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Strangled Time

Chapter 53

Inuyasha yelped when a crack of thunder rang out across the market square, and more than a few others around them jumped as well.

Thunder?

Kagome looked up at the midnight sky. Not thunder. There were clouds producing a delicate dusting, but it wasn't a rare occurrence of thundersnow. There was no lightning or impending storm. Then the sound rang out again and that time the young woman felt it in her bones. The bangs were loud, heavy, and when more followed, Kagome realized that they were beginning to grow rhythmic.

Soon enough, tiny jingles followed.

There was a tap on her back from Togashimaru who pointed her to the stage set up across the way and almost out of view. On that stage she saw the huge drums, each one some ten times bigger than the ones they'd heard in the parade. The noise they produced reverberated in her ears down to the pads of her feet and the dainty bells of the gathering dancers were nearly drowned out by sheer heft.

They were only to gather attention though, it seemed, because as soon as the crowd all turned to watch the raised platform, the horrible booms subsided to a much more reasonable level. It was then that the ring-ting-tingle of the bells took over and the dancers began to move.

Inuyasha was stepping closer to the stage before Kagome even got the chance to ask if he wanted to watch.

"I know this show." The little boy said, stopping a safe distance away. "They come to the house sometimes to play with mother. The middle part is the best."

"You mean, they play for your mother, right?" Kagome asked.

He shook his head. "No, she dances too."

"Oh, was... she any good?"

"She was amazing." Inuyasha responded at the same time Toga said, "She was awful."

Kagome turned to raise an eyebrow at the demon behind them. Thankfully their little ward was so fixated on the show that he didn't notice the added commentary.

"It is not a lie." The former Lord defended, his eyes not straying from the elaborately dressed figures waving wands of bronze bells. "Her rhythm did not ever synchronize well with others, which was why she refused to performed in the public setting. Alone, though... Alone she was a goddess that moved to a tempo all her own."

"This part!" Little Inuyasha exclaimed and reached up to grab Kagome's attention. He pointed. "They're going to spin!"

Sure enough, all of the performers moved in perfect sync, spinning around each other with one arm outstretched and looking like the petals of a swirling sunflower. They barely made a sound until they stopped as one; the balls in their bells hitting metal at the very last second.

Inuyasha grinned at the familiar sequence. He was practically swaying with the beat in time to each step—until a stranger moved into his gap in the crowd and blocked the view. Shoulders drooped with disappointment, but the polite little boy made no sound of complaint. He resigned himself to merely listening to the music and maybe hoping that the stranger would move before the end.

"Need a boost?"

Both Kagome and Inuyasha looked over to Saburo as the blacksmith bent down to offer the boy a shoulder.

"Uh…?" The tiny half demon started, turning to Kagome for guidance. "May I?"

Had he never been carried piggyback before?

No… she supposed he probably hadn't.

"Go for it." The young woman waved him on. "You'll be able to see everything from up there."

As soon as she gave the okay, Saburo hefted him up to the sky. Inuyasha peeled with laughter and the sound was sweeter than any bell. His flabbergasted expression better than any festival. Or at least, they were to the pinkly tickled Kagome.

They probably were to Toga too, but the priestess couldn't quite tell if he was focused on them or hopelessly lost in his thoughts as he watched the movements of the dancers just beyond. Maybe it was a mixture of both, making him doubly lost in a corn maze of memory.

"Can ya dance the steps?" Saburo asked when he noticed Inuyasha's feet bouncing in time with the performers.

Those little feet stilled. "Mother tried to show me, but I'm not any good at it."

"And why do ya think that?"

"…Because the people of the house mock me whenever I try to show them."

"Did your mother?" Toga asked, startling Kagome. Apparently he was paying more attention than she gave him credit for. "When you dances for her, did your mother ever mock you?"

Flushing a bright crimson, the child twisted his fingers in Saburo's long hair. He didn't turn from the stage when he answered the older demon. "Never. Mother always praised me."

"Then you are not a poor dancer. Your only fault is that you have not always performed for the correct audience."

"Oh… who's the correct audience?" Inuyasha posed, finally peeking around to the masked silver dog behind them.

