With Takashi holding down the fort in the village, and Inuyasha taking Kagome with him (after he confirmed she could see the hair as well), the two teams were able to complete their goals relatively quickly, with no deaths on either side.
The first thing Takashi did, after confirming Inuyasha did have a minor healing factor (enough that the wounds would be gone by morning at least), he went through the well to get a few things, and leave some behind.
It was an...interesting conversation with his exorcist friend, to say the least.
Natsume had to explain the full details of what happened to his cousin, and why he would be helping. So long as he kept his grades up and they visited once a week (courtesy of bribing Nyanko to fly them to the well) then there were no complications.
Of course that didn't compare to how his friend Natori reacted when he heard the full story.
"So let me get this straight. Your distant cousin Kagome had the bad luck of having an amplifier hidden in her body that was ripped out by a centipede youkai. Her inexperience and the fact she's slightly stubborn resulted in her shattering said jewel, small fragments of which can cause even weak youkai to stir up trouble."
You could feel Natori pinch the bridge of his nose in exasperation at this point.
"Why does this always happen to you?"
"If you ever find out, please let me know," deadpanned Takashi. "Anyway, this seems like an excellent way to kill time until the renovations are done, and possibly pick up a few things that have been lost. Can you imagine the Mataoba clan's reaction finding out I've collected some of the rarer texts that were lost, almost brand new?"
He could tell Natori was torn between snickering at the idea, and worried about Takashi.
"You'd be willing to share those texts, right?"
"Naturally."
"Just be careful Natsume. The youkai of old are said to be more fierce than they are today."
"I know. Nyanko said that his dad was a lot more violent in that era than he is these days."
"...That fat fake cat?"
"Apparently the hanyou I'll be helping is his uncle," said Takashi.
You could hear Natori choke in disbelief.
"Seriously?"
"Nyanko has been rather amused watching his uncle being forced to listen to a bratty human girl...or else be plowed into the ground by an enchanted rosary and the usual command people say to get dogs to sit," said Takashi amused.
"I didn't even think his father was even alive. Youkai normally don't live past their progeny."
"Well according to Nyanko, his father rules the youkai lands in the West, and most of his siblings were taken out by rivals or just sheer stupidity in trying to gain the title themselves. He's the only remaining 'heir' left because he never had any interest in it."
"...I don't know what idea terrifies me more. The fact he could potentially rule a large amount of land, or the fact he had siblings."
Takashi snickered.
"So, any ideas of what to use for the village?"
Natori gave him a list, and the books he could use to find said circles, and wished him luck.
He understood why Takashi hadn't asked him for help. The teen would have felt immensely uncomfortable about the idea of basically 'bumming' off Natori while he was out of town, even if one could consider it house sitting. Sure, it was closer to his school than where he was now, but that didn't change the fact Takashi wouldn't have felt very comfortable there at all. Never mind how Nyanko or Rakan would feel about the matter.
He would call Natori for help in a heartbeat if the man were in the country and he had an issue with the youkai, but personal favors... not so much. Takashi maintained a very strict neutrality stance between humans and youkai, and that might very well ruin it.
Nyanko meandered to Takashi.
"What are you packing to take with you?"
"My school books, the ones I found in Reiko's things, and this."
Nyanko gave the outfit an odd look.
"Isn't that what you wore to fool the youkai you were one of the missing kami during that festival?"
"It's close enough to period clothing that people won't ask, and I know I can move in it. Besides, when am I ever going to wear it in the present day era?"
"...Point."
At one point Takashi had taken the place of an older youkai who played the part of a kami. It was one of the cases that Natori helped him with, as the other side had no idea that the youkai in question had been sealed several years previous.
As thanks for helping them out, the minions of the youkai gave Takashi the outfit he had been wearing to play the part. Natori had gone over it and found that it had several spells woven into it that hid Takashi's human aura from most of the weaker youkai.
However, while it was a very nice gift, and very useful, the truth was that it made him stand out rather fast outside the spirit realms among humans. Teenagers these days didn't wear such elaborate kimono, let alone outfits that looked like period clothing unless they were going out for a costume party or something very formal.
He still kept it though, and had packed it because he didn't want to explain why he had it to Touko.
At least now he'd get some practical use out of the outfit. And he wouldn't have to risk explaining why he needed replacements for his school uniform.
With his things packed into a new shoulder bag (again, he didn't want to explain the replacements to Touko), Takashi went to the well. He could change in the past and keep his casual clothes for when he came to the present.
He grimaced when he saw the bike Kagome had brought with her. He was so not helping carry that thing out of the well.
And when he noticed the first-aid kit Kagome had, he had to snort.
"You do realize that minor wounds like the ones he had are likely healed by now, right?"
"He was stabbed. Repeatedly. I wouldn't call that minor," said Kagome hotly. Then she noticed something folded up. "What's that?"
"I'm not explaining why I need replacement sets for my school uniform when switching to something more durable makes more sense. I have enough trouble hiding the fact I deal with ayakashi from them on a near daily basis," deadpanned Takashi. "Besides, youkai, even half bloods like him, traditionally have a much better healing factor than we do. So long as he's not stabbed by a holy sword or poison, odds are he'll have healed up within a few days."
"And the thing on your back?"
"I'm going to get some practice in with my arrows. It's hard to explain to my classmates I'm learning archery for survival, not as a hobby. Besides, we don't exactly have a club for it at my school," said Takashi flatly. He did look at the first aid kit with some approval though. "But having some modern medicine and bandages is generally a good thing. So at least you're starting to think for once."
Kagome huffed.
"I still can't believe the lie you had my mother tell the school for why I'm going to be absent for days on end."
