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Strangled Time
Chapter 54
Saburo rushed over to Kagome and Togashimaru wielding a red wand of bells like a ward of unspoken horrors. "Inuyasha's gone off!" He explained, stopping to catch his breath. "I thought he was takin' a bit, so I went ta look, but I couldn't find him. Only this."
Kagome gave a start. "What do you mean he's gone off? You were supposed to be watching him!"
He stiffened. "Ya wanted me starin' after him like a prison guard, or somethin'? That supposed ta make him feel safe?"
"No, but—"
"He'd just gone off to th' bathroom.I trusted him ta handle that much."
Togashimaru strode forward to snatch the toy from the blacksmith's hand. There was a dent in one of the bells from where it hit the ground.
"You could have at least chaperoned him!"
"Chaperone? Hah. Yer one ta talk. He didn't need a chaperone. Motherin' that kid ain't gonna teach him independence!"
"We're here now. We can watch him. He'll figure things out when he needs to!"
"When, Miss Kagome?! After ya've lured him into a sense o' comfort? He's alone. You've made it right well clear yer not stayin' here. He's not dumb. Betcha he realized you were gonna leave 'im, too—"
"Stop it!"
"—and he left before growin' too attached!"
"Saburo, I swear—!"
"You are wrong."
Both the heated priestess and the blacksmith turned to look at Togashimaru. He had the bells close to his nose and his eyes were narrowed with a profound hatred that looked utterly wrong on him. He should have been smiling. This was supposed to be a happy day spent with his son.
Kagome took a step back when she saw a stain of red beginning to creep into the whites of his eyes.
"He didn't just run off, did he?" She guessed. "Somebody took him. I'm right, aren't I? Someone took Inuyasha, and you know who it was, don't you?" Reclaiming her steps, the young woman reached out to place her hands over his, preventing the dog demon's tight grip from shattering the wood of the little wand. "Who do you smell, Toga?"
When he looked down at her, Kagome felt her heart skip. He'd regained his regal control at her touch; hatred and fire no longer danced in his eyes. But instead, it was replaced with... nothing. Emotion could no longer be found in those pools of gold at all, only a vast tundra of ice.
It almost scared her more than the threat of him beasting out.
When he spoke, Kagome felt the chill of that nothing as it burned her to the bone.
"Takemaru of Setsuna."
…
"Takemaru!?" Kagome nearly shouted in the emptying streets as Saburo led them to the place where he'd found the toy. She had Togashimaru's walking stick clutched to her chest as she jogged to keep up with the demon's surprisingly quick pace. "But how? Didn't Takemaru die when the castle collapsed?"
"He was alive when last I saw him."
"Lord Takemaru made it outta th' fire." Saburo explained, turning them into a narrow alleyway. "He was beat up real bad, but he made it through th' fight. Took nearly a half a year ta recover from his wounds. Once he was well enough ta walk up on his own, he left Edo and never returned. Some think he wandered off… followin' rumors of the princess that got away."
Kagome grabbed the huge man's sleeve. "You knew that, and you didn't think to tell us!?"
"I didn't think he coulda survived this long!" Temper flaring, Saburo yanked away from her grip. "It's been fifteen years! You didn't see the mess he was in when he left! You didn't see the mess he left behind! The mess the both of 'em left behind!" Sharply he gestured to the dog demon kneeling on the ground and touching the dirt. "It was hell fer years. My home's only just beginnin' ta heal from th' aftermath they left. But Takemaru… That man was looked to as a hero."
Pushing up to his feet, the dog demon growled. "Yes, well it appears that your hero has just abducted my son. Do you proclaim to stand on his side?"
Saburo staggered back, nearly bumping into Kagome's crossed arms. "N-no, that's not what I'm sayin'. I stand on this side. Right here, with Miss Kagome and with you. At least… I do now."
"Good. Remaining as such would be in your best interest, blacksmith." Togashimaru rumbled darkly as he turned from them. "Otherwise you would be aligning yourself with a man willing to shed the blood of an innocent child for the sake of a personal vendetta, and any such allegiance would be most unforgivable. Your death would come forthright, regardless of your purpose here."
