Ebb and Flow
The light lanced through her eyelids and shot straight to the throbbing ache in her head.
Ha. Déjà vu.
Kagome gave a tiny whimper as the pain persisted. She did not panic; this was so markedly different from the fiery anguish she had been in before.
Speaking of which, what the hell had happened?
Even thinking hurt, and she moaned slightly louder. An answering hand touched her face, something hard and cool bumping against her lips.
"Here, drink this."
Kaede. With a relieved sigh, Kagome opened her lips and let the liquid dribble down her throat slowly enough to not choke her. Almost instantly she felt warmth flow through her body and the ache in her head ease. She cracked open an eye to see where she was.
The light was bright and shapes shone glary for a moment before her vision adjusted. She was in a bed, a proper, soft bed with cotton blankets and cheap squeaky sheets, metal bars on either side of her body. She could feel bandage material holding her hair in, and winced slightly as her eyes opened fully. Bleeping lights, readout monitors and a bag of clear fluid, leading into a plastic tube that ended at her hand…a drip.
She was in a hospital, obviously.
Kagome groaned again, only slightly out of pain this time, and turned her head towards Kaede, who was sitting by her bed in a chair, face serious.
"What happened, Kaede?" Kagome whispered hoarsely. She was surprised at just how much she had come to trust this woman in the short time she had known her. But then… what else could she do? Kaede was all she knew, now.
Pushing that very unpleasant though away, she opened both eyes slightly wider, staring at the weathered woman sitting solemnly by her hospital bedside.
Finally, Kaede sighed and leaned forward, her hands clasped and elbows on her knees. Her expression was grave, brow furrowed and lips pursed slightly. Kagome shifted on the bed in order to look into the woman's eye fully, her strength returning and with it, her resolve to find out what was happening to her.
Something was not right.
Kaede would not meet her eyes, staring instead at the green woven cotton blanket that Kagome's hands were fisted in. She sighed again, ducking her head completely.
"What happened, Kaede?" Kagome demanded again, more forcefully, and with no small amount of fear. What the hell was wrong?
Kaede lifted her head, her brown eye finally staring into Kagome's own blue pair.
"We're… we're not entirely sure, child."
Kagome frowned. "What do you mean?" Her voice was small and frightened, and that fear was not helped when Kaede shrugged helplessly.
"Exactly that. We don't know what happened to you, exactly…"
Kagome seized on the crumb she had been thrown. "Not exactly… so what do you know?"
Kaede winced, clearly hoping that Kagome had not caught that. "Well…"
"Kaede!" she barked, vaguely surprised at the jolt Kaede gave to the command. This was her head, damnit!
"The chip dissolved. Sort of."
…What? Kagome blinked and sank back against the pillow and the softness of the hospital bed. Her grip on the blanket drew even tighter, her knuckles white under the strain.
"And what does that mean?"
Kaede sighed and leant back, her face grim and drawn. "Well, that's the part we don't know."
Kagome whipped her head around, regretting it instantly as her head protested strongly. Ignoring the throbbing, she glared at the older woman.
"Surely you must have some ideas?"
Kaede grunted. "Yes, but nothing more than speculation."
"Such as?"
The older woman scowled even deeper. "Kagome, our theories range from the ridiculous to the impossible. Quite simply…we have no idea."
Kagome sighed, dropping her gaze and accepting that was the only answer she could get at the moment. She fidgeted with the green blanket, finding a loose thread in the weave and pulling it absently, unravelling a small patch. With a cursory glance around the room, she drew in a breath to sigh again…
…and stopped.
"Where is everyone?"
It was the wrong thing to ask, she realised, as Kaede tensed and shot her a sharp glance. Kagome dropped her gaze with a slight cringe, her conditioned response to authority kicking in for the first time since coming to the rebel base. Kaede gaze softened somewhat, and she reached a leathery hand out to grasp Kagome's on the blanket with a tiny but kind smile.
"Don't worry, child. I simply don't want you bothered at this moment."
Kagome smiled back, feeling a swell of gratitude for this odd woman. Where would she be if not for Kaede? Probably already chipped and zombi-fied. Such a short time had passed, but Kagome felt that she knew this woman, that she could trust her, and that Kaede would protect her like a grandmother.
Her smile widened and she gripped Kaede's hand hard in her own. "Thank you, Kaede."
Her one eye widened in surprise. "Whatever for?"
Kagome gave a laugh, the grin lighting up her face. "For saving me. I owe you everything and I don't have anything to give you."
Kaede smiled and squeezed back. "Kagome, it truly is nothing. It is worth it to have you here." Kagome thought for an instant she saw a shadow of something in Kaede's eye, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come.
The tender moment was suddenly interrupted by the hiss of a speaker. A distorted voice crackled through the air, urgent and slightly panicked. "Commander Shirokawa! Calling Commander Shirokawa to the control tower! All personnel to emergency stations, incoming hostiles. Set Condition Red throughout the Base. Repeat, all personnel to emergency stations, the base is under attack."
Kagome jumped as another impact rocked the building. Kaede had left her scant minutes before, leaving strict orders for her to stay put. That was getting increasingly more difficult as blasts and screams from outside grew louder and more frequent.
Something else hit the side of the medical centre, the force sending her bed flying. Kagome screamed, gripping the blanket with all her strength as she fell out of the bed with a thud. As instruments and machines crashed to the floor beside her, electrics sparking and glass shattering, she knew that she could not stay.
Grabbing the cord of her drip with her other hand, she closed her eyes and braced herself before ripping the needle out. Blood spurted from the roughly opened hole, and Kagome grabbed a bandage from a nearby tray and wrapped it around her hand hastily. Tying a knot as best she could with only one hand, she stood up, swaying slightly as the blood rushed to her head, her headache nearly overwhelming her once more.
Which way had Kaede gone? The overturned bed and toppled heart monitor blocked the obvious exit that she could see, and Kagome knew that she did not have nearly enough strength to move them out of the way.
She turned the other way, picking a path through the debris, praying that another impact would not come until she was away from so many sharp objects. She was still dressed in her school uniform, although barefoot, and absently she wondered why they had not changed her into a hospital gown. Her uniform was filthy, covered in dust and blood, the cream shirt hardly recognisable and the short sailor skirt frayed at the hem.