"You have a better idea? Short of pulling out, people will talk, and this way you won't get held back a year or kicked out. At least this is a perfectly reasonable excuse and gives you time to do your homework in peace."
"But still, did you have to use that?" said Kagome in disgust.
Takashi's excuse for why Kagome had more or less pulled out of long term schooling? Female troubles. She was a bit of a late bloomer, and it wasn't that rare for puberty to hit others harder than most. And that wasn't something a teenager could get over with some pills. It gave her a perfectly reasonable excuse to avoid her friends for days on end and why she wasn't exactly seen outside the shrine.
The main reason she had such trouble with a perfectly reasonable and easily accepted excuse was because it was somewhat embarrassing. Yes, that time of the month sucked, but it wasn't debilitating like he claimed.
So long as she kept her grades up and turned her homework in on time, then the teachers would consider her a home-school student who came in for tests. Uncommon, but still a reason to keep her on the rosters.
Whether she could rejoin her class normally for next year all depended on how quickly she could clean up the mess she made with the jewel shards.
He wasn't betting on her finding them so quickly. If the one that landed in his eyes were any indication, they could be very well hidden.
"What is that? And why do you have something so... so..."
"Dated? Extravagant? Pretentious?" suggested Takashi.
Kagome nodded.
"It was a gift."
"It's pretty..."
"I know. And there's not really much call to wear it in our time, but in this era it won't draw nearly as much attention."
Kagome considered that, then conceded his point. Something like that wouldn't draw nearly as much attention in the warring states era outside of making people believe he was part of some noble family, but in Tokyo it would have drawn quite a few eyes.
Takashi managed to find a secluded space to change into the outfit, and neatly folded the one he had been previously wearing. With that packed, he was ready for traveling.
"Is that a new shoulder bag?"
"Again, I don't want to explain having to buy replacements, and this is bigger than the school one," said Takashi sensibly. Kagome was wearing a massive yellow backpack she most certainly didn't carry to school, so she had no room to talk. "And before you ask, I did pack school books so you can borrow mine to keep up with homework."
It didn't hurt that he was roughly in the same year as she was, just in a more rural province. Kagome grimaced at the idea of studying.
Despite Takashi's lack of help (he had been discreetly changing while she manhandled the bike out of the narrow well) they were able to find Inuyasha relatively quickly. Takashi was used to running, and he still preferred keeping up with Kagome over walking up and down that massive hill with all those stairs.
Inuyasha didn't do more than give Takashi an odd look when he saw the outfit, further confirming the fact that it would still draw less attention to than the clothes Kagome was wearing. He also proved to Kagome he healed a lot faster than she assumed, when she went to treat the wounds.
However, Nyanko suddenly perked up and started growling rather ominously.
"What's wrong, sensei?"
"He's here. I wasn't expecting him this quickly," said Nyanko. His 'fur' had puffed up many times his size, as if he were preparing to turn into his true form to fight off an enemy.
"Who?" asked Kagome.
"My sire. Not that he would recognize me, considering I won't be born for another hundred human years," said the youkai, hissing. He didn't expect Sesshomaru to show up so soon.
Inuyasha didn't look happy either, though he couldn't smell anything. Except the stench of a recently dead corpse. But it was the sight that greeted him that threw him for a loop.
His mother. A woman long dead since he was a child.
Nyanko had enough. He had a feeling about why his sire had shown himself now, as he could distinctly recall the story of how his uncle had gained the fang his father wanted more than the 'weak' one that he had given to his older brother.
Nyanko had no use for the Fang of Heaven either, but he still kept it. Even if it was a paltry sign from his sire that he even had a claim on the title as Lord of the West.
He sometimes considered giving it to Takashi, but the boy had no talent for blades and even less desire to learn how to use one. He was better at the bow.
Nyanko's light broke through the daze, causing the carriage to fall. The pudgy body looked ready to slam into the woman Inuyasha thought was his mother, had Takashi not intercepted him. He saw the claw heading for the falling 'woman'.
The first thing Takashi thought when he saw Madara's father was...there was definitely a family resemblance. He was more than familiar with Nyanko's true form, and even in his human guise, the youkai lord before him bore striking resemblance to the cat in his true form. The same red markings, the same regal bearing, the same silvery-white coat of fur. Even their eyes were the same, though Sesshomaru had the unmistakable feel of contempt for humans in his expression.
Madara had more of a tolerant amusement for humanity, and that the only reason he hadn't just killed Takashi and stolen the Book was purely out of boredom. Even if his initial reason for sticking around as a bodyguard had long since shifted to genuine fondness for Takashi.
It took far too long for Sesshomaru to turn his attention from his half brother to Takashi and Madara.
When he did, Madara revealed a form Takashi had never seen before.
"Hands off, pathetic weakling. This human is my pet," snarled Madara.
"Like I would care about the pets of a pathetic youkai who can't even defeat a mere human," sneered Sesshomaru. He could tell that the pudgy feline form wasn't Madara's true one, but rather one that had been sealed.
Madara was the one to sneer this time.
"I may take this form out of amusement, but at least I am able to touch the sword you are after. The great Inu Youkai's fang is beyond even your reach, even if you do locate it's hiding place!" cackled Madara.
Sesshomaru barely tolerated humans, and killed without mercy. He repeatedly tried to take the sword from his half brother, but was unable to touch it without the curse affecting him.
Madara, however, could hold the sword with little difficulty because he didn't hold humans in contempt like his father. He was among the few among his siblings who could.
It was one of the many things Sesshomaru greatly disliked about his errant (and only living) son.
The battle for Tetsusaiga had only just begun...