth for signs of the clue as she continued to walk forward. She needed to find it quickly, otherwise they would walk past it and the point would go to Togashimaru. "Oh!" She caught sight of a neat row of indents at the base of a tree; they were so little that she almost looked right past them. "Bird tracks! You seek a little bird?"

Togashimaru nodded. "Yes, but you must specify the type. Those were your rules."

Closer now, she studied the forked tracks in the snow before searching the branches above them. When she spotted the culprit, the priestess pointed high in the trees. "Robin?"

"That is correct."

"Yes." Kagome cheered quietly so not to scare away the forest critters that were helping them play their game. "Okay, my turn. Let's see…" Humming, the priestess searched the beautiful, nearly perfect snow blanket that glittered in the sun around them. Their path wasn't so much a path anymore; more a vague direction through the dense pine and bamboo forest led by the dog demon's intuition. As deep in the uncultivated wood as they were, the animals and tracks were abundant. It didn't take long for her to spot her next clue. "Ah-ha. My knacks with the tracks tell me that the animal I seek is cunning and sleek." She grinned. "Look at that, I even rhymed."

Quick as ever, Togashimaru responded. "Is it the weasel that you seek?"

"Ding, ding, ding. You got it." Then she turned to Saburo at her other side. "Now it's your turn."

The blacksmith hesitated. His cheeks dusted a faint shade of rose and he brushed at a strand of hair that had fallen from his ponytail. "Ah, I don't know, Miss Kagome. Ya know I'm not good at th' forest stuff."

Kagome gave him a smile. "That's no biggie. If you don't find something you recognize you can always pass. Or just do what I do sometimes and make something up. Toga can find just about anything, even if you don't see it." The look Toga shot her was somewhat scandalized, but she grinned through it. She wasn't about to apologize for bluffing.

"Alright…" Saburo didn't sound very convinced, but he looked around for tracks nonetheless. It took him a little bit, and he was amusing to watch as he searched. He looked like a tall bear stepping delicately on tiptoes, trying not to disturb his surroundings. Then he spotted something. It must have been a good one too, because when he stopped there was a huge, lopsided smile on his face. "I see—I mean, my knacks with th' tracks tells me that th' animal I'm seekin'… probably just ended up as someone's dinner."

"Dinner?" Stumped, Kagome scowled and looked around them. "How would you know… oh. Huh. Well, would you look at that."

All three of them stepped up to the marks the human man had spotted. There were itty bitty little dots in the snow that led to a much larger imprint of brushed feathers and talons, from where a large bird had touched down when it scooped up its prey. Whatever had made the smaller footprints had indeed ended up as someone's dinner.

"Mouse?" Kagome looked up at Toga for confirmation.

"Mouse." He agreed.

She turned back to the tracks. "…Dead mouse now. Poor thing. Awesome find, Saburo. Well Toga, it's your turn again, but I don't think you're going to be able top this one. This is pretty much peak neat."

"Peak neat." The demon repeated in a deadpan. "It is a rather fascinating find. However, there are certain to be stranger things. If you wish to turn this into a contest of oddity, then I shall accept the challenge."

Eyebrow raised in humor, Kagome followed after Toga as he set out to find an even weirder set of tracks. Sure enough, he ended up leading them to a white snake that had spiraled itself up a snowy tree when it should have been hibernating in the ground.

The competition was silly, but it was a lot of bright, needed fun.

She even got a deer shed antler out of their searching.

…

Kagome flopped down onto her rolled sleeping bag beside Toga where the dog demon was gazing wistfully over the mountain landscape. They weren't yet ready to call it quits for the night, but they couldn't help but stop there for a snack break when they saw that gorgeous view. It was as if they were overlooking the whimsical interior of a crystal snow globe.

Propping her elbows on her knees to rest her chin in her palms, Kagome watched Toga for a little bit before saying, "I know that look."

"Do you?" He asked without turning her way. She saw his lip begin to twitch ever so slightly upwards.

"Yep. I do." She confirmed. "You're thinking about Izayoi, aren't you, Toga?"

That tug at his lips blossomed into a full and indulgent smile. If he were a flower right then, he would have been a peony—fragile but lush, frills and happiness, and more than a little showoffish. "You presume much if you believe that I am not always thinking of Izayoi."

Kagome giggled. "That's fair." She replied, and then her smile grew soft. Slowly she turned to look out over their high cliff at the beauty below. "Inuyasha hardly ever talks about her. It was really traumatic for him when she died… Could you tell me what she's like?"

Humming, the demon General looked over to where Saburo was pretending to not be listening in as he ate his jerky. Not seeming to mind the blacksmith's presence, Toga jumped right in to discuss what must have been his most favorite subject.

"On the outside, Izayoi is gentle and demure—the ideal for a lady of her station—but within she has a blade sharp wit. Because she appears soft with her kind nature, human men have always underestimated her intelligence. In her court she holds the greatest influence, without any other being the wiser. Working her wiles through the barest moments of eye contact, a mere line of poetry, or a single word of gossip, she can change the fate of an entire city. She is a power beyond strength. And she beguiled me."

"She beguiled you?" Somehow Kagome had trouble believing that.

Togashimaru chuckled. "There may have been mutual beguilement at play." He admitted. That she believed. Then he continued, almost getting lost in his memories. "At first she had been a simple creature of fascination; a human woman who had not run when she ought to have. Yet then we spoke. We conversed long into the nights about every topic that could be imagined—of literature, war, politics, seasons. Without fail she always found a way to weave a new thread to my perspective of the world's workings. It took nearly a year of meeting in secret beneath her favorite tree to realize that our feelings for one another were romantic in nature. I had never loved a human, and likewise she had never loved a demon. All of what we had become was very much experimental. It was thrilling."