"Who indeed." Toga said quietly over Kagome's head with an implied smile before formally responding to the boy. "If it is something that you enjoy to do, but lack confidence in, you should freely share it with those that you are willing to bare your soul to—those you trust and those you love; even if it is but an audience of one. No true friend will ever make a mockery of your effort or discourage your passion."

Inuyasha's lips puckered to a frown. "How do I know if they're a true friend?"

"You will know in your heart. A true friend will stand by your side when all others have fled, through both your victories and your hardships."

It was a tough concept to grasp for someone so young, but after the long childhood he had, Inuyasha seemed to understand. He chewed on his elder's words for a few moments more and peeked over at Kagome before turning back to watch the end of the dance.

"Alright." He said eventually. "I'll find that, maybe."

"You will. And then you will be able to share with them your dance."

Kagome placed a hand on Toga's arm to keep him from saying any more. "You know he probably won't remember that dance in two hundred years, right?" She asked low.

"No, he will likely not." Toga agreed. "Instead he may remember something far more impressing."

"What's that?"

The demon looked asquint to her when he responded. "A priestess worth trusting."

…

When Inuyasha's legs stopped moving forward, Togashimaru found himself being pulled to a halt.

"Is there something the matter?" He asked, and when the little boy shook his head the demon Lord followed the wanting gaze of his young son upwards.

He found ahead of them a vendor stall. Much like the others around it, this merchant was peddling wares of small crafted souvenirs and crudely woven fabrics. Setting it apart, however, were rows of short, wand-like batons organized on the highest of its shelves. Each one was crested with a tiered cluster of coin sized bells—quite similar to the ones used by the dancers performing the Kagura on the stage.

The bells themselves almost looked like golden acorns.

Acorns that found themselves in the eye of the young Inuyasha.

"Would you like to have one?" The taller dog asked.

Startled by the offer, Inuyasha looked up at the demon and then over his shoulder behind them to where Saburo and Kagome were lagging intentionally behind. He gulped and eyed the bells once more. "Is it alright for me to say yes?"

A rumble of laughter came from Togashimaru.

"One should always express their wants. That was a lesson I learned far too late in life." He said and handed his walking stick to the pup for safe keeping. The carved bird staff was taller than Inuyasha by nearly twice his height, and the child had to hold it firmly with both hands to keep it from tumbling over. To think that this was the same boy who would one day wield the grand size of Tetsusaiga. That thought made the proud father grin. "Which is it you desire?"

Surely a wand of bells would be a worthy investment of Kagome's funds, yes?

Inuyasha tried to point, but stumbled to the side when the stick made him top-heavy. So instead he planted the staff firmly to the ground and said, "The… the one with the red string!"

"An excellent choice. It matches your robes." The tall demon reached up to pluck the wand in question from its spot as if it were the finest apple on the tree. Beside them the stall's merchant disheartenedly put away his step stool. "And for the priestess? Which one is best suited for her?"

It took a second for the little black haired half demon to scour the remaining suru wands. He perked up when he found just the right one. "The green one, over there."

"Is that because it matches her own garments?"

"No." Inuyasha blushed. "Because she's warm, like the summertime. Summer is green."

Togashimaru smiled. "If that is the case, then would your mother have been the pink of spring?"

Jaw dropping, the little boy gaped up at him. "… How did you know?"

"An assumption. Spring is a time of new and gentle life. It is the season in which the cherry and plum blossoms bloom to their grandest. And is a mother not akin to a tree that bears beauty and fruit?"

"You're right. She was just like the cherry trees. She was spring… and father was winter."

In the process of handing a pair of coins to the salesman, Togashimaru froze. He peered down at the little boy, but Inuyasha's attention was fixed on his new toy.

"…Was he?"

"Yup. Mother said so."

"And why is that?"

"Mother said that he was winter because he was white and unchanging. She also said it's because he was a lot like a blanket—cold at first, but warmer and warmer the longer you wrapped up in it. Like how snow is the blanket for the ground; it's needed to keep the earth warm. And without winter there can't be a spring."

"I see." It was the only thing Togashimaru could say. After a pause he added, "And what of you? What is your season?"

"I'm fall."

"Due to your wild and free temperament? It is because you run with the inferno and warmth of a blazing sunset?"

