A/N: Welcome back! Thanks for being here. After a much needed break I am finally starting to feel better and I've had the energy to get some more writing done. I will likely be moving to a monthly posting cycle so that I can focus on recovery and letting all of my new meds work. As always, your feedback is greatly appreciated! Let me know what you think.
Chapter 7: Tracking Jubo"Kaede!" Someone's voice cut through the haze as Kagome started to come to. "It's too much blood!" Inuyasha was frantic as he held her against him. She could simultaneously feel hands in her hair, stroking her face, clutching her waist, and prodding her wound. It felt like too much, but her limbs were heavy and she couldn't push the hands away. Somewhere deep in the back of her mind, she could feel his panic like a knife twisting in her stomach but it felt far away and distant.
"Healing is already taking place. This would have been fatal if she was not so strong, and bonded to ye. The combination will keep her alive." Kaede soothed him as she worked the last few stitches into Kagome's skin. The final tug sent a shock of searing pain through her body, and she groaned as they began to wrap bandages around her.
"She's awake." Fingers brushed through her hair again, gently this time. She couldn't find her voice, but her eyes began to see as figures flickered into focus. Sango and Miroku were huddled together just outside of Kaede's reach watching with rapt attention. They had clearly been crying. As Kaede finished, Sango immediately filled her place and held Kagome's hand with a firm grasp. She raised their entwined fingers and lowered her head slightly as her tears continued to fall, holding her friend's hand close as though it were precious. Shippo sat dutifully at Kagome's feet with his eyes closed, as though afraid to look at her. She noticed that he shivered here and there at whatever thoughts were plaguing him.
"Welcome back." Inuyasha smiled at her but there were still tears on his face. His fingers trailed lovingly down the side of her face before he spoke again. "You scared the shit out of us, Kagome."
"I'm sorry." She said weakly and heard scoffs and laughs from around the room.
"You don't need to be sorry! It's not your fault we jumped head-first into a trap. You even tried to stop us." Inuyasha said very seriously. She nodded gently and allowed her eyes to close. All she could feel right now was exhaustion and fear, but with her mind clearer now she suspected most of that came from Inuyasha.
"Let yourself sleep. We'll be here when you wake up." She heard Sango distantly before she drifted off into the darkness again. She dreamt of blood-red hair fading into open wounds.
Much too quickly it was the next morning. Kagome's eyes opened from what she thought was a dreamless sleep and glanced around the room. She lifted her head and felt a pounding pressure overtake her before she landed back on the cushion underneath her, ears ringing.
"Woah there." Inuyasha was quickly at her side. "You shouldn't be moving unless you have to. What do you need?"
"Water." Her voice sounded foreign as it rasped through her dry throat. She raised a hand to prod at the skin there, but everything felt normal. Kagome took in her surroundings. She was laying in the living room of their Minka with their spare mat and cushions supporting her weight. There were some of Kaede's medical supplies, spent vials, and different utensils scattered around the room. They had clearly been using the hearth throughout the night.
She looked for any sign that Inuyasha had slept here the night before, and couldn't find a sign of any extra cushions or blankets. Considering the worry she was feeling down the bond she assumed he must have been unable to sleep after all of the ruckus of the previous day.
Inuyasha was gone a few seconds before rushing back to her side with water. He propped her up easily and tilted the cup to her lips.
"Drink slow. The medicine Kaede gave you will probably upset your stomach. How's the pain?" Her head spun and her pulse pounded in her ears as she settled into a seated position. All of her body weight was against Inuyasha as she took slow steady sips. She furrowed her brow at his statement, she couldn't feel any pain.
"Not bad actually." She said slowly as her voice continued to waver in and out. "Still feel like shit." Inuyasha let out a surprised chuckle at her response.
"Well of course you do. You almost died." The weight of his words hit her as his arms squeezed her tighter. Tears stung at her eyes.
"Thought I would lose you." She whispered the words knowing he could hear them.
"Ditto." He tilted her face up to him so she could see his gentle smile. "But we made it. And it's all because of you." He took a deep breath. "Kagome, I'm so sorry. I can't believe that I did this." The sorrow and regret she felt clog her throat was heavy and bitter. She raised a hand to his face.