He could have stopped there and Kagome would have been satisfied. His love for the human princess was as enamoring as it was totally adorable and it made the hopeless romantic inside Kagome soar with delight. He should have stopped there. But of course he didn't.

He had to keep going and make things awkward.

Toga turned to her with a smirk, his eyebrow wagging in a weirdly suggestive way. "When the time came, she claimed to be inexperienced. It was cute. However, I know better than to believe the abstemious claims that human women of power use to seem the more suitable mate. I cared little that she had lain with the man she'd thought to love in her youth—so long as I became the sole warmth in her bed from then on. As you might imagine, the experience was quite different from what I was accustomed, and we needed to practice frequently in order to learn the extent of each other's limitations."

In the background Saburo started choking. Kagome reddened to the point of looking like a cherry.

"Toga, gross! I don't want to hear that!"

There was a deep rumbling amusement in his voice when he responded. "Did you not ask to know what Izayoi is like as I know her? Do you not want to hear the tale of—"

"Nope!" Kagome interrupted. "Probably not! I'm good. No more stories, thank you!"

"But then you will never know of how Inuyasha—"

"Lalala!" She sang, pressing her hands over her ear holes. "I don't want to hear you!"

His eyes were glittering when he said, "You are a mature, liberal minded woman, Kagome. I do not see why this is a matter of discussion to be limited."

Kagome felt herself nearly pop with embarrassment. "Dude! You don't talk to your kids' friends about your sex life! You just don't do it, it's weird! No! I don't want to think about that!"

"Then do not." He offered.

"I won't."

"Think of other things. Think that I am pure, Kagome."

"You are pure." She repeated. She took a breath and allowed herself to play pretend. "Pure and wholesome."

"I am a white butterfly, untouched and unsullied by lecherous thoughts."

"You are… what?"

"My virgin soul rides upon a grand, holy steed, and if you were to sacrifice my body upon an alter, the devilish demons of the underworld would rejoice."

Kagome dropped her head to her hands. "My god, Toga."

"Yes, my child?"

"Stop."

…

The crescent moon hung thin and barely pinned in the dark sky above them when they settled in for that night. The snow had created a sense of insulated warmth, which, aided by the heat of the fire, helped to lull Saburo into a deep, snoring slumber. His lack of rest the night before took out its vengeance on him quickly after eating, and the entire campsite fell into a slower, quieter rhythm after he gave in.

It was nearing midnight, and yet Togashimaru would not rest. He could not do so until Kagome allowed herself to do the same.

Up to that point that day, the priestess had been lit aglow with her cheer. But now, as they had time to settle in within their own thoughts and wonders, apprehension had begun to weave itself within her scent.

Eventually, after hours or waiting for her to speak up, Togashimaru asked gently, "Why is it that you are still awake?"

In front of him, lying on her mat but facing away, Kagome signed. "We're close, aren't we?"

They were. His sensitive canine nose could smell the iron, resin, and smoke on the air that told tale of a crafted city. It was not overpowering, but close enough to for him to know that they would arrive to their destination at some point in the next day. Togashimaru nodded, then added a simple verbal confirmation. "Yes."

"I thought so." She said. "I don't know why, but I can sense it too."

"You are apprehensive?"

"No." The priestess replied quickly before much more softly admitting, "Maybe. I don't know. We got lucky last time because we were surrounded by kitsune. But this time… This is a human village, Toga. We're going to have to be so much more careful. If they catch you… we weren't exactly subtle before."

Ah, of course. It was going to be dangerous for him, given his current state. He had been able to lower his guard completely when he knew himself to be in the care of foxes, but the human village would allow for no lax or error. They would be dancing on the edge of discovery the entire time, and he no longer had an illusion to conceal his identity. He'd wasted that gift.

"There is still time before we arrive." Togashimaru told her. "We can discuss a course of action tomorrow, while we are traveling. The situation is not as dire as it had been previously, so there are more options available to us."

Kagome thought about that for some time, and then, sounding somewhat placated, she replied. "You're right. We'll come up with something."

The fact that he needed to be disguised to keep from becoming a target while searching for Izayoi did not settle well with Togashimaru. The entire situation made him think back on the village that he'd tried to grow, where one's heritage, blood, and identity were not deciding factors in matters of love or objects of contention—how spectacularly that had failed the moment its guardian was removed from the equation.

He sighed, disappointed by both his race and the humans for their overarching inflexibility.

"Kagome," The dog demon spoke up again after a long silence, knowing that she had yet to fall asleep. "Do you believe that humans and demons will ever be able to find it within themselves to coexist peacefully?"

This time she didn't shift. Instead she kept staring ahead into the swaying flames of the low burning fire. "Well… you know, in my time…" The young woman cleared her throat before changing the direction of her answer. She did not hide the bite of the truth from him when she said, "No. To be honest, I don't think they ever truly will. And I think the demons are going to suffer the most for it."

Her voice was sad, and her words sounded as frustrated about the whole thing as Togashimaru felt.

It was hopeless.

Kagome had mentioned before that she'd come from a time in the distant future where demons were scare to the point of being nearly extinct. How that would come about, neither one of them could say, but it very likely had something to do with the animosity between the feuding factions.

"I see." He responded with acceptance. Because how could he possibly fight that? "So we have already drawn our fates in the sand."

Chapter End

[Tsarashi – You ever watch North and South? Sometimes when I'm just sitting quietly with a person I'll turn to them and ask, "Yer thinkin' about Ory, aren'tcha Gerge?"

Usually this is met with confusion.]