"Oh my god." Kagome shoved past Saburo. "Did you say blood!? How much blood? Will Inuyasha be alright?"
"It is not a worrisome amount for the boy's wellbeing; barely a drop every few paces, yet more than enough to follow."
"Still, it's blood! He's just a little kid! Any blood is too much. They cut him.This is so not okay! We need to hurry up and find him! Which way did they go?!"
When the General took hold of the girl's arm to lead her off into the darkness without pausing, Saburo stumbled forward. "H-hey! Wait on a second!" He tried to stop them. "If he's leavin' a trail, isn't that intentional? Don't that mean he's leadin' you into a trap?"
Granting him one last look, Kagome glared. The anger she held for him earlier that morning was cute beside what she seemed to be feeling towards him now. "Yeah? Probably. And? Are you going to make yourself useful and help us get Inuyasha back, or are you going to stay right here, freaking out? Coming or staying? Make it quick, because you're already slowing us down."
Saburo stared at her, lips parted and words not working at all.
The demon beside her didn't say a thing, didn't even turn back to look at him.
He half expected Kagome to rush into a situation like that without coming up with a plan first... But Togashimaru? Injured and against the legendary samurai Takemaru of Setsuna? He was running himself into a massacre. Saburo expected better from the demon General.
Nope, wait. He took that back.
Charging in like a rabid typhoon to protect his child was absolutely something the demon would do.
He'd done it before, after all, hadn't he?
And you know? Together they might even pull it off.
They were trained fighters. They were long time veterans of battle with untold amounts of spiritual and demonic power.
But him? He was just a blacksmith.
Who was he to try and step up against the chaotic evils of the world?
He'd tried that twice before—had raced into the unknown following a dream and the desire to protect a girl—and just look at where it's gotten him.
The first time he'd just been sent home with his tail between his legs, forced to except his life by the forge.
This time he'd become a pet of the very demon he set out to kill.
"I…" Saburo reached forward his hand as if to touch Kagome, to pull her back, then let it drop. Turning down, he let out a sign of defeat.
Kagome frowned. "Got it." She said. "Then just stay out of our way. We don't need you getting kidnappedtoo."
That bit, but she was right. He was a liability. He couldn't fight against Takemaru of Setsuna. But those two? They could. They had it covered.
Because as much as Takemaru was a living legend… in Saburo's eyes, those two were all but gods.
So Saburo let them go. He stood silent as they went forth wittingly into the night.
Without him.
…
After dropping the dead weight of Saburo's slow pace, Toga started to run.
Where was he finding the stamina!? Kagome barely understood how he was able to stand up straight, as weak as he was, let alone run. But adrenaline was one hell of a drug, and Togashimaru had just caught hold of a parental rage fueled flashing star.
Still, almost as a testament to his injuries, the speed was slower than what it could have been and Kagome was able to keep pace right beside him.
This might be it, She realized, the thought sticking like gruel in her throat as they raced towards Inuyasha and his captor.
This might very well be Toga's final stand.
The priestess couldn't think of a way for the dog to make it out of a fight unscathed. Not in his condition. And he was no doubt going to fight tooth, nail, and bone to ensure his son's safe return. This was likely how Toga was going to die. Likely, probably, definitely—it was hard to see a positive outcome, whatever way you put it.
Normally she would have been cursing fate, destiny and the universe for their sick and twisted games—for putting them in that position. Only, this time she wasn't.
This time, Kagome found it sort of fitting, in a heart wrenching sort of way.
It was poetic, really; they'd come full circle.
In the original telling of the story, Toga had died in battle at the hands of the man who threatened to destroy the new family he'd made. He'd been mortally wounded by a dragon and ultimately defeated by Takemaru in the stalemate of the millennia. This time around things weren't much different; he was even suffering from that same wound inflicted by Ryukotsusei. The only major changes were the setting and the date.
And Izayoi.
This time the princess wasn't rescued from the castle.
Aside from that, Kagome could have almost allowed herself to accept this as Toga's fated end. To sit back and let it fold out organically. It made for a good story, wrapped up in a tidy little bow.