"No, Inuyasha. You will not blame yourself for this. You can't. It wasn't your fault." She annunciated the last words as clearly as she could with her hoarse voice, and her eyes locked on his. He lifted the cup to her lips again as she coughed from the strain of so much speaking. He nodded slightly at her words but couldn't hold her gaze for long. She added, "If you have anyone to be mad at it should be the demon who did all of this." The pain in her throat kept her from continuing, so she focused on projecting her feelings of love and reassurance to him as she finished the water.
"But it was my hands that did this. Your blood stains my claws. If you hadn't made it I don't think I ever could have forgiven myself. As it stands, I'm not sure I can now anyway."
Before she could respond again, Kaede, Shippo, Sango, and Miroku carefully entered the room.
"Sorry to intrude. We heard you talking and we wanted to drop in." Sango led the charge while Kaede brandished a vial. Seeing the vial, Inuyasha turned Kagome around to lean her back against his chest so that she could stay upright without having to support her own weight.
"For your pain. I want to keep ye comfortable so we can do this every few hours." Kaede handed it to her and she swallowed it quickly. The medicine was bitter, and the acrid taste hung around on her tongue. Miroku was quickly at her side with more water as she gagged.
"Thanks." She grimaced as she took a larger drink. Her voice was getting stronger again with the immediate anesthetic effect on her throat. After she swallowed Shippo bounded up to her and curled up in her lap. She ran her fingers through his hair affectionately, sensing he needed her support.
"Kagome. I know you're recovering, but I think we need to know what happened so we can prepare." Sango started gently.
Kagome's brain felt fuzzy around the edges as she tried to recall the events that led to her current state. She assumed that was from whatever Kaede was giving her for the pain. She focused harder and nodded, before recounting the story.
Everyone listened attentively as she told them everything she remembered, from the plant demon Jubo appearing out of the miasma, to Jubo twisting Inuyasha's mind to try to recruit Kagome to her cause, to Inuyasha's claws breaching her skin. "I remember feeling all of the blood, and then I woke up here." The group all glanced around at each other, concern etched into their features as they considered her words.
"So, this Jubo's a flora daiyokai?" Inuyasha clarified.
"She claimed she was the plant daiyokai. That she has dominion over all of the other plant demons. I haven't heard of that before. I know there are some daiyokai like Sesshomaru who are lords and stuff, but this felt different." Kagome answered.
"Flora yokai function differently than the typical fauna yokai. They don't often take human form so they don't have a traditional political structure. But whoever controls the flora has a lot of far reaching influence, since plant demons can blend in to the environment and have a passive impact on the world. I know there have been a lot of plays for power in that sect. I'm not surprised someone new is holding the reins now." Sango supplied the additional information.
"She didn't say what her goal was?" Miroku question.
"No, but I assume her goal is power like everyone else right?" Kagome said.
"I don't know. It sounds like there is a little more to it than that." Inuyasha argued.
"I wish we had more of an idea of what she is using these items out of time for. At least we know that she was able to mind control Inuyasha, so it's safe to assume she can do that with anyone." Sango furrowed her brow in concentration as she worked through her thoughts. Kagome thought back to Jubo's words during the attack.
"She said, 'Submit to me. Say the words out loud.' If she can use mind control then why didn't she just do that with me?" Kagome asked. There was a pause as the group thought over the question.
"Maybe she can't." Sango gave a sharp nod as she settled on her theory. "She can't do it to humans unless they allow it. That's why she would need Root Head and these other demons to do the dirty work right? Otherwise, couldn't she just mind control people with spiritual power and use them for whatever she's doing?"
Kagome processed this, and thought back through her interaction with Jubo. Closely picking at every moment to decide their next course of action. Her brain fought against her and some of the details were out of focus. She sighed in frustration.
"Soon my brain will work again and I can look at what happened more closely. I think in the meantime we should continue looking into the magical objects that we got from her."
"Yeah! I grabbed the bulb thingy before we left. Kaede has it." Sango agreed.
"Aye. I think with all three in our possession we should be able to pull some more information from them. Especially with Kagome's power." Kaede proudly looked Kagome over. Kagome gave a weak smile that didn't reach her eyes, which subsequently closed of their own accord. Inuyasha supported her weight as she leaned into him for support.