She scrambled over an upturned machine of some sort, scratching the skin on her shin but ignoring it. The small ward she was in opened into a corridor on that side, and was blessedly rubble-free. Natural light was streaming through an open door at the far end of the hall, and Kagome broke into a jog to reach it. She pushed through the doors with all her strength, stumbling into the light of day.
Outside was like nothing she had ever seen.
The first thing she noticed was the sky. An enormous coruscating dome of shimmering green stretched over the base, flickering and wavering every few seconds as it was battered. Kagome gasped at the creatures assaulting the dome: youkai of every imaginable shape, size and combination floated in the air. Clusters of nothing but eyeballs, snakes, dragons, bats, eagles, humanoid creatures with wings, ogres, heads with streaming tails.
But they had one thing in common; they were all intent on getting that dome down, through any means possible.
"It must be the barrier…" Kagome breathed to herself. She had never seen one that close before; the barriers at the Sphere Bases had been visible but she had never paid attention to them, and those that covered Tokyo from side to side and separated the different Class sectors from one another was too high to be seen from the ground.
It was an incredible and somehow beautiful sight, and Kagome was mesmerised. So enthralled, in fact, that when a portion of the barrier failed and a fireball blasted towards her, she did not notice.
"Watch out!"
Someone barrelled into her side, knocking them both to the ground with a grunt. The fireball hit the medical centre behind them, and it exploded with a blast that blew over their prone bodies. The heat could be felt even from their position. Kagome gulped; just as well she was out of there.
She turned her stiff neck to her saviour, who lay groaning lightly on the ground with her, limbs still entangled. Her jaw dropped as she did a double take.
"Hojo?"
The boy lifted his head and met her shocked gaze with a smile. "Higurashi."
She gaped in reply. Shaking her head, she scrambled to her feet, wincing as her bare feet met something sharp on the ground but ignoring it, and brushed the dirt from the compound off of her behind as best she could, before extending her hand to help him up. "What are you doing here?"
He winced, before glancing around them apprehensively. "I'll explain later. Right now, we have to get inside."
She cast a wary eye over the blazing medical centre. "Are you sure that's such a good idea?"
He had not let go of her hand and tugged her behind him as he moved towards a large, tapering tower in the middle of the complex of small, hut-like buildings, some afire like the medical centre, some already rubble, some completely untouched. She stumbled along behind him, too surprised to protest even as her feet took a battering. "The command centre is this way. They sent me to get you."
Kagome shoot her head, completely confused. "But Hojo---"
He turned and interrupted her with a brilliant smile. "Isn't this exciting, Higurashi?"
She blinked. "What?!"
He just grinned wider. "I never would have dreamed of doing anything like this. It's so amazing."
Kagome did not reply, severely doubting his intelligence then. Even as a Class A. How could he possibly find this situation in any way good?
A ring of fatigue-clad soldiers stood warily around the base of the command tower, semi-automatic rifles held in tight grips, jaws set and eyes hard. Hojo jerked his head towards Kagome and one nodded, stepping aside from the double doors.
She was so confused.
The ground level of the tower was bustling with activity, fatigue- and plain-clothed people rushing about the floor with business-like expressions and grim determination. There were no panicked faces, but the level of noise was cacophonic as orders flew from side to side of the building. The floor was carpeted, and Kagome was thankful for that, from the bottom of her smarting feet.
Hojo still did not let go of Kagome's hand, dragging her through the crowds towards the stairs at the back. Her protests were ignored or unheard, and Kagome was helpless as he pulled her relentlessly behind him.
She just managed to keep up with him bounding up the stairs, almost tripping a few times but catching herself. He seemed completely focused on his destination as they circled round and round, further and further up. The people they passed on the stairs were totally absorbed in their own tasks, in the disaster at hand, and paid them no heed.
Finally, just as Kagome though her legs would give out, the stairs ended and Hojo pushed through a heavy metal door. She blinked at the bright light suddenly bathing her, used to the dull flickering white light of the stairwell, and yanked her hand back at last, rubbing absently at the pressure mark he had left on her wrist.
"What the hell was that about, Hojo?"
He did not reply, facing forward and snapping a ---rather sloppy--- salute. "Higurashi Kagome as requested," he barked.
Kagome scowled; requested? Humph. She froze when her eyes adjusted, finally making out the shape framed against the wide bays windows. It was Kaede, crisply dressed in her thick uniform, surveying the chaos that was befalling her domain.
She stepped forward as briskly as she could and gently grasped Kagome's upper arm. "Thank you, Hideaki. You can go now."
Hojo looked slightly lost. "But… I…"
"Thanks so much for your help. I'm sure you're needed downstairs," Kaede urged, slightly more pointedly this time.
Reluctantly, he nodded. "Yes, ma'am." He glanced towards Kagome. "Higurashi…" But Kaede was already pulling her forward.
She led her towards the windows of the tower's top floor. The vantage was brilliant, and Kagome could see the entire base, the huddling rows of identical huts, the clusters of tense soldiers, the scraps of youkai corpses.
"Kagome." Kaede's voice was firm as she let go of Kagome's arm. Dragging her eyes away from the partly horrifying, partly awe-inspiring sight, Kagome took a deep breath.
She had a bad feeling about this.
"What's happening out there?" she asked, a jerk of her head indicating the window.
Kaede sighed, closing her eye for a moment. When she replied, her voice was rough and tense. "That's why you're here now."
Kagome's lifted eyebrow was met with no response. A rough hand lifted to grip Kagome's shoulder firmly. Kaede went on, her gaze meeting Kagome's wide eyes. "I had hoped to have more time to break and explain this to you, but they moved far faster than I had anticipated in even my worst case scenarios. Not to mention your sudden seizure.
"But, as they say, best laid plans of mice and men… and miko." The joke fell flat, and Kagome's face remained blank, if a little confused. "And so, I have very little time to lay the situation and the plan before you, Kagome."
She faced Kagome fully, gripping both her shoulders with an almost painful strength. "You are no ordinary girl, Kagome. You are the reincarnation of my late sister, Kikyou, the most powerful miko of her generation, and the thing in your head is none other than the legendary Shikon Jewel, the microchip created by the rebel priestess Midoriko in desperation after the rise of the Sphere."