But Kagome wasn't one to just stand by so easily.
No. She wouldn't allow it.
She'd grown to know Togashimaru too well to just let him go off alone to meet his date with destiny. Kagome set her jaw and braced herself against the night. This time was different. She had to keep that hope alive and burning inside of her.
This time Togashimaru wasn't alone.
This time he had a battle ready priestess by his side! And that might sway the balance just enough in his favor.
With the weight of her bow bouncing on her back and the new, pale sword by her side, Kagome felt invincible.
"Kagome."
That invincible priestess nearly lost her footing.
"What?" She breathed, craning her neck to the dog beside her.
His voice was feral and deep. "Take my arm. Do not let go."
Without a second for questions, the priestess did just that.
Arms wrapped firmly around his elbow, the young woman felt her every hair lift on end. She sensed Toga's demonic power rise around them. Crackling energy filled the air, small then massive. Her own power lit in an instinctual retaliation. Quickly and carefully she forced her purity back down beneath her skin before it could burn her partner, but its ozone scent lingered in the air.
That ozone quickly mixed with the smell of an ancient, primordial magic as Toga's aura took physical form.
A cloud took shape, misty beneath their still running feet and moving with them seamlessly. When he leapt to the air it lifted, carrying them both off the ground. Fast and smooth.
"Ah!" Like a fish out of water, Kagome floundered. Her legs kept pumping even as the demon stood still, each useless pad like hitting cotton candy. If she let go, would she fall right through it? Kagome sure as heck wasn't about to find out willingly. "You can fly!? What am I saying, no duh, you can fly! Sesshoumaru can fly, so why not? But no, what I meant was, are you going to be able to hold us both up like this!?"
"It is not flying." Toga corrected her, ignoring the real question. "It is gliding with grace. The cloud acts as a buffer between us and the pull of the ground. There was once a time when I could almost touch the moon. For now we will need to settle for this. It is a bit strenuous, I'll admit, but most of that strain could be alleviated if you would quit moving." He snipped.
She stopped squirming and pinned herself to his side.
It wasn't scary, necessarily. In fact, it wasn't that different from riding around on Inuyasha's back. The lack of rollercoaster hills was a bonus. And they weren't even that high above the ground. The wind whipping snowflakes into her face was familiar, comforting. It was… nice. Like being back with her favorite half demon, in that time so far from her grasp.
It felt like home.
Kagome's grip on his arm tightened as she stretched out to look around them, just over the tops of the buildings.
Little Inuyasha was out there somewhere, hurt and likely terrified.
"You know we're going to find him, don't you? Everything's going to be okay." She was too close to see the demon's expression but his ponytail flailed in the sky behind them with purpose like a furious silver snake.
"Indeed. I do know that." Toga replied. "Your presence reassures me of a positive outcome for the future."
"Oh… Right."
"Kagome."
"Yeah?"
"Would you be willing to make me a promise?"
A promise?
"That depends. What kind of promise?"
Was…was this the thing? The wish that Maki had asked her to follow through with?
Toga's focus didn't sway from invisible path he was following. "Takemaru is going to die tonight..." He stated point blank.
"... And that's the promise...?"
"No. Listen. " Toga scolded. "Fifteen years ago Takemaru more than made the mistake of coming between me and the woman I love... That man took it upon himself to cast his blade through Izayoi's heart before she had even seen clearly the face of her newborn child."
Confusion struck her, quickly replaced by realization. "He murdered her, but you had Tenseiga."
He gave a nod. "It was only by the luck of my own making that I had been able to bring her back from the grave with a blade. This time I do not have the luxury of carrying my fangs at my hip—not that they would have been of any assistance, had we arrived in time. Tenseiga would not have worked to retrieve Izayoi's soul a second time. However, not having that particular blade dictates that, should Inuyasha fall victim, the damage would be irreversible. There is no margin for error, no leniency in timing, and I do not believe Takemaru will mean for the boy to escape his grasp a second time, should the samurai be allowed to live.