"Let's pick this up later. Give Kagome some more rest so she can get back on her feet." Inuyasha said from behind her.
"Wait. Did she say anything to you guys after I passed out?" Kagome questioned without opening her eyes.
"All she said before she left was, 'Mighty powerful indeed.' and then she was gone. Basically just disappeared into thin air. She was holding something that looked kind of like a vial. I wonder if that has to do with her miasma or something." Sango said, and released Kagome's hand. Kagome sighed. It sounded like Jubo wouldn't be giving up on her anytime soon.
It took two days of bed rest for Kagome to recover enough to access her Reiryoku reliably without risking passing out. Today she felt more like herself, but she did have to fight Inuyasha to allow her to get out of bed and go to Kaede's. The only way he would let her out of their front door was if he carried her the entire way.
Shippo left to go back to kitsune school, but only after spending an entire day laying next to Kagome to ensure she would be okay. Kagome recalled the conversation she overhead fondly.
Shippo had been curled into her side as she slept, but now sat up looking at her form before glancing longingly at the door. Inuyasha, who had been cooking dinner, put down his utensils and moved to sit next to the kit.
"She's not going anywhere. If you need to go back, then she'll be happy to see you go." He offered. Shippo looked back at him anxiously.
"I just haven't been around much lately. It feels wrong to leave after all this." He became very preoccupied with looking at his interlaced fingers.
"I know it feels like the wrong time, but you have another life to get back to. And, you've been doing so well with school and all of your new friends. We'll keep her safe until you get back. Can't promise we will still have an open spare room though." Inuyasha winked at Shippo who laughed lightly at the joke.
"Okay. I leave her in your capable hands." He offered his much smaller hand to Inuyasha, who promptly shook it back. That night they all had dinner together and Kagome gave him a similar sentiment as send-off before he headed out.
Now, she sat on the floor of Kaede's with the three objects they had collected in front of her. Her eyes were closed as she allowed her spiritual power to reach out and feel the vibrations of all three of them.
She could feel their power resonating and reaching out for her Reiryoku as she poked and prodded them. With the three of them together, the combination of energies was much stronger, and she could feel something akin to Jubo's miasma.
Suddenly, a column of light rose from each one and joined into a solid beam that shot off away from Kaede's. Without opening her eyes Kagome spoke.
"Do you all see that too?" The group, who had all come to lend their support and sate their curiosity, could not. Kagome reached out with her mind's eye and suddenly she was looking down at all of them huddled in Kaede's hut. She could see herself meditating as though she were an astral projection. She reached out and touched the light with her fingers, and was surrounded by blinding light that rushed around her in every direction. Suddenly she was at the Tree of Ages.
"The talismans took me to the Tree. It's lit up." Kagome spoke but instead of her astral self's mouth moving, it seemed like her voice and ears were able to reconnect to her physical body.
"What do ye see there?" Kaede asked.
The beam of light emanating off of the three talismans met here and illuminated the tree as though from within. Her hand reached out and came in contact with the bark as images flooded her mind. She saw Root Head being defeated by Inuyasha's Meido, and a single root making its way to the tree.
As Root Head fused with the tree he learned quickly that it could be used to travel through time. At first he was building strength and manipulating the power of the Tree to enhance himself faster.
But, with some time he went to procure each of the items that she now had in her possession along with many more. She saw him lead other demons to the tree, move through it, and then return alone. And finally, she saw him leave the tree and head in another direction. Another beam of light jutted off that way.
"I can see Root Head's connection to the Tree. It looks like he's been able to use it to time travel?" Kagome questioned as she called out to her friends and recounted the visions she had seen of the demon.
If Root Head could time travel like her, she thought, then that opened a whole new can of worms. Time travel was already a dangerous thing. Modern time wasn't used to or able to understand the depth of demons, and she was struck with the thought that her former time was incredibly vulnerable to attack without preemptive warning. Her thoughts were interrupted by a response near her physical body.
"Well, I guess that explains where these things came from. Where is the light going now?" Sango questioned.
"I don't know. Away from our little town for sure. I'm going to follow it." She heard the sounds of agreement among the group and stepped into the light.
