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Journey to the Future – Chapter 14
Kagome stared at the hanyou in undisguised horror. "It won't really take another month, will it?" she asked in despair. "I don't want to be out here for another month either! I'll waste away to nothing! And then get eaten by wolves or something!"
Inuyasha scratched his nose thoughtfully. "Well, it's probably more like a week, so don't get all crazy on me. But it may be two if we keep getting sidetracked by those fucking storms."
Kagome wanted so badly to just stop where she was and not move again. She had never actually thought about how good she had it at home with modern transportation until she had needed to cross half of Japan on foot. The freezing storm had sapped her energy and the short nap had done little to make up for the sleepless night. Her body was sore and felt about a million years old.
With a grimace, she forced herself to keep moving. The energy that she had regained by resting an extra day at the paradise village was completely gone and she was really looking forward to an extended stay at Hitomiko's residence. While she wanted to get home to her family as quickly as possible, part of her hoped that learning to be a miko would take a few weeks so she could recover physically.
"Oi, Kagome," Inuyasha said, his voice softer than usual. "I can probably get us there in about two days if you wanna just hop on." He jerked his thumb toward his back.
She considered the generous offer for all of two seconds before deciding that there really was no need for her to walk another two or three hundred kilometers if Inuyasha was offering freely to be used as transportation. "That… actually sounds like a really good idea."
"Keh! I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner," the hanyou said with a smirk. "We would've been there weeks ago!" He crouched down to allow Kagome to climb on his back. As soon as she was secure, he stood back up and broke into a run.
Kagome's eyes watered from the wind generated from his speed, but she couldn't bear to close her eyes and miss how fast the scenery was moving past them. It was fantastic! She had once gotten to ride a horse in college and was amazed at how fast it could run when going all out. Inuyasha was easily outstripping that speed and he didn't even seem to be trying. While she hadn't really disbelieved Inuyasha when he had claimed to be able to strip so much time off of their journey, Kagome definitely couldn't fathom exactly how. Now that she was getting a firsthand taste of just how powerful Inuyasha was, she began to accept that he really could get them there in two days.
However, a few hours later and much of her excitement over Inuyasha's abilities had faded. Kagome was freezing cold again and her limbs ached from the effort of holding on through the jostling movement of the hanyou. He would occasionally crouch down and push off into a massive leap, clearing a huge amount of distance with each jump. The landing was always jarring enough to loosen Kagome's hold and she would mold herself to his back in a near panic.
While she trusted Inuyasha not to drop her, she couldn't help her natural reaction to the gravity-defying leaps. Humans weren't able to do these kinds of things for a reason! She huddled closer to the hanyou and tightened her sore fingers around his shoulders. While she certainly appreciated that their trip was about to be dramatically shortened, Kagome almost would have preferred to be walking.
As it began to get dark and the temperature started to drop even further, Kagome tapped Inuyasha's shoulders to get his attention. The hanyou slowed and one ear twitched back in her direction.
"Shouldn't we stop for the night?" she asked, her teeth chattering slightly from the cold. "It's freezing out here! I'm not sure how much longer I can hang on." Her fingers ached and felt brittle, as if they could snap in half at any moment.
Surprisingly, Inuyasha did not make an irritated jab at for being human like she expected, but merely nodded. They both kept their eyes open for any likely shelter and were lucky enough to stumble upon a cave opening in the side of a cliff. The landscape around them had grown increasingly mountainous as they got further away from the seaside village and Inuyasha had just finished sprinting across a vast plain before Kagome had prodded him to stop. If she remembered her geography correctly, Mt. Asahidake was part of the mountain range they had just entered.
Inuyasha set Kagome back on her feet as soon as they entered the mouth of the cave, keep a hand above her elbow to steady her as she wobbled on unsteady legs. As soon as she was stable on her feet, Inuyasha motioned for her to stay put and drew his sword, heading stealthily toward the back of the cave.
Kagome wrapped her arms around herself and waited. She hoped that the hanyou didn't run into any trouble. As she peered over her shoulder at the steadily darkening sky, she wondered if Sesshomaru and Rin were still trailing behind them. Inuyasha had said that Sesshomaru wanted to help them, but Kagome wasn't sure how much help he could be unless he knew some youkai that would be able to fix the well. She hoped that if they were out there, they had found some warm shelter.