"No." Inuyasha frowned, and then he shifted the walking stick to the crook of his elbow so that he could point to his own chest. To his robe of the fire rat. "It's because I'm red."

With a chuckle, Togashimaru finished his transaction.

"Ah, of course. How could I have made such a grievous oversight? Yes, you are indeed quite red."

…

The night air was cold. Tracks made pathways across the newest layer of winter that coated the public gardens, but few were out and about to see how the stars threw blue shadows in the castings of those tracks on that moonless night. The dark was beautiful in its preeminence, under sprawling trees and evergreen shrubs, away from the lit lanterns of the main streets. It was as calm and as a cavern born lake, illuminated by little more than the phosphorescent moss clinging to the ceiling above.

That night felt still, even as snowflakes drifted in their flurries to the ground, and it was lovely.

Every now and then the calm was disturbed by a sound—a sharp man-made tingle of metal on metal. Bells. And often, an exclamation. It wasn't difficult for one to discover the source of that commotion; they'd hidden themselves out in the open, in the heart of the park along one of the widest walkways. It was a group of tourists, out late to have fun at the tail end of the festival's final night, trying to stretch the evening as far as it could possibly extend.

Upon seeing them, one would not think that they were anything out of the ordinary. They were normal, commonplace.

A man, possibly an elder, sat upon a bench with a walking cane as another of a similar yet younger build sat beside him. They watched and occasionally offered commentary and suggestion to the woman and child playing in the walk. The two standing weren't dancing with their bells, as they were meant to be used, but tossing them up and high. If their baton was caught, they would cheer. If they successfully flipped them, those cheers would double. Their game was simple, but no less entertaining for it.

If one were to pass right in front of them, as many did, they would not have noticed anything strange about the group. They wouldn't have noticed the odd makeup of their collective; demon and human, half breed and priestess. No, the only thing that people saw as they passed was a family, enjoying the evening and playing among the snow.

A family no different than any other.

…

"You have to do it like this." Inuyasha instructed as he clapped his hands over the edge of the pond.

When nothing happened, the boy scowled.

"Are you sure they aren't sleeping?" Kagome asked.

He looked up at her incredulously. "Fish sleep?"

The priestess laughed. "Everything has to sleep sometime."

"But I see them." He responded as he knelt down along the rocky edge of the water to get a better look. "They're all moving."

"Fish do not need to sleep as deeply as humans do. They are akin to demons in that regard," Explained professor Togashimaru.

"Demon's don'tsleep?"

"They do." The dog corrected his progeny. "Only not in the sense in which you are accustomed. Because demons have higher reserves of energy and a quicker revitalization period, sleep is not as regularly necessary. When we do most often rest it is a shallow slumber—more meditative. This allows demons to be alert of their surroundings at all times, much like these fish. As fish do not have physical homes as humans do to protect themselves while they are prone, they must always retain a certain level of consciousness."

"They always need to be ready to wake right up and swim away to safety if a bigger fish comes along to try and eat them." Kagome helped.

"So demons're like a smithy's forge?" Saburo asked, sounding just as curious as Inuyasha. "With a regular cookin' stove, ya gotta make sure that it's put out all th' way each night ta breathe. But an iron kiln needs ta always have hot coals, even when it's not burnin,' since it takes weeks to get it back up to th' right temperatures if it goes out all th' way, and ya wanna be able to use it better quickly."

"Precisely."

Kagome giggled. "What you're saying is that demons always have their pilot light on."

"Will I have a pilot light?" Inuyasha turned to ask.

Togashimaru looked up at the priestess. She mouthed a definite 'oh yeah' and granted him permission to proceed.

"You will." He replied. "Be it out of necessity or out of instinct, your sleeping patterns will surely grow similar to those of my own, in time."

The little boy scrunched his nose. "And… you sleep like a fish?"

Behind the tall demon, both Saburo and Kagome snickered. Togashimaru let out a sigh of reluctant agreement.

It was his own fault for making that comparison in the first place.

So he owned up to it.

"Yes. I sleep like a fish."

"That's weird."

"Is it?"

Frowning, Inuyasha twisted back to inspect the languidly drifting koi in the cold pond below. When he dipped in his toe, they scattered.