"So, Kagome, I must ask this of you:" He paused just long enough to look down at the young priestess. "If I am to fail on this night, or if you are granted the opportunity, will you finish it, no matter the cost? Can you promise me that, should you get the chance, you will kill Takemaru of Setsuna? Otherwise he will surely return like a pestilence to the continual threat of Inuyasha's life."
"K-kill?" Kagome's eyes widened. "Me? But... but Toga, he's still—"
"Human? Yes, I am aware that you have never outright killed another human being before. But I can assure you, this man has long lost the aspects of humanity that qualify him for redemption. He is a monster; his heart has been blackened by jealousy, lust, and obsession. All that once made him human had already fled from his soul, on that day fifteen years ago. This task… it is not one that I pass along lightly, without understanding the repercussions it may play on you, but it is one that I entrust to you, knowing that you will forge the correct path for the future. It is the last thing that I will ever ask of you, Kagome. Are you capable of making me this promise?"
Kagome's eyes fell from the dog demon's stern jaw down again to the ground moving below them. He was right; she'd never killed another human before. Not one that wasn't resurrected from the evil dead or possessed to the point of no return. Heck, her gang had even fought Takemaru before, and at the time he'd been both of those things!
But in this time period? He was still just a man—a mere mortal, no matter how stained he was by the unscrubbable darkness in his heart.
Toga wasn't giving her permission to cut the human man down in self defense, he was asking her enact Takemaru's execution and then sign his coroner's report afterwards.
It was as if there was an invisible line in the sand at her feet, one that she was never supposed to cross, and Togashimaru was pleading for her to jump.
...Why though?
The question wasn't why the dog demon had asked such a thing from her; she understood that.
Why was there a line?
This man, he was a murderer. He'd killed Izayoi fifteen years ago—he might have even done so again. He'd nearly taken Toga to his grave and had sent countless men to their deaths at the futile defense of the castle. She'd dispatched spirits for lesser crimes. If he were a demon, Kagome wouldn't even hesitate to fight back if he tried attacking her or Toga or Inuyasha. So why was she hesitating at this?
What made this man any superior to the creatures she'd fought in the past? His humanness? Or was it the fear that if she killed him, she'd loose hers?
If demons who killed humans were monsters, and humans who killed humans were monsters… then would her killing a human killing human make her a monster too?
Toga has killed humans. A countless many. A tiny voice in the back of her head suddenly reminded her. And so had Koga and his men. They used to feast upon human flesh before you befriended them. What makes them forgivable?
I don't know. Kagome admitted to the little voice.
What makes them redeemable and not you? You've cast countless penalties of death upon demons and other such beasts. Can you not penalize this one mortal for his actions?
What gives me the right to do that, though?
The right to judge him? The right to sentence him to death?
Yeah. That.
What gives you to right to judge demons, priestess? Are demons and humans not equal in your eyes? It that not what you've always said to believe?
The priestess stiffened.
The little voice wasn't being snide or reproachful. It spoke with an even level of truth. And crap, it was right.
She was a hypocrite. Damnnit! She was a dirty hypocrite!
I want them to be equal! I want to be fair and just…
So you must choose. Will you choose to abstain from killing demons, even of those who threaten your life, the lives of your friends, and the safety of others? Or will you cast judgment equally and fairly upon all, no matter their blood?
It was right.
She had to make the choice.
Kagome swallowed, closed her eyes, and steeled her resolve.
For some odd reason, thanks to the words of that little voice, that choice wasn't nearly as impossible anymore as she feared it would be.
Just like that she took a deep breath and extended her first step over that line, right into Toga's open, forgiving embrace.
"You're right. He won't stop if we let him go, he's like a cockroach... He'll just come back again. I don't know why he'd return now, after so long, but he must be on some sort of mission. First Izayoi, now Inuyasha; this timing can't be a coincidence. It's like he's tying up loose ends, and who only knows who he'll go after next. We need to make sure he can't hurt anybody else, especially not Inuyasha. So, okay, Toga. I promise. If he hurts you. If I get an opening—if I get a shot... I'll take it."
No matter the cost.