A strangled yell echoed through the cavernous space and Kagome startled badly. When she recognized it as Inuyasha, she forced her stiff legs into motion. She pulled out her bow and loosely strung an arrow as she jogged unevenly toward the back of the cave. Strangely, as she drew further away from the entrance and into its black depths, the cave began to grow faintly brighter. She slowed as she caught sight of Inuyasha in the gloom, holding her bow in a half-ready position.
"Inuyasha, what's wrong?" she asked tersely, squinting to see past the icy outcropping that jutted out from the wall.
The hanyou pointed angrily with his sword at what she had thought was a giant boulder. "That's the fucking problem!" he said with a growl. His voice was surprisingly quiet.
Kagome's eyes widened as a pair of huge eyes descended to her level. It hadn't been a rock outcropping blocking the path. She took a step back and felt the bow drop from her slightly numb fingers. There was a massive white dog crouched in front of her. Its eyes had electric blue irises and were red where they should have been white.
She felt a moment of panicked terror, but Inuyasha's supreme lack of concern and the particular level of irritation he was displaying aroused her suspicions. Kagome forced her racing heartbeat to calm down and examined the giant hound more closely. It had jagged magenta strips along its cheeks and a blue crescent moon adorned its forehead.
"S…" She swallowed thickly and tried again. "Sesshomaru?"
The inu-youkai rumbled softly in warning and gestured with his head to the side. Kagome peered around his face and saw Rin curled up against him, snuggled in the long white fur. There was a low burning campfire near her, which accounted for the amount of light in the cave as she had gotten further back.
"Sorry," she whispered in chagrin. She had no desire to wake Rin and face Sesshomaru's parental wrath.
The dog huffed through his nose and stretched his head forward. Kagome remained very still, slightly nervous at the proximity of the massive youkai. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Inuyasha grimace exaggeratedly as Sesshomaru sniffed at her hair and torso. She held back a giggle as his damp nose brushed against her cheek. He exhaled and the warm air ruffled her hair.
Sesshomaru pulled back and rested his head on his outstretched paws. Now that he was completely prone, Kagome could see the same furry boa over his shoulder and along his side, although in a much larger size, and realized that it was actually attached to him. She had thought it to be some kind of questionable fashion statement.
"Kagome," Inuyasha said softly, sidling up to her and sheathing his sword. "Let's go find somewhere else to stay. I don't fucking like this."
She blinked in surprise and turned to face him. "What? You want to go back out there in the dark, probably get lost again, and freeze some more?"
"Keh! I just don't want to be around him." The hanyou jerked his thumb toward his mountainous brother, who seemed extremely unconcerned that he was a possible source of discomfort.
Kagome sighed exasperatedly. She really didn't want to venture back out into the cold air, but she also didn't want to force Inuyasha to stay around his brother when he was so obviously uncomfortable. She knew that he would never get any rest like this.
"Let's… just go back to the mouth of the cave, okay?" she suggested. "That way, there's a quick exit if we need it."
Inuyasha didn't look exactly convinced, but he nodded and turned back the way he came. Kagome met Sesshomaru's unsettling gaze and shrugged lightly. She lifted her hand in a wave and quickly followed after her friend.
They went stopped far away enough from the entrance of the cave that they were still shielded from the cold wind and any potential snow.
"Since we're camping out here, can you go get some dead wood and anything for tinder so we can make a fire?" Kagome asked.
She could tell that Inuyasha wanted to protest, but then seemed to remember that he was the one who had caused them to go away from his brother and his fire. Instead, he just let out a heavy sigh and headed back out into the open.
Kagome untied her bag and dug through it for her flint. She took a long drink from one of the canteens and shivered as the cold water settled in her stomach. While waiting for Inuyasha to return, she sat back against the wall of the cave and chewed thoughtfully on a piece of fish jerky. She kind of wished they had stayed back with Sesshomaru and Rin; that dog form of his had looked warm and cozy.