When her skin touched it she was teleported forward again and appeared in front of a stronghold, though she could tell it was only visible to her on this spiritual plane of existence. She could feel the magic heavily warding this place. It felt like demon magic of course, but it also felt similar to the dark priestess Tsubaki's magic.
"I'm at a heavily warded stronghold. I can feel several kinds of magic here."
"What's around you?" Inuyasha asked. Kagome took in her surroundings of trees, a well worn path, and a small dilapidated hut. She did her best to explain the area to the group.
"Kagome, is there a pond by the hut?" Miroku sounded hopeful.
"Yeah. And a tree by the pond." She answered.
"I know where you are! That isn't very far from here. That stronghold used to be a spiritual relic. Many monks have made a pilgrimage there because the land itself has a strong magical aura. It went out of commission long ago because it was always crawling with demons. One day it seemingly vanished." Miroku explained.
"I can feel it. There's a dark energy here." Kagome agreed, and then refocused her attention on the fortress. She reached out a hand and as she touched the front gate she was inside in a flash of light. She was surrounded by gilded halls and countless ornate doorways leading to many different rooms as she wandered around. Some looked like offices or sitting rooms, and others held rows of shelves and trinkets.
There was no sound here and the blaring quiet was overwhelming. Even her footsteps didn't echo against the walls like she expected. Eventually she came to a gilded door near the heart of the building. It was clearly an important room. She touched a hand to the door way to enter and was greeted by a vision of Jubo at the head of an altar. Jubos voice warbled around her.
"Another dead?!" Jubo looked furious. There must be a flaw in my logic. If they cannot pass through the tree without purifying then I'm doing something wrong." She contemplated for a moment. "I need more spiritual power." She decided as she pulled something from a chest behind her and set it up on an altar.
"Come Root Head." She gestured for the nervous demon to get onto the altar. He seemed to know what to do as he wrapped his roots around the first aid kit they encountered all those weeks ago. Jubo also wrapped her hands around it and they both closed their eyes to focus. Kagome could see the light of their power mingling and fusing as it entered the box. Jubo's magic was dark and heavy, much like the miasma she had already experienced. But Root Head's was the light of stolen spiritual power, of that she was certain.
Once the two were done another demon appeared from the corner of the room, and it was being pulled toward them by vines and roots. This was the lizard demon they fought, or at least a lizard demon, she wasn't 100% sure since they all look so similar. He screamed and flailed his head protesting what was coming. Jubo held out the box to the demon and the vines latched into it and forced it into his chest. The room crackled as energy met energy and the demon fought against the pain. His fingers curled into fists and his back bowed. A bright light engulfed him before settling back down and his body went still.
"Rise." Jubo said quietly. The vines retracted and the demon rose from the floor immediately and stood on shaky feet. "We need more spiritual power. Go hunt some down for me." The demon looked at her with unfocused eyes.
"Ssspirtual… power." He slurred the words and dutifully turned to leave the room.
"Follow, Root Head." An exhausted looking Root Head left the room before she even finished the sentence.
Kagome expected the vision to clear as the others had before, but as she looked back toward the front of the room Jubo was looking directly at her almost as though she could see her.
"Hello Kagome." Jubo said with a slow predatory smile. Kagome took a step away, but Jubo's eyes didn't track her movement. Kagome didn't dare respond.
"I can feel your power again." The demon said as she looked around the room. "It's faint but it's here. After the last time I felt you I've been working on connecting with you better. I'm not sure how much you've seen, but I'm guessing it wasn't great for me." Jubo paused and looked around her for any sign that Kagome had heard her.
"The last time?" Kagome questioned her words, but Jubo was speaking again.
"I suppose I've been unsuccessful in my attempts to recruit you to my cause. Such a pity really. I've looked forward to finally meeting you in person, Shikon Miko." She moved to sit in a large chair at the head of the room. "Or maybe, we haven't met yet and this is all gibberish to you. Either way dear, welcome to my domain. Make yourself at home, and hopefully one day soon that is exactly what you will call this place. But, for now, goodbye." Jubo waved a hand and the air filled with thick miasma. Kagome's astral form was forced out of the room and she was again standing outside of the door.
"Damnit!" She cursed as her hand met the barrier of the door in front of her.
"You okay?" Inuyasha questioned from his place in Kaede's hut.