…
"Ah, fuck." Saburo cursed when Kagome and Togashimaru had disappeared completely into the black of night. "Fuck!"
Letting his temper get the best of him, the blacksmith punched one of the stone walls and let out a deep bellow. The masonry quivered.
Heavy breaths took over his form as he waited for his anger gauge come back down to a tolerable level. Time passed slow with every pulse rushing through his ears like a curling tide. Once he was simmering at about an ember yellow, Saburo took a step back to check the damages. Shit. The dim of one of the few remaining street lanterns revealed the blood dripping down his knuckles to his forearm.
He was shaking no better than a poultry foul.
It was arrogant of him to have ever believed he could have made a difference in this story.
A single demon was something he thought he'd be able to handle.
Hah.
If only that had been the extent of it.
If the stories were true, the clash between Togashimaru and Takemaru would shake the very heavens. Who in their right mind would stand among them when they brought down the skies? Kagome, sure, but not him. Certainly not him. Saburo was too big of a coward, all bark and no fight.
Even if there was something he could do... why bother?
He wasn't needed. Wasn't wanted.
Turning away with a heart heavy from both shame, regret, and an unfulfilled desire to be half the man that his father was, Saburo walked from the alley and back to the main streets of Chichibu.
…
Carried like a sack of flour over an armored shoulder, the half demon child panicked. He kicked his knees and flailed his arms as best he could in his restraints, to no avail. His efforts were no better than a leaf trying to tumble a statue, but that was not to say he didn't leave a mark. With the dark blood staining his fingers, each struggle left hand-prints on the back of the man's red platemail.
The gruesome pattern built up, print over print, until a black chrysanthemum blossomed at the center of the man's back.
The court woman found herself grossly fascinated by it.
At one point, managing get his mouth free from the knot of the kerchief, the boy called out to her.
"Lady Tsukimi!" Inuyasha gasped. "Lady Tsukimi, help!"
She didn't acknowledge him. Her eyes lingered on that growing stain and then moved up to the man's hand as he reached to yank the child's gag back into place.
"Silence, beast."
Trying not to show her distaste for the brutality, Tsukimi turned to stare blankly ahead.
"Why must we carry the child along?" She asked her partner. "Just kill it and get it over with. Disposing of the demon is the present service that I have hired you for, is it not?"
"I am aware of what you have hired me for, woman. Do not you tell me how to carry out my duty. I know full well how to lure a dog from its kennel."
"A dog? You have him! Right there! The demon! He only appears to be human, soon he will regain his true form and threaten our very lives, should you not snuff it out and be done."
"This?" The human man abruptly dropped Inuyasha to the snow covered ground. The little boy scrambled to get to his feet, to get away, but a sharp kick to the back of the neck lay him prone and unconscious. "A demon, yes, but one of no consequence. It is his sire therein lies the true danger. It is he I intend to see defeated."
She gaped. "His sire!? The silver dog lives!?"
"Not for much longer." His lips twisted into something of a smile as he stepped closer towards her. Reaching out his only hand, he curled his fingers beneath the noblewoman's chin and pulled her forward. It wasn't a gentle pull. "Fret not, my Lady Tsukimi. Your station within the court shall be secured, as you have desired. I am a man of my word. The counsel that you have provided me throughout these years is to be paid in full." Reeling her in even further with one last tug, he leaned to brush his lips against hers. "I do request that you continue to grace me with your presence, once you've become the power that we have envied from afar for so long. Once you become her."
Tsukimi shoved him away. "Takemaru." She warned. Standing her ground, the older woman lowered her festival mask back down to hide the ugly knot that was upsetting her beautiful face. "Do what you must and dispose of the boy without evidence. I do not care what more, just be done with it and afterwards do not speak of this again. If you intend to fight the demon of the West, that is an unrelated matter. Claim your victory, but speak not of the son. I will not have loose lips threatening my reputation."
When she spun to leave, Takemaru took a firm hold of her arm and looked down at her from the length of his nose.
"Oh, no." He said, his hoarse voice low and threatening. "You are not yet finished here."