Just as she was starting to worry that Inuyasha had gotten himself lost again, he reappeared in the mouth of the cave. He looked damp and was shivering violently, but carried enough wood to make a fire burn all night. After setting it down by Kagome, who was watching him with a kind of muted horror, he pulled wad of tinder from inside his clothing and handed it to her. He then plopped down right next to her, pressed shoulder to hip.
"Inuyasha, you're freezing! What happened?" she asked, unable to prevent the instinctive shudder from the cold that radiated off of him.
"F-fell in a fucking pond. Right th-through the ice," he said through chattering teeth. He wrapped his arms around himself and leaned into Kagome's warmth.
"What?" Kagome was horrified. Hanyou or not, if he didn't get dry and warm, Inuyasha would be in trouble. She tore through the bag at her side for the fur-lined boots that he had refused earlier and his spare clothing. Without a word, she clinically stripped him of the wet clothing and wrapped the dry kimono around his freezing body. She slipped the boots on his frozen feet. His lack of protest was extremely concerning and she pulled out one of their blankets to wrap snugly around his shoulders and the second to wrap around his hair. As she started attempting to make fire as quickly as possible, she had a better idea.
"Inuyasha," she said hesitantly, biting her lip. Kagome knew that he wasn't going to like her suggestion, but she just wasn't certain that she would be able to warm him up by herself. And who knew if the fire would even warm the cave enough so close to the entrance? "Let's go back to the others… Sesshomaru should have plenty of body heat to share."
The hanyou didn't respond.
Kagome moved to crouch in front of him and shook his shoulder urgently. Inuyasha's head lolled slightly to the side. His eyes were half-lidded and glazed over, dulling the golden hue to light brown.
"Inuyasha," she said more firmly, trying to keep her voice steady and calm, despite the panic easing up her throat.
He hummed listlessly but otherwise didn't respond.
"Okay. That's it, then.
Moving as quickly as possible, Kagome secured her pack and slung it around to rest against her chest. She crouched by Inuyasha and pulled him onto her back. It was difficult to maneuver him in place, as he remained alarmingly limp. He was also much heavier than she had expected, making standing back up a struggle. But with a groan of effort, she managed to take a few staggering steps forward, bent nearly double with Inuyasha's feet trailing on the ground behind her.
The few dozen meters back to where Sesshomaru and Rin had settled seemed to take hours and Kagome was panting harshly and dripping sweat by the time she spotted the hulking form of the youkai.
"Inuyasha fell into a pond," she said breathlessly.
Sesshomaru's ears perked forward with concern. Or maybe it was irritation; Kagome wasn't sure, but she took it as an invitation to come closer. She took the last few laborious steps to his broad furry side and dropped heavily to her knees, wincing as a rock dug painfully through her clothing into her knee. With a wrench of effort, Kagome slung Inuyasha around and settled him against the warm fur near Rin. She arranged the blanket around him more securely, arms shaking badly from exhaustion.
Kagome hurried back to the mouth of the cave to gather Inuyasha's wet clothing-she would never hear the end of it if she left it there-and laid the freezing material flat near Sesshomaru's fire. She checked Inuyasha's temperature and then snuggled against him in an attempt to help raise his body temperature.
She startled slightly as Sesshomaru's face came into view. The youkai curled around them, creating a little pocket of warmth.
"Thanks, Sesshomaru," Kagome whispered, reaching out with one hand to lightly stroke the side of his face.
He grumbled softly in response and pointedly closed his eyes. Kagome burrowed deeper into Sesshomaru's soft fur and tightened her grip around Inuyasha, who had finally started to feel less like an icicle, which gave her hope that he would fully recover.
Kagome yawned, suddenly exhausted now that the frantic worry about her friend had begun to subside. She could tell by the way the muscles in her back and legs quivered every so often that she would be very uncomfortable in the morning if she didn't stretch out now, but she couldn't bring herself to leave the warm cocoon. Sesshomaru nudged her foot and she chuckled sleepily. She had the feeling that he would keep a close watch over all three of them. And even though he hadn't seemed overly fond of his brother, Kagome was glad that he at least didn't want to let him die.
She yawned again and closed her eyes. The rhythmic sound of Sesshomaru's heartbeat thudding through her body quickly lulled her to sleep.