"I'm fine. Just thought I might actually get somewhere. Jubo was monologuing a little. She knew I was here somehow."
"She knew ye were there?" Kaede sounded shocked.
"She couldn't see me but she said she could feel me."
"It takes a powerful demon to be able to feel traces of this kind of magic. That does not bode well for our cause." Kaede mused as Inuyasha jumped in.
"I don't like that, Kagome. You should come back, just in case." He touched her hand, but she couldn't feel it.
"I'm going to hang around just a little longer. There has to be more information here." Kagome argued as she started to wander the stronghold again. "Oh a library!" She exclaimed as she rounded a corner, hopeful she might find some more information in the room.
"For the record I think this is a bad idea." Inuyasha mumbled under his breath, displeased. Kagome continued forward regardless, knowing that she was close to learning more. As she entered the room another vision appeared to her.
Jubo sat huddled over several books. Some she was writing in, and some she was reading from. She couldn't read the words from where she stood, but Jubo was engrossed. Her lips were moving along with the words and she was writing furiously as she read.
Kagome got closer to the books and saw images of the Tree of Ages and the Bone Eater's well. There were also diagrams of the Shikon Jewel and the history of it's creation. She leaned in close to Jubo to get a better look at the image of a miko when Jubo jumped.
"Who's there?" Jubo looked up and around the room, but her eyes searched in vain. She closed the book in front of her.
"I don't know who you are, but I can feel you." The demon took a step in Kagome's direction. "Spiritual power." She said under her breath. "Strong spiritual power I would guess." Jubo said as she took a deep breath. "You know, I've been looking for a strong priestess. One who has been connected to the Tree of Ages. One who hasn't been seen in several years. In fact, that's exactly what I'm learning about right now. The Shikon Jewel. The Tree of Ages. The Bone Eater's Well. Real fascinating stuff." Jubo's smile was smug, as though she was trying to bait Kagome out.
Kagome took another step toward the book wondering if she could get a reading off of touching it. Jubo didn't seem to react as Kagome moved. The miko touched a hand to the open page and was flooded with images of the Shikon Jewel, Tree of Ages, The Bone Eaters well, and all of the demons who ever tried to interact with them directly. They were flashes, and nowhere near as complete as the current vision she was a part of.
Kagome saw a clearly long passed miko with the Shikon Jewel. Then the same miko interacting with the Tree of Ages, and being engulfed inside of it. A new image showed the miko inside the tree manipulating it's power in some way. The visions stopped as Kagome blinked and took in her surroundings again. Suddenly, Jubo's face was right next to her.
"Gotcha!" She laughed as she reached out and touched the area Kagome was in. "It really is you, isn't it Kagome? I've felt enough spiritual power that I can sense you from here. Yours is so different. Potent even." Jubo took a seat then and kept her eyes trained on the same spot she was still standing in.
"I hope you're enjoying your time here. You're a pivotal piece of my plan and I have never been more renewed in my quest to find you. Get ready for me, because I'm coming for you." Jubo whispered the last part and then Kagome was flung from the room.
Kagome caught her breath in the hallway. This spiritual realm was certainly testing her strength after recovering from her wounds. She rested her head in her hand, not feeling relief from the headache that was amassing.
"Hello Kagome." The voice projecting into her head startled her and she gasped. She immediately heard Inuyasha near her physical body asking what was wrong. Jubo was standing directly behind her as though she could see her perfectly. Around her neck was something Kagome hadn't seen her wearing before, a gold locket that appeared to have a dark liquid inside. The demon's mouth didn't move, but Kagome could hear her as though she were speaking.
"I knew you would come here again as you had before. I was hoping that it would be after I was able to get my hands on some of your blood, and look at that I was right." She brushed her fingers over the locket. "My study into spiritual power has led me down many paths. I knew I wanted to find a way to commune with you here after feeling your intrusions. A little blood, a little magic, and look at us talking." Jubo took a step toward Kagome, who immediately backed into a wall.
"Stay away from me. What do you want?" Kagome said the words aloud but also found that she could push them through the connection that Jubo had forged. Her gaze hardened as she locked eyes with the demon.