Inside of Tsukimi, a bubble of fear began to grow. Relieved of all of her many layers but two, her skin felt very cold. Cold, except for the spot where the fallen samurai had grabbed her; the bangle formed by his fingers just above her elbow burned like a brand.
"Take up the child, woman." He demanded. "I will have you see this through to the end."
…
They were beginning to fall, Kagome could feel it.
The cloud was probably not the best idea, in hindsight. Yeah, great, it got them through the city in half the time, but at what cost? The wind was as painful as a whip as they descended and somehow he didn't seem to notice.
Concerned, Kagome let out a sharp "Toga!" to get his attention.
It worked.
Barely.
The dog demon roused to awareness with just enough time to grab her close and brace for impact.
They tumbled to the ground, Togashimaru taking the brunt of the hit. Cobblestones and sword guards dug into flesh as they rolled to a stop in the dark courtyard, and Kagome cried out at the shock. It took a second for the earth to be done moving beneath her, and when it was the priestess took a deep breath and rolled to her elbows. Toga was already up on his knees.
A glance around showed her a collection of old buildings and blood colored arches, made black by the darkness. Lanterns flickering on their last drops of oil surrounded them like a thousand on-looking spirits.
The shrine?
In stark contrast to the crowds that had been gathered there earlier that evening, the grounds were now empty. Save for a single voice, calling out to them from beyond. A deep, rumbling, familiar voice full of puss and disdain.
There was no supernatural aura, but the sense of the man's malice filled the courtyard thicker than any miasma.
"If my eyes do not deceive me on this wonderful night. And here I was beginning to believe my conclusions to be rash." The words echoed about. "The late great Lord of all Westward beasts, returned from the land of the damned for one final dance? How courteous of you to drop in for a visit."
She wanted to gag.
Unable to find the source of the monologue, Kagome stood and claimed her place at Togashimaru's side. He was stiff, focus trained on a smaller building that housed a bell and offering box. When she looked, all she saw was blackness. Her eyes weren't equipped for night vision.
"Takemaru. What have you done?" The dog demanded, already panting from exertion. His claws were gripping tight to his wounded side and Kagome could only guess how many of his stitches had torn in the fall.
The voice responded with a scoff. "What have I done? No, you are mistaken. This was all of your own doing."
A sharp noise of metal sliding on metal sounded—a sword being drawn. She could see where he was now; light reflected on that silver blade, drawing her eye. Takemaru was moving closer to them, nearing the threshold of the shrine house.
"Had I not heard of your return, things needn't have gone down this path. Had you remained beneath the ground as no more than a husk and a foul memory, all could have kept as they were. I had been content with how things were. Watching from afar. Twining her confidants. Stealing moments as she slept—always by her side in one form or another—"
What the fuck!?
Stalker alert! Red flags! Red! Flags! Kagome thought in the second before their opponent became visible under the low, red light.
The moment he did, she froze.
That light, meager as it was, brought a sudden, vibrant clarity as he stepped into it. Clarity and pain.
It was like the sting of a backhand across her cheek. Those richly dyed clothes, now beneath plates of red armor. That long, choppy black hair, loose under a helmet. The pretentious tone of assholery rising from his lips in that baritone that made her skin writhe with outrage.
A left sleeve, empty and flowing with his steps.
"We could have remained forever. But alas, such a life was never meant to be." Takemaru of Setsuna explained as he inspected the curve of the tachi in his hands. Then his black gaze fixed upon Togashimaru. Shadows made his face look gaunt, like a grim reaper. "Once I could forgive. Her unholy resurrection allotted the opportunity of a second chance; I so graciously granted her that. I even allowed the beast of her spawn to live, as it seemed the only thing keeping her soul tied to this realm. Twice, though? No. I could never allow it. I could never again allow Izayoi to be defiled at the hands of a demon. And your very name was the curse that sealed her fate!"
That final statement turned to a battle cry.
Kagome watched in horror as the rounin from the Kitsune village—the bastard who'd nearly hit her—lunged off the steps of the wooden deck and raced towards them, his sword drawn high.
Chapter End