Kagome blinked.
Kaede stared with earnest intensity.
Kagome cracked up laughing.
"Oh, please!" she gasped between uproarious cackling, her breath coming faster and faster.
Kaede's jaw dropped. Obviously that was not the reaction she had been expecting.
"Kagome! This is very serious!"
Kagome merely guffawed anew. "I mean, come on, how ridiculous can you get, old lady? What next? No, don't tell me, I have to go on a quest to save the world or something."
Kaede nodded gravely. "Something like that, I guess."
Kagome swallowed her laughter with a choking noise. "Uhh…"
Kaede renewed her grip on Kagome's shoulders. "That thing inside your head holds the key to this entire war between the Sphere and the youkai. It has the potential to create an awesome weapon, either for us or against us."
"But…it's not there---" Kaede's expression halted her in her tracks, and she let out an exasperated breath. "What now?"
"I wasn't entirely truthful with you. It has disappeared, to a large extent. However, there are… remnants. I have no idea of the significance of---"
"Take it out, then! Get rid of it! Fix me!"
Kaede sighed and dropped her head. "We can't. It's part organic; it would die if we took it out, and we don't know what would happen to you. Technically, and by all logic, it shouldn't be in your head to start with. It was supposedly destroyed when my sister Kikyou died. She had it implanted and then she was cremated."
Kagome blinked, and shook her head. "You aren't making any sense whatsoever, Kaede. How do you know that…thing in my head is the Shingo thingie?"
"Shikon Jewel, Kagome---"
Something crashed into the command tower, rocking it and sending the two sprawling to the floor as the lights flickered and went out. Kagome covered her head with her hands, images of the incinerated medical centre filling her mind.
"Kagome!" Kaede pulled her to her feet. "There's no time. You're smart; I'm sure you'll figure it out on your way," she gushed as she scuttled towards a door near the window, dragging Kagome behind her again.
"What? On my way where, exactly?"
Kaede pulled open the door and thrust Kagome through it, who stumbled and caught herself on the handrail before gulping. Vertigo swept through her at the sight of the very long drop separated from her only by a few thin high-tension wires.
"Yo, wench."
Kagome whirled and stared at the boy casually perched atop a thin pole right on the drop. She gaped; it was the hanyou boy from the warehouse. He was still wearing those odd, billowing red clothes, and his face was covered in an arrogant smirk, ears swivelling constantly at the odd crash, putt-putt-putt of gunfire and the continuous roar of the attacking youkai.
"You!" she gasped breathlessly.
"Yes, yes, Kagome, InuYasha, InuYasha, Kagome," Kaede muttered, pointing between the two.
Kagome raised an eyebrow. So, this was InuYasha.
Kaede interrupted her musing by tapping her shoulder. She proffered Kagome's school loafers and an enormous yellow backpack, bulging at the seams and seemingly about to burst.
"Here. This has most of what you'll need. The rest InuYasha can get for you along the way."
"Oi! Old hag, I ain't getting her anything," the hanyou protested. Kaede merely lifted her eyebrows.
"Oh really? Kagome, give him a command."
The girl blinked, pausing in putting on her scuffed brown leather shoes. "What?"
"Give him a command, any command."
Kagome turned to InuYasha, staring blankly at him. The swivelling ears atop his head caught her attention, and almost before she knew it, the word was out of her mouth.
"Sit."
"Wha---nggg!"
Kagome clapped a hand over her mouth as he plummeted to the balcony face first with a crash.
"Oh my God! I'm so sorry!"
He growled, trying to pull his face from the concrete, without success. "Bitch, what the fuck was that for?"
Kagome gaped. "What? How dare you call me that! Don't swear at me, either!"
"Wench…"
Kaede cleared her throat meaningfully. "Children. Please."
Kagome turned a burning glare on the older woman. "That reminds me. What the hell is going on? What is a Shikon Jewel supposed to do? Who's Kikyou? And where the hell am I supposedly going?"
Kaede sighed, rubbing a temple with an arthritic finger. "Like I said, there's too little time. You'll have to figure it out on the way. InuYasha can help with some of that." She indicated the hanyou who was now sitting on the floor with a thunderous expression on his face. He scoffed, turning his nose up and away.
"Yeah, he sure looks helpful…" Kagome grumbled.
Kaede sighed again. "Honestly."
Kagome glared at her again. "Well, can you at least tell me where I'm supposed to go, so that I can 'find out along the way'? Not to mention how we're going to get out of this base." She glanced apprehensively at the hungry faces of the hovering youkai. The barrier seemed stronger and thicker now, not quite as translucent or shifting, but the horde were awaiting their chance. Eagerly.
Kaede followed Kagome's gaze and winced. "Well, that's not our main problem. See, Kagome, I have no idea what happened to most of that chip in your head."
InuYasha's head shot up.
"There are remnants, as I told you, but they have shifted around your head to various different positions. Unfortunately, as you can tell, we have neither facilities nor safety to investigate here. We need to get you to Shikoku Island."
Kagome's jaw dropped with a gasp as her eyes widened. "Shikoku? Are you crazy? It's full of murderous youkai!"
"Absorbing propaganda nicely, I see," InuYasha bit out sarcastically.
"That's enough!" Kaede barked. "Kagome, Shikoku is the base of my resistance group, Heiwa, and we promote equality among humans and higher level youkai of decent sentience, enough to hold themselves back from killing humans. Those are the only youkai you'll find on Shikoku."
"Yeah, and they just kill the rest."
"InuYasha, I said that's enough!" Kaede did not sound so angry as exasperated.
Kagome ignored their bickering, trying to absorb far too much information quickly. "So… why don't you take me, Kaede?" Her voice was small again, far less certain, but clinging to what little she did know in this strange new world.
Kaede smiled and reached out to touch Kagome's face. "If only I could, child." She took a breath and dropped her hand, clenching it into a fist. "But unfortunately, that's not possible. There are a few reasons, the primary one being that there is no way I could get us both through that." She pointed at the broiling mass of youkai beyond the barrier, and Kagome reluctantly admitted that, no, an arthritic half-blind prematurely-aged woman would not stand that much of a chance.
"Luckily, standing before you is someone who can." Kaede pointed with a smile toward InuYasha, who had given up his position on the floor and was lounging against the building wall, out of sight of the windows.