"In this realm, things work a little differently. For one, if I have your blood I can find you. And two, if I have your blood I can bind you here." Jubo's ephemeral hand wrapped around Kagome's throat, and she shrieked as she felt it touch her. Her vision went white and she felt her body jostling and careening. The motion was almost too much to bear. Then, her eyes were opening in her physical body as she was being shaken by Inuyasha.
"Come on, Kagome. Time to come back." He was yelling out to her as he shook her out of the trance.
"Kami. That was exhausting." Kagome took deep lungfuls of air as her rapidly beating heart came to a more normal rhythm.
"Told you you should have come back earlier." Inuyasha grumbled as he pulled her to him. She could feel his frustration, but also his love and fear. She grimaced. He has been feeling so much fear lately, and she hated that they couldn't have the peace they were due.
"This sucks." She mumbled into his shoulder as she hugged him even tighter.
"You can say that again." Sango said with a sigh as she ran a hand through her. Her hand moved down to her slowly growing stomach. "Especially because the further along I get the harder it is to fight." Miroku put an arm around her and she let her head fall into the crook of his neck.
"Don't worry Sango. We've got this. Of course it's always easier if you're there, but one of us should probably stay home for the girls anyway." He reassured her and she nodded in agreement. Kagome interrupted their conversation.
"I think we need to go to their stronghold and see what we can glean in person. I obviously can't go back there the way I just did or she'll know… or worse. But, maybe we can do some old-fashioned sleuthing to figure out what her next move is?" Inuyasha was already nodding in agreement.
"Good idea. We need to know what she'll do next, and how prepared we need to be." He added. "Kagome, will you tell us what you saw?" She nodded in response and recalled the first of the three moments of Jubo's time at the sanctuary that she was able to see.
"Well firstly, how did they figure out how to use the Tree and get demons through it? More importantly, what would they be trying to get demons through the Tree for?" Miroku questioned.
"When Root Head first broke off into the Tree he figured out how to use it. And then once Jubo found out what he could do it seems like she pulled him in. We should try to figure out what they want with my time when we go there for intel." Kagome answered. The rest nodded in agreement.
"You said that the demon sounded drunk and did what she asked when the first aid kit was inside it, right? Wasn't it the same with Inuyasha? Instead of just taking control of him she shoved the talisman inside of him and then he did what she asked. Maybe that's how she controls other demons outside of the plant ones. Especially if she's infusing these things with her power." The pieces were clicking in Sango's brain as she voiced them to the group.
"That must be it." Kagome agreed. "And, that would be great news. It means that she would have to get her hands on Inuyasha in order for anything like that to happen again." She added. Inuyasha nodded solemnly at the theory.
"Would just mean I need to stay away from her if I can help it." He said quietly. "Tell us what else happened?"
"Right." Kagome agreed before launching into an in depth explanation of what happened at the library. She took extra care explaining the vision she had when she touched the book of the miko using the Tree's power.
"I'm worried about what that means for what she is planning with me. If I can somehow access the Tree in a way other's can't then I am valuable to her and whatever she is trying to do in the future." Kagome wrung her hands as she spoke. Kaede spoke up then.
"I have the same concern. The ancient teachings always said that the Bone Eater's Well, Tree of Ages, and the Shikon Jewel were connected. The Tree itself is an incredibly powerful entity, sometimes it is even regarded as having sentience. If ye could somehow control the Tree then that would give ye a direct line to some incredibly powerful magic. Though, if anyone was going to be able to wield it I do think it would be Kagome." Kaede, ever the prideful teacher, looked to Kagome who promptly blushed at the attention.
"I'd like eyes on the book she was writing in. I think that would tell us almost everything we need to know." Kagome said. "I think if we plan to send Lotus in, then we could potentially find some information."
"Aye, I believe the Shikigami should be able to infiltrate the stronghold. Though it may be beneficial to add some sutras or other anti-warding magic to assist." Kaede added.
"Alright, it's a plan then." Inuyasha agreed. "Let's leave tomorrow morning." Miroku nodded his agreement. And the group parted ways to process and prepare.
It was evening now and the sun was beginning to set as Kagome and Inuyasha wandered to their minka silently. Kagome felt the need to cut the tension and get their minds off of the perilous tasks ahead of them.
"Hot spring?" She asked hopefully. He nodded with a smile before scooping her into his arms