"I don't know." He answered, suddenly unsure of his declaration. "…Maybe not?"

…

Toga was struggling to get a good breath in. She knew he was going to overexert himself at some point that night.

"Saburo, how about you take the little guy over to those game booths before they close?" Kagome asked as she fished some coins out of her frog purse. Her eyes sweetly demanded his compliance. "It looks like they're just about to start wrapping up, so you'll want to hurry."

"Sure, not a problem Miss—ah, Miss priestess." He fumbled. After accepting the coins the human man turned to Inuyasha and, with the skills of a highly trained older brother and uncle, diverted the boy's attention to the opposite side of the road. The little half demon hesitated only for a second before following along after him.

Once they were out of earshot, Kagome leaned against the back alley wall beside the dying dog demon and asked, "You sure you're alright to keep going?"

"I will be fine after a short reprieve." Toga nodded slowly, keeping his eyes shut tight.

"Really, we can call it a night and tomorrow maybe—"

"No." He interrupted her, then softer he repeated, "No. Thank you for your concern, Kagome. I would like to continue, if you will allow it." Toga paused to take a string of short, shallow breaths before trudging forward to say the thing that he'd been yearning to tell her for hours. "Tonight has been more wonderful than I could have ever imagined a time could be without Izayoi walking the earth beside me. I never before believed that I would have such an opportunity to meet him; not after my battle with Ryukotsusei."

Wishing that she could have given him more—that she could have somehow saved Izayoi—Kagome fell quiet. She turned away to watch Saburo and Inuyasha as they tried to toss little metal disks into clayware teacups.

After twelve long heartbeats of silence and approximately eight little disks, Toga added to his statement.

"Thank you, Kagome. I owe you a debt that I will never be able to repay in this life. Two of my grandest wishes have been fulfilled here, on this night."

"Wait, two?" The priestess pushed from the wall and looked back at him. "But we didn't… Izayoi wasn't—"

"The first," The General continued, cutting her off mid-sentence, "Was, naturally, to become acquainted with the child that I have spent the past year preparing for and placing my loftiest expectations upon. It is thanks to you that I've come to know not only how far he will surpass the goals that I had in place for him, but also how his brother will evolve far beyond anything I had ever predicted. It is true that I did not give Sesshoumaru a well enough benefit of doubt in my time... And I have come to regret that. I hope that one day you will be able to share with him the extent of the inexhaustible worth I hold for him, now in my last—the extent I hold for both of my sons."

"I'll make sure they both know. Of course I'll tell them. What… what was the second wish?" Kagome started to feel nervous about what he was going to say next.

Please don't be about dying a good death, she pleaded in her head. Please don't be anything about death!

"The second…" The dog gave a dry chuckle. "I do not think that you will believe my words if I told you."

"Toga—" Kagome started to scold, but was once more cut off when the demon rolled his head to face her. His eyes behind that mask were glittering with an expression that she couldn't place with just his eyes alone.

Was he… was he crying?

It was a trick of the lights, it had to be. But no, sure enough Toga's golden eyes were misty when he reached up and removed the mask from his face, exposing his grin.

That silly, stupid, proud grin.

"It is the ultimate goal of any powerful Lord to provide their land, lineage, and legacy with a male heir to carry on their blood and reign strong beyond their sire's grave. I have been fortunate to be provided with two such sons. Yet truthfully, I have always desired more—yearned for one existing beyond the realm of hierarchical expectation. One free to pave their own path without being forced to live within the shadow of a father." Toga gave his head a good shake when the priestess seemed more than a bit lost. "Allow me to explain.

"The clan to which I stood head, small as it may be, is a male dominated structure. This does not mean that females are without power and sway, however, though it may differ to that which you may find familiar. Within Izayoi's human society, women born into high rank are regularly used as pawns to be married off into alliances for battle strength or new parcels of land, to the benefit of their fathers or brothers. For most female dog demons, that is not the case. Bitches, while unable to hold the direct title of Lord in the West if an heir exists, are encouraged to go forth and forge new clans, to reign as the matriarch of a new power, unhindered by their male kin. They are free to explore and expand, in whatever way they feel fit. They are free to be; a trait which Sesshoumaru's mother and I both envied before and after we were so unceremoniously paired together.