A commotion and the sound of human screams, gunfire and blood-lusty roars from the far end of the compound drew all their attention. Kaede swore under her breath, pushing the backpack towards Kagome.
"The barrier's breaking down. Hurry, take this. Remember, no one knows who you are except the Sphere, so trust no one except InuYasha." She cocked a lopsided smile as she gripped Kagome's upper arms, the backpack settled on her shoulders. "Well, maybe not even him."
"Oi!"
Kaede ignored him and pulled Kagome into a fierce hug. Kagome was surprised, but hugged back, freezing as Kaede began to whisper almost inaudibly right into her ear.
"Don't tell anyone that the chip has disappeared. Try to find out what happened on your own. Search your mind. You'll know, I'm sure of it."
With that, she pushed the girl away, a tight smile on her wrinkled face. She reached a hand to touch Kagome's cheek again, who was fighting back tears. "You'll do just fine, I know it."
"But Kaede…"
But the commander was nodding to InuYasha, who reluctantly pushed away from the wall and grabbed Kagome's arm roughly.
"Oi bitch, get on."
Kagome was too confused to even register the insult. "What?"
He rolled his eyes and faced away from her. "Get on my back. You know, piggy back style."
Kagome's eyes shot open wide. "Uhh, I really don't think tha-- AHHH!"
Her protest was swallowed by a scream as he gave up and yanked her up with surprising strength, leaving her no choice but to grip onto him or plummet storeys to her death.
"KAEDEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!"
She screamed her lungs out as the boy leapt out into empty air, his hands strong on her thighs to keep her from slipping. Her stomach flew up her throat as he dropped through the air towards the ground, her scream still ripping from her throat. His muscles bunched and flexed beneath her as he landed with a heart-stopping jolt and then took off again, sending her stomach the other way with sickening suddenness.
His ears were clamped tightly against his head as she continued screaming, wide eyed and absolutely petrified.
"Oi wench! You mind not doing that right in my ears?" he yelled back to her, squeezing his hands on her thighs for emphasis.
Her mouth snapped shut with a click of teeth. The silence did not last long, however.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"
He winced and slammed his ears back again. "I'm saving you, you idiot! And my balance is gonna be off if you keep screeching in my ears, bitch. Do you wanna die?"
She opened her mouth to scream a reply before a memory blindsided her. Amber eyes, staring earnestly down at her from above a bound body.
He had asked her that before… and she had trusted him… and he had saved her. True to his word.
She took a very, very deep breath and tried to ignore the amazingly unpleasant feeling that his leaping was creating inside her belly. Resting her head between his shoulder blades as they sped towards who knew what, she closed her eyes, trying not to bring up whatever little amount was in her stomach.
"I trust you, InuYasha."
"I trust you, InuYasha."
I nearly fall out of the sky.
But, luckily, I don't. I adjust my balance, land, and leap again, my mind spinning. But I don't have much time to dwell.
We're coming up on the army.
The youkai are swarming forward, human blood on their faces and claws, intent on the central tower. That's what Kaede was counting on, that they would be told that something important was inside and to kill everything else. They're too stupid for anything else. So it shouldn't be too hard for me and the wench to escape.
But holy fuck, there's a lot of them.
The first one sees me, a lower level oni: black horns, grey teeth, yellow eyes and scaly red skin thick as concrete. The girl on my back tenses as she sees him, too, and terror, absolute undiluted fear, floods her scent.
"InuYasha…" she starts, her voice tense and questioning.
"Don't worry, it'll be fine," I say, my brow furrowing even as the words leave my mouth. Why the hell am I comforting her?
But then the oni lifts his club and takes a swing at us. I dodge, much faster than he is, and spring off a hut's roof high into the air. I spin and let go of one of her legs to slash my claws.
"Sankontessou!"
My youki arcs through the air and the hard skin of the oni, who bellows in rage and pain as he falls. The scent of his blood sets the beast inside me to roaring, and I know I can't be the only one who smells it. The rest of the horde have noticed us now, and some of them will be as fast as I am.
I regain my grip on her leg, hearing her heartbeat pound and her breath come fast, but she doesn't say anything, just buries her head in my back and clings on for dear life. She's scared, but she's trusting me.
That makes me feel a little like shit, despite myself.
I land on another roof and chance a look behind me. The swarm is divided, some pushing on towards the control tower, and some chasing after me.
Unfortunately, it's the smarter ones that ain't fixated on their orders, able to comprehend a separate threat.
A serpent slides through the air, matching my speed and taking a snap at the girl on my back. I throw myself to the side before it can catch her, and swipe my claws out again. The blades of youki miss, though, and the serpent winds itself around us, trying to make me fall out of the air.
No chance, shithead.
I grin and drop the girl.
She opens her eyes and screams in terror as she falls, but I rip the serpent's head off and rocket after her, catching her and swinging her onto my back in time to adjust, land and take off again, if a little less smoothly than I'd like.
I can feel her shaking on my back as her fingernails dig into my shoulders. Her heart is pounding hard and I press my ears as flat as I can in preparation.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!"
I wince. "Oi, ears, remember?"
"I DON'T CARE! YOU DROPPED ME!"
I dodge a flying fireball and push off a tree. "Yeah, and I caught you again. No harm done! I thought you trusted me?"
That shuts her up, surprisingly, but in my own head, my thoughts are spinning.
She trusts me. I haven't done anything to earn it. Hell, she didn't know my name until today, and the last time she saw me I was about to attack her.
And then I get angry again. Why the fuck am I feeling guilty that she's a naïve idiot? It'll just make my job so much easier! Follow the plan, remember? She'll trust you and hand the Jewel over, then you can kill her and do whatever the fuck you want.
Right. Settled. It's not my fault she's stupid and doesn't know about the world. It'll just make it easier to get what I want.
All the same… as we reach the furthest perimeter of the base, beyond the barrier, and all the pursuing youkai turn back to assault the tower, I can't help dreading being the one to take away that idiotically trusting nature.
I'm enough of a bastard already. I don't really need destroying another innocent girl on my bill.
But for now, I just speed away towards the mountains as smoothly and quietly as possible from the rebel base. The girl on my back is the key to everything I've ever wanted, and Kaede will be Miss Universe before I let anything…anything, get in my way. Not even my own conscience.
