Evanescent

By: HalcyonMoments11


A certain type of darkness has stolen me,
Under a quiet mask of uncertainty.
I wait for light like water from the sky,
And I am lost again.

-Christina Perri (Sea of Lovers)


Mizukagami, as it turned out, was less a village and more a jōkamachi, and the inu-tachi hadn't been aware of it because it was hidden among the sea-facing cliffs and was only accessible via various sea-caves and passages that depended upon the tide to navigate. The small city was built and carved into the base and walls of a giant sea-cave, with docks stretching out into the ocean and streets built to transform into canals with the tides at the mouth of the cave, all surrounding and leading up to the daimyo's shiro, which was built against the back wall of the massive cave. They discovered through conversation with Kaito—the younger, grey-eyed man—and Osamu—the older brunette—that Mizukagami was also secured by two protective barriers, one that surrounded the entirety of Mizukagami that was meant to be a very basic means of protection beyond their location and was relatively easily manipulated by traders, guards, and others who moved frequently outside of the city's limits, and another more ancient and stronger barrier that surrounded the high lords' houses at the center of the city.

It was the second barrier that posed a problem to their group; the only people able to pass through the barrier were blood of the daimyo, relatives of other wealthy families who were housed within, and those with spiritual powers. As such, Miroku and Kagome would be housed as guests in the daimyo's shiro and the rest of the inu-tachi would be put up in an inn outside the second barrier. This revelation, of course, caused a bit of a commotion featuring an irate hanyou who threatened to break through the barrier using Tessaiga until Kagome quelled him with an "osuwari" or two and assured him that she and Miroku would come find the rest of the inu-tachi as soon as they knew more about the circumstances that had brought them to Mizukagami. Miroku agreed, adding that it would be rude to refuse either of the presented housing situations without more information regarding the petition for aid Kaito and Osamu had brought them.

With Sango's encouragement, a resentful but compliant "keh" from Inuyasha, and a teary-eyed goodbye from Shippō, Miroku and Kagome followed Kaito in the direction of the shiro while Osamu led the others in the direction of the inn. The streets of Mizukagami were narrow and wove carefully between the minka and through the cave walls; the houshi and miko followed Kaito closely, dodging villagers going about their day, some greeting Kaito briefly, others eyeing them curiously as they passed.

Despite feeling disoriented by the swift twists and turns of the city streets, Miroku and Kagome knew the moment they passed through the second barrier. Kagome rubbed her arms subconsciously as they followed Kaito through a tunnel dimly lit by torches along the wall and trails of multi-colored gems that seemed to glow rather than glisten in the firelight. The sensation brought goosebumps to her skin; she glanced up at Miroku beside her who nodded his confirmation that he felt it too.

"Ah, my apologies to you both. I had meant to warn you before we passed through the barrier, but the sensations you're feeling should pass quickly." Kaito noted, glancing at them over his shoulder, feet carrying him through the dimly lit passage with practiced ease. The passage through the barrier had not seemed to faze the young man before them at all, and Miroku briefly wondered which category he fit into—blessed with spiritual powers, or a noble-man of Mizukagami?

"That's quite alright, Kaito-san. We thank you for your concern." Miroku replied with an amiable smile.

Kaito bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement and turned his attention back to the path before him. "We're not far from the shiro now," he said quietly.

Miroku turned his gaze back to Kagome, who shuddered slightly as if caught by a bitter winter breeze. The barrier had clearly affected her more-so than him; sometimes he still had to remind himself that she had not had the benefit of even basic training techniques when she was a child, such as learning how to balance the effects of foreign reiki against her own. The houshi grasped her elbow gently, drawing her azure gaze to his violet.

"Try calling on your reiki; the familiarity should help disperse the effects of what your body is not yet comfortable with."

As he felt her draw on her own ki, he simultaneously reached out to her with his own as he had frequently over the past few days whenever she appeared at his side as they travelled or prepared camp, half suspecting she sought him out with intentions to make sure he meant to keep his word and stay with the inu-tachi. There was a new sharpness in the heat of her reiki when she pressed back, and he wondered if this intensity was a new development in her spiritual powers, or if it was a lingering effect of their last battle with Naraku, of the moments when nightmares had ripped her from sleep and she had sought solace in his arms over the past few nights.

He saw Kaito glance back in their direction as Kagome's reiki briefly surged, saw bright grey eyes turn down to where his hand still grasped the miko's elbow, taking in how close he hovered at her side. Miroku didn't draw away, as would have likely been proper. Curiosity lined the other man's features briefly before he turned back to the path as the cave walls began to take on more light as they neared an exit.