"What I am saying, Kagome, is that for as long as I could remember—granted it was for selfish, vicarious reasons; so that she could escape the shadow that I and my sons could never so easily evade—"

"Toga." This time it was Kagome who cut off the demon. "You're rambling."

Coming to a full stop, Togashimaru looked at her and made an awkward laugh. "Yes, I suppose that I am. I do apologize. It is foolish, but I had never said this aloud to anybody before now."

"…Nobody? Not even Izayoi?"

"Not even to her."

Kagome pinched her eyebrows and peered up at him through lowered lashes. "So… why tell me?"

Pulling together another warm smile, the demon brushed away a lock of hair that had fallen loose from the young woman's ponytail. And then he told her.

"Because, Kagome. Because I had always wanted to have a daughter. And tonight you were the one to have granted me that honor."

Kagome clutched her hand to the haori collar running across her chest and took a breath. As she did she felt her face begin to flush, warm and prickly. Her smile wobbled like some sort of gelatin, and her eyes—her blurring, blue liquid eyes, began to sting with a painfully sweet set of new bubbly tears.

"Stupid." She croaked, wiping her cheek with the heel of her palm. Before she could wipe away the second, her feet began to move on their own accord. It took only two quick steps for the priestess to be close enough to throw her arms around the demon's torso. Her small face buried low in his chest, smelling iron and the earthy pillow of his comforting essence.

"You stupid." She tried again, this time with an attempt at a laugh. It got lost somewhere in the folds of fabric. "Thank you. But… I think we've been family since way longer than just tonight."

Togashimaru wrapped a protective embrace around her and leaned his head back against the stone wall. "Longer? Yes. I believe you are right. How long has it been?"

Kagome shook her nose against his burgundy top.

"I don't know." She admitted. "But it was just starting to feel like forever."

…

"What's bitin' ya?"

Inuyasha shifted from foot to foot, looking at the row of booths and then up at the massive blacksmith with a pucker of discomfort. "Um…"

"You gotta go to th' potty?" Saburo guessed.

The little boy nodded.

"Well, go on." Grinning, Saburo waved him ahead. "You don't need ta be askin' permission fer that."

Hesitant, Inuyasha asked, "Y—you won't leave?"

"Leave? Nah! I'll be waitin' fer ya right here—won't move a pinkie. I swear it."

"Okay." The half demon brightened. His little grin transformed into a fully bloomed chrysanthemum smile and birdsong laugh when the human man scuffed his hair with a huge open palm. "Thank you, Mister Saburo. I'll be very quick!"

Saburo snorted. "Ya better be! We've almost got all his tops knocked out!"

"Right!"

Placing his trust in the priestess lady's nice friend, Inuyasha skittered off to find a snowy spot down near the bank and away from foot traffic. The jingling of his suru bells followed after him like a twinkling pixy of protection. It was his guardian angel, offering support and granting him permission to have fun and be happy, even though his mother wasn't there by his side.

That sound that so reminded him of his mother's smile and her laughter, was starting to give Inuyasha the courage to move his feet forward—to dance to a rhythm all his own. And perhaps, thanks to the lady priestess, it also gave him the promise of a brighter future.

Maybe… just maybe, the world wasn't as scary as he'd been led to believe.

Maybe there was more goodness out there to find.

Goodness like that pretty priestess.

With that thought in mind, Inuyasha smiled and finished up his business. He spun to find his way back through the dimmed light of the streets; the lanterns lining them were beginning to taper off into a restful sleep after hours of hard work being bright and vibrant. It was really, really late. The little pup stifled a yawn. The blacksmith wasn't far. Mister Saburo was waiting for him. The priestess and her great big dog demon friend were also there waiting for his return. Kindly, openly.

Like a family.

Like a brother and a sister and… like a father. They were like all those things he'd never had before. Like all those things he'd always wanted.

For the first time ever, Inuyasha almost didn't want the new moon to end.

He wanted that illusion to last forever.

But, as Inuyasha would soon come to find out as he passed the blackness of a little side street alley—passed the shadow of a man looming beyond the sight of his human vision—and as the sound of metal bells clattered to the ground…

Good things always came to an end.

Chapter End