Ha. But then, I'm already too far-gone to worry about something like that, right? No matter how that tiny little bit of leftover humanity in me screams at me that nothing else
I could do would ever damn me quite as much as this.
The young man rolled the beads in his palm thoughtfully, staring out into the forest beyond his campsite. A healing wound on his shoulder twinged and he flexed it absently, still deep in contemplation. An unhappy young man, although none would think it from his usual carefree manner. The firelight reflected in his eyes, a most unusual indigo, darkened further by the troubles that plagued him.
A large creature stared at him intently, rubbing its paws, anxiously searching in the young man's face for any reaction. "Master Miroku?"
"Yes, Hachi," Miroku murmured, not even blinking. His face was hard, the lines chiselled but the lips tight, attractive but somehow…different. He was a dangerous young man, the type one's mother would warn one about. A conman, a heartbreaker without much care for the tears he left behind. This was showing on his face tonight, where usually it would be hidden by a flirtatious charm or earnest manner.
"Master, what am I to do now? Do you have any further errands?" Hachi implored, his beast-like face eager to be told no, desperate to return to his den and bury his head in the sand. The Hunters were out again; he did not wish to be caught. He had had that horror once before. But his master had called him, and so he had come. A noble tanuki-youkai, the expert in illusions and shape-shifting, in service to a young fugitive. His father would be rolling in his grave. Metaphorically speaking, considering the manner of the man's demise.
Miroku smiled tightly, turning to face his servant. "Hachi, did you notice anything strange today?"
The youkai frowned and shook his head. "Nothing, master. The Pure sent troops against the Heiwa Base outside Tokyo, but there is nothing strange about that. They fight all the time."
Miroku nodded slowly, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "True, true, but a rather large party, don't you think? And so near Tokyo. I was attacked by a side squadron, and they usually know better than that; those imbeciles they call officers know I am best left alone."
Hachi could do nothing but agree. "Yes, master."
"It was a haphazard, last minute assault. What was so important about attacking the Base exactly then? If it were planned, there would have been larger numbers of higher youkai. I saw exactly none yesterday. Nor did I sense any. So sheer force and spped was employed. Haste at the expense of efficiency." Miroku shook his head, clenching and unclenching his right fist. The gauntlet over his hand was rubbing, and the muscles were twinging where his… affliction… centred.
Hachi nodded when the young man glanced at him. His master was in one of his moods: he had to dissect a problem and Hachi was the only available sounding board. Miroku was a fairly easy master to serve as they went, if a little odd at times, and this was one of those times.
"So that means that it must have been spontaneous, or near enough. There was something there, at the Heiwa Base, that the Pure wanted, and couldn't afford to wait to obtain."
"And what was that, do you think, master?" Hachi ventured.
Miroku scowled and grabbed a stick from beside him, throwing it into the fire with a frustrated growl. Hachi jumped in fright and tried to edge out of range.
"I have no idea, and that's the problem!" His temper was short and he had never been one to be content with his failings. Such ignorance bothered him; it was his knack for knowing everything that was going on that had kept him alive so long.
He sighed, running a hand through his hair; black, shoulder length and kept in a rat tail in accordance with his profession. His father had taught him well, in what seemed a previous life.
He stopped that train of thought before it could go anywhere significant or painful. Far better to cauterise such a wound than let it fester on a night like this.
"I need to know. I'll go tomorrow and see what I can find out," he muttered, staring into the flames. He was fairly confident that he would elude capture, but such things were never certain.
Hachi was still glancing nervously at him, awaiting instructions, and Miroku waved a hand dismissively at him, closing his eyes and breaking his contemplative trance.
"You can go, Hachi. I'll call you when I need you again. Give my best to your mother," he said with a sigh.
"Thankyou, master!" Hachi bowed and scurried off into the undergrowth. Miroku watched him go with a reserved expression, the darkness in his eyes receding slightly. That tanuki really was a sweet creature, if a little stupid.
Too bad so many others were not quite so innocent. He rubbed his neck with his un-gauntleted hand, stiff from the attack earlier on in the day. It was nagging at him; he was sure that the movements of that army was significant, in a big way…he just did not know how, exactly. What were the rebels fighting over now?
And how could he use it to his advantage?
It was quiet.
Kagome stared into the fire that InuYasha had built, the crackling and popping of the wood the only sound for miles around. There was not a breath of wind, and neither he nor she had spoken since the sun went down.
It was pitch black, too. Kagome had never been in such total darkness before. She had never seen a forest, either; still could not, really, in such darkness. Also a first was being spirited away by a half dog-demon into the war-torn countryside. Fireballs, too. It had certainly been an interesting day, she mused with a numb sort of shock.
She sighed and placed her chin on her knees, arms hugging her legs as if they could embrace her back. She felt a familiar stinging sensation and fought the tears back mercilessly. There was nothing she could do about her situation, now. All she could do was go forward. She had to stop pining for what she had had: a life, a family.
Her mother's smiling face filled her mind, suddenly, the softness in her eyes as she patted her daughter's cheek, told her that she loved her…the way she had said goodbye as Kagome had left for school that fateful morning.
She could not stop the tears this time. They gathered in the corners of her eyes as she squeezed them shut, and leaked out slowly. A tiny sob left her throat as she buried her head in her knees, arms tightening almost painfully about her legs, fingernails embedding themselves in her calves.
Her grandfather had offered her a special protective charm that morning, for her excursion, but she had scoffed at it, rebuffing him and his 'useless mumbo-jumbo'. Maybe if she had taken it…if she had not been such a brat, such a bitch, so ungrateful, maybe she would be at home right now. Sitting at the kitchen table, eating her mother's special Oden, her little brother whining about something that had happened at school, her grandfather grumping about the newest rule or restriction, her mother just quietly smiling through it all, calming an argument or complaint here, refilling a bowl there…
Her sobs had passed the point of ignoring them now, full bodied and shaking her frame with the force of them. The faces in her mind changed from loving to accusatory, staring at her in disapproval. 'Selfish Kagome, how could you have done this? It's all your fault! You aren't normal; if you were, none of this would have happened! Shame on you!'
She gasped for air, the force of the pain hitting her square in the chest. Her mother looked so unhappy and disappointed. Kagome could not remember ever seeing her like that.
"Mama… I'm so sorry! Mama!" she wailed into her knees, arms aching at the strength with which she clasped herself. In her mind she railed at the sad faces, 'I didn't mean it! I'm sorry! I didn't know!'
"I didn't know! I didn't! I swear!" she cried, covering her head with her hands, fisting her fingers in her hair. Her grip tightened and she welcomed the pain: she deserved it. But already the strain of the day was making itself felt; the tears slowed and the sobs quieted as her exhausted body struggled to keep up.
"I'm sorry I'm…I'm…this freak," she whispered finally, lifting her head to stare into the darkness beyond the fire, darker than anything she had anything she had ever seen in her life. Darkness into which she had to venture, the stuff of the unknown, for the sake of a cause she did not even understand.
From high in the branches of the tree behind her, golden eyes glowed as InuYasha watched her cry.
Kagome woke to completely alien sounds. The calls of a thousand birds, the wind as it rustled through the forest, the buzz of insects droning underneath it all. Rubbing the crick in her neck she pushed herself up from where she had slept on the ground. She stared in unabashed wonder at the mid-morning scene around her as she brushed the leaves and dirt from her cheeks.
There were trees.
The only tree Kagome had ever touched was the God Tree at her family's shrine. But the forest around her, the canopy of green and brown, the sweet smell of the air, the gentle hiss of the wind as it wove through the branches… it was…
Her eyes were wide and lips parted as she stood. Her hand stretched out and she walked slowly towards the nearest tree, transfixed. The God Tree's branches had always been high above the roof of her house, and thus the only leaves she had ever touched were brown and dead, fallen lifeless from the Tree. But these trees… they were adorned by countless green leaves, almost pulsing with life. She could almost feel them, living entities with a presence as real as herself. She had read about forests, heard about them, known clinically that she was in one the night before…but never had she imagined.
Her fingers touched a low hanging branch, then grasped a handful of green, juicy, alive leaves. She choked out a laugh, her face alight with wonder and awe as her fingers stroked the surface of the leaf. It was cool, smooth, harder than she had expected. A smile spread, slowly at first but gathering momentum, until it suffused her entire face, her joy shining through.
She laughed and stepped back, staring around her at the forest surrounding the tiny clearing. Spreading her arms wide she spun, feeling the sun on her face for the first time unfaded by a barrier, the wind in her hair untainted with fumes, the greenery around her totally natural.
Suddenly, things were not so bad.
She looks like an idiot.
This stupid grin on her face, giggling like a head case and staring at the goddamn trees like she's never seen one before. What happened to the blubbering wreck last night?
I decide to get this show on the road. "Oi wench!"
She slows to a stop, swaying slightly in dizziness, searching me out among the tree branches. I step off from my perch and land on the ground, glaring at her. She glares back.
"Don't call me a wench!" she yells, placing her fists on her hips and pouting slightly. She looks like a kid like that, for crap's sake.
I sneer. "Well, that's what you are, isn't it?"
She rolls her eyes at me and I almost growl. "A person is not defined by what they are, you idiot."
I freeze, but just as quickly try to cover it up with a scoff. "Keh. Whatever."
She just smiles indulgently at me and walks over to her backpack, the one that Kaede gave her. "Hungry?" she asks with a brilliant smile.
How does she change moods so quickly? I turn my back on her and leap back into my tree. I can hear her grumbling behind me but I don't care.
When she says shit like that… damnit, she's a human, a miko, everything that ruined my life and this whole godsforsaken country. So why the hell can't she act like one?
Focus, hanyou!
I jump down again and walk over to her. She's eating a rations bar and staring at the damn trees again. Idiot.
"What's with you and trees, bitch?"
She sighs, the content smile on her face not even wavering at my insult. Which irritates me, to say the least. My attitude is all I've got. Don't tell me Kaede and her indifference rubbed off on her.
"I've lived in Tokyo my whole life. I've never seen a tree other than my Shrine's sacred tree. I've never been in a forest." She sighs again, tilting her head up to the sky. "This is all new. It's wonderful. I never dreamed of anything like this."
I scowl. "Last night you weren't so happy about it," I growl, and nearly kick myself at the heartbroken look that ghosts over her face.
Her head drops and she stares at the ground. "I know…" she whispers, food forgotten. "But…there's nothing I can do about it, is there? I may as well appreciate the good in this."
"Good?" My temper is short this morning, whether from guilt or fatigue or something else I have no idea. I just know that I want a fight. "How is any of this good? It's just a forest! I lived in them my whole life! And you're gonna be seeing a whole lot more of 'em before we reach Shikoku, if we can even get there…"
She turns her head and stares at me with those huge blue eyes that show everything that she's thinking. I can't meet her gaze and just glare out at the damn trees. Finally she sighs and looks at the forest, too, a tiny frown on her face.
"I guess you're right. But still. I like them."
She eats the last bit of her ration bar and drags her knees into her chest, resting her head on her knees. She looks so small and lost and I feel like a bastard. Which, ironically, I technically am.
"So what's the plan?" she murmurs.
"Huh?" Her eyes slant towards me with a glint. "Oh. Well, we walk."
She nods and stands slowly, stretching luxuriously. Her skirt, already short and tattered, hitches up further, and from my vantage point I get quite the view.
"Keh."
I grab the backpack and stomp out of the clearing towards the west.
Miroku sighed as the guards pushing him along jostled him a little more than necessary. Honestly. He got the point already. Yes, he prisoner, them jailers. Insert appropriate grunting and chest pounding here.
Honestly.
He had come to the conclusion that there was a reason that Class D's were just that. He had had enough sneers, crude unimaginative jokes involving bodily functions or mothers, and petty displays of authority to fathom their complete lack of anything even vaguely resembling independent and original thought.
His guard jerked him around a corner and Miroku nearly tripped on his robe. He had been slightly careless in his investigations around the outskirts of Tokyo, trying to pick up a hint of the disturbance between the rebels, when a patrol party had caught him. He could have escaped from their ridiculous idea of containment easily enough, but a few stray comments about the "horde of vermin" had stayed his hand, and he had allowed them to lead him to a containment facility just outside the barrier.
The corridor came to an end, finally, and the guard pushed Miroku through the door of a cell, sending him sprawling onto the floor filthy with various bodily fluids and excrements. Lovely. Why clean up for a prisoner?
The guard sneered something about Miroku's mother and the guard's dog, before slamming the door. One could never gently close a cell door, Miroku had noted over the years. It was absolutely essential that it be slammed with as much vigour as could be mustered.
Honestly.
Miroku rubbed a sticky and odorous finger over his equally smelly temple, trying to soothe the raging headache that always seemed to eventuate when dealing with idiots. He sighed and lifted himself from the grimy floor. The smell did not bother him; years in a cell similar to this one had long since dulled his sensitivity to stench and confinement.
He did not want to think about that. Nonetheless, his right hand twinged, and he fiddled with the rosary wrapped around the gauntlet. It had been many years since he had been in a situation like this, but it was almost painfully nostalgic.
He sat down on the grubby cot against a wall of the cell, arranging himself comfortably and folding his legs, his hands resting palm up on his knees, eyes drifting shut. His senses extended out…and he was away.
The guard room was reasonably full. Shift had swapped at the same time as the patrol had returned, so there was a large gathering of soldiers at the tables, nursing their various drinks. Contraband was easy to come by in the ranks of the military, so beer was the drink of choice, closely followed by vodka from the Russian colonies.
"So then, he says, 'What?' and I say 'Don't pretend!' and he says 'What?' and I hit him with a mug!" a corporal snorted in malicious glee, floored by his own hilarity. The other soldiers laughed, too, some just as enthusiastically, some not so much. It was a pretty good measure of relative intelligence as to who found such an anecdote amusing.
One remained completely silent.
When the hubbub died down, that man stepped forward, staring at those come back from patrol. His lapels marked him a Captain, a Class B. "Did you see them?"
The group exchanged shady and somewhat apprehensive looks. "What you mean, boss?" one asked.
"The horde. Or their prey."
Shifty looks again. "I I I I dunno what you mean," the spokesman rasped, the stress obviously getting to him.
"Damnit!" the Captain yelled, slamming a fist down onto the table and making the glasses jump, as well as some of the soldiers. "Your priority order is to retrieve that girl! There was no sign of her in the wreckage of the rebel base, nor in the remains of the youkai horde! Does anyone know what that means?"
Silence. Blank faces.
He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "That means, you geniuses, that she's out there somewhere!"
More blank looks.
"And we have to get her!"
Vague understanding.
"And you bring me some two-bit wannabe monk who couldn't fart his way out of a paper bag when I want that girl!"
Slightly-less-vague understanding. Punishment imminent.
"So I do hope that I am not in the least bit unclear when I say that finding that girl is imperative! That means very, very, very important!" he enunciated with exaggerated lip movement.
They nodded and the Captain deflated somewhat.
"Good." He smoothed his uniform over his chest and fixed his men with a glare. "Squads 104 and 216 are on patrol next, route 86. And keep your eyes open, this time."
…and he was back.
Miroku opened his eyes slowly, a new glint to them. Stroking his grubby chin thoughtfully, he made his way to the door, examining the hinges and bolts on autopilot. As he slid the door off its hinges and stepped into the corridor, he smiled and began whistling the tune to a bawdy song.
A girl. His favourite thing. And this one was extra special. He grinned as the plan unfurled in his mind like a perfect lotus flower, exquisite in every facet.
Let them see what this two-bit wannabe monk could fart his way out of.
Kagome's feet hurt.
She had been trudging along behind InuYasha for over three hours, without stopping, without conversation, only walking, walking, and more walking. And she was tired.
"InuYasha," she panted; a life devoted to academic excellence had not prepared her for marathon hikes through wooded and uneven terrain.
He merely flicked an ear her way and kept walking. In fact…was he walking faster? He was! Why, that little…
"InuYasha!" she yelled this time, halting and glaring at the silver hair cascading down his back.
Both ears flickered backward this time, but he did not stop. "What?" he grunted.
"I have to take a break," she stated firmly, spying a rock and limping towards it. Her feet were aching like crazy, and the beginnings of a blister had her rummaging in the huge backpack Kaede had given her for a plaster. Hiking boots would have been a better idea than leather loafers.
"What the hell are you talking about?" InuYasha growled, finally turning around to glare at her, hands in the voluminous red sleeves of the red jacket he still wore.
She paused in her delving around and looked up at him. "We've been walking for hours, my feet hurt, I'm hungry, I need to change my bandages, and I'm tired. Honestly, I've done pretty well for the first try, don't you think?" she said with a smile, trying to smooth things over. He would surely understand that she was only human---
"No, I don't think so! I can't believe you need a fucking rest already," he grumped, sending her another angry glare.
Her eyes narrowed.
"Excuse me?" Her voice was low and deadly, and had he only been paying attention, he would have apologised and shut up right then.
He was not.
"This is pathetic, even for a human! How weak are you, anywa---"
"SIT!"
"Ungflrr!"
Kagome was livid. She had been in a hospital bed the day before! Her mouth opened and closed as she tried desperately to control herself and not sit the stupid hanyou into the centre of the earth!
InuYasha finally managed to pull his head out of his crater to fix her with a death glare. "What… the FUCK… was that for, bitch?" he snarled, golden eyes burning.
She met his eyes with a furious glare of her own. "I told you before: don't swear at me, and don't insult me." She bit off the end of each word, her tone snapping with anger.
He scoffed rudely and pushed himself off the ground, the spell having worn off. She focused her attention on redressing her wounds; the scratches on her belly had become a little infected and she was desperately trying to prevent scarring as best she could with what she knew. Her bicep throbbed a little from the gunshot ricochet, but that had been a clean cut, and was fairly easy to take care of. Nearly healed, in fact. Her days of sleep and Keade's herbal concoctions had generally worked wonders, and she was experiencing little to no discomfort from anything except her feet and head.
Taking a gulp from her water bottle, she swallowed the painkillers with a grimace; pills had never gone down easily for her. She sighed and took another sip, trying to carefully centre her thoughts on the here and now, what was in front of her, and not on what lay behind her.
But of course, that never worked.
With another sigh she stuffed everything back into the huge back-pack. She had questions, so many that she felt like her head was going to explode. Confusion was becoming her normal state of mind, and the long walk had not helped her to sort through anything, merely to become more confused.
But… Kaede had said that InuYasha knew things.
"InuYasha?" she called hesitantly, tearing the plastic away from a ration bar.
"What?" he snarled viciously from wherever he was; she assumed a tree.
She winced slightly at his tone and stood. Maybe now was not the best time to ask him anything. Her feet felt much, much better, and she shouldered the yellow monstrosity.
"I'm ready, now."
He landed in front of her with a thud and a thunderous expression.
"Oh, so glad that Madam is ready. Would hate to inconvenience her, make her poor, mortal feet hurt, wouldn't we," he sneered, sarcasm positively oozing out of his every pore.
She blinked, then smiled. "Oh come on, it was hardly a long break. Ten minutes at most! Is that so hard?"
He did not reply, merely snarled and spun on a heel, stalking off into the trees, bare feet stomping surprisingly loudly on the soft ground littered with moist leaves.
Kagome sighed, lifted her eyes to the sky, and strolled after him.
"Oi wench! Faster than a snail, if you don't mind! I'd like to get there before I die of old age, thanks!"
"You're a youkai; you don't age for… ages!"
He growled something under his breath and continued stomping away. She scowled and followed, his mutterings making her grimace.
"You better not be saying mean things about me!"
He scoffed and sneered, "The truth hurts."
With a gasp her eyes narrowed, practically able to feel his arrogant smirk.
THUD!
"OW, bitch, what the fuck was that for?" InuYasha bellowed, his hand gingerly rubbing the back of his head and glaring in turns at her and the rock she had just thrown at him. She smiled serenely and lobbed another, which he dodged before launching himself at her with a menacing growl, grabbing her uninjured bicep.
"What the hell, wen---"
"Stop there," she said, her hand on his lips to silence him. "Let me make something very clear to you, InuYasha." She enunciated every word, particularly his name, with exaggerated pleasantness.
"I have a name, which I would like you to use. It's Kagome. My name is not wench. It's not bitch. It's not, 'Hey you' or 'Oi'. It is Kagome. Ka-go-me. Come on, say it with me, Ka-go-me," she finished, removing her hand and smiling with saccharine falsity.
He blinked at her, mouth hanging slightly open, a vein beginning to bulge in his forehead.
She sighed and walked past him. "Oh well, silence is better than what comes out of your mouth most of the time."
She grinned lightly to herself at the almost palpable rage from behind her.
"Wench!"
"Sit."
"Gah! Bitch…"
"Heard that. Sit."
The mountains loomed ominously in front of them, towering over the forested foothills. Kagome stared at them, mouth slightly agape. She had seen Mount Fuji on the annual viewing day when the barrier was lowered on the western side, but never had she seen a range like this, or so close. Her experience with mountains was similar to her one with trees: she had read about them, but never dreamed the reality.
Those mountains were enormous!
And InuYasha said that this was the easiest way?
"Uhhh… InuYasha?"
"Hn?" he grunted in reply from his relaxed position beside her, forearm over his eyes and other hand behind his head. He had broken the news of their route to her and promptly flopped onto his back on the grass. She thought that he was more tired than he was letting on. In the past few days that they had been travelling, their relationship had already defined itself as… dynamic, to say the least. She had been called weak, bitch, wench and pathetic human, he had been called a rude, insensitive jerk, and had been sat at least thirty times.
He had not been cooperative or called her by her name even once, no matter how she berated him. He was rude, crass, arrogant, unpleasant, insensitive and just downright mean most of the time. She had cried and tripped and her blisters were infected, and still he seemed to simply not give a damn one way or the other.
Somehow she had doubts about this whole endeavour working. Already, and it was the first week!
She twisted the hem of her shirt in her hands, trying not to anger him or sound whiny and weak, lest the situation deteriorate from the current uneasy peace into something more volatile. "Are you… is this really the best way? Wouldn't the coast be easier?"
"Hn."
She stared up at the icy peaks of the farthest away mountains and visions of frostbite flew through her mind, her toes turning black and InuYasha gnawing them off in the middle of the night with a "Keh, suck it up, wench", and felt herself panic. She was not cut out for this! Outdoor survival was not something they taught Class A's! Being able to work out the height, density, average rainfall, climate and composition of those damn mountains was not going to help her cross them!
"I mean, if we go south, we'll cut a lot of time off our trip, and we'll have better landmarks, and it'll be warmer, and there'll be more people---"
"Exactly," he growled.
She blinked. "So… we'll go south?"
"No."
She waited for him to elaborate.
He did not.
"Why not?" she finally asked tartly, beginning to be pissed off.
He sighed dramatically, took his arm off his face and sat up. "We're fugitives, idiot," he began. Kagome's eyes narrowed at the title he gave her but she said nothing. "I'm an escaped hanyou from a Sphere Base and you're an uncooperative miko. There will be bounty hunters out as we speak. The Pure want you, too. Why do you think that the hag's Base was attacked?"
He sighed again, rubbing his hand over his eyes. "It's logical to go south. It's quicker, there's more food, and less wild youkai. It's easier terrain for a city slob like you." Kagome's vein ticked. "But there are more people. More bounty hunters. More Sphere Bases. More patrols. More danger. It will be hard for them to mount an expedition into the mountains after us, because the Slavers will have to go, too. They'll have to take food, provisions, cold weather gear. They won't know where we'll come out. All they'll be able to do is send bounty hunters, who I can probably handle pretty easily."
He paused again, thinking. Kagome's eyes were wide. He was being sensible, logical, rational…
"So yeah, it'll be tough, but if you wanna live, you're just gonna have to shut up and get over it."
…Or not.
She shot him a glare and stood. "Well, we better get started, right?"
He grunted and sprang to his feet as Kagome watched enviously. What she would not give for dexterity like that. He stretched his back, his bones and joints popping into place with grotesque sounds. Her foot tapped impatiently as he took his time limbering up, seeming to crack every joint in his body.
Suddenly he froze mid-crack, nose and ears twitching like crazy. A strange light entered his eyes and Kagome felt herself tense.
"What is it?"
He did not reply for a moment, before turning to her with a feral grin, bloodlust on his face.
"Incoming."