When they came upon the shiro not long afterwards, they were stunned by its elegant simplicity, with wooden walls seamlessly built into the cave walls, and delicate designs carved into the stone where entrances to passages around and within the shiro existed. They didn't have much time to admire the intricacies of a space before a young woman with light brown hair and dark grey eyes met them at one of the entrances with a low bow. Kaito returned the gesture and took a few steps forward to speak with the woman quietly.

After a few moments in which Miroku shrugged in response to a questioning glance from Kagome, the young man turned his attention back to them.

"Shimizu-sama would like to invite you to dine with her," Kaito informed them quietly.

'When did he have the chance to inform the daimyo of our arrival?' Miroku wondered, thinking back over the course of their time in the jōkamachi thus far. Though brief, they had moved quickly and he couldn't pinpoint a greeting from another civilian that could have signaled such a message.

"Atsuko-san has had baths prepared for you both before you meet the daimyo and her family," Kaito continued, gesturing with a nod in the woman's direction when he used her name.

The pair bowed their heads towards the brunette slightly in greeting.

'The daimyo's a woman? Interesting…'

"If you're interested in bathing, I will leave you in the care of Atsuko-san, Miko-sama."

Before Kagome could finish a nervous chuckle and another repetition of "Please, Kaito-san, call me Kagome…" the dark-skinned young man had turned his soft smile and gaze towards Miroku.

"I will be happy to escort you to the men's bathing pools, Houshi-sama," he stated.

Violet eyes glanced down to meet the curious blue of his miko companion, who sought out his gaze as if to ask: Do you think it's safe? He nodded slowly in response, both to Kagome and Kaito; he felt no ill intent from either of them.

"Very well," Miroku said quietly to Kaito. And then as a reassurance to Kagome: "I will meet you before we go to dinner with Shimiza-sama."


The rest of the evening seemed to pass by with bewildering haste.

While bathing, Kagome learned that Kaito was Atsuko's younger, half-brother, and both were of the blood of one of the high lords of Mizukagami. In fact, all of the servants (though few in number for such a large shiro) were from a prominent family. Atsuko was kind and soft-voiced, and much of the conversation was otherwise centered on meaningless small talk. Before Kagome could learn much more, Atsuko had ushered her out of the bath, brushed and tied her hair back with a white ribbon and offered her a traditional miko's garb in which to dress, claiming that they had taken her other clothes to wash.

When Kagome emerged from the bath house, Miroku was there, standing beside Kaito on the engawa in a new set of robes. They had been dressed in matching colors; her hakama was a deep blue rather than the traditional red and was the same shade of the kesu they had offered him to layer over black robes. The color was not so vastly different from the deep purple of his usual robes, but it brought out a new hue of violet in his richly colored eyes that had her breath catching strangely in her lungs when they met her gaze with a warm smile.

Before she could muster a greeting or thanks, Atsuko bid them a farewell and Katio ushered them in the direction they'd be dining with the daimyo. He led them swiftly along the engawa to a large dining area abuzz with conversation from many gathered in the room, where they ran into Osamu once more. The older brunette greeted them heartily, assuring them that their companions had comfortably settled into an inn in the jōkamachi below the shiro after Osamu had shown them around the market and the public bathhouse.

Not long after Kagome and Miroku had settled into the places they'd been offered at the table the daimyo was introduced. The Lady Nanami Shimiza escorted her very pregnant daughter and heiress, Takara Shimiza, into the room with a flourish. The two were clearly related, with hair so black it looked blue and bright, sea green eyes set into soft features, distinguishable only because of the age difference between them. No men—father or husband—followed. The Shimiza women greeted their guests, thanked Miroku and Kagome for their time and willingness to come to their aid, and insisted upon a tour of the shiro and jōkamachi the following day, when they promised they would answer all the questions the houshi and miko had seen shrugged aside that evening.

It all felt so indulgent, so frivolous, and often times Kagome wondered if she were perhaps dreaming after reading one of the fairytales she was currently translating for her English language class. Much of the meal passed in an overwhelming haze of greetings and thanks offered from other guests in attendance throughout which Kagome often found herself or Miroku reaching out to the other tentatively for reassurance—a gentle brush of her finger tips over his tense knuckles, a comforting press of his palm against the small of her back, a knee softly bumping against the other's as they sat to eat. Finally, after an hour or so had passed, Kaito arrived at her side—with an amiable smile and soft grey eyes bright in contrast against his dark skin—and offered to show them to their quarters for the evening. After winding through a few passageways within the cave walls and across long sections of the engawa, the young man left them briskly at the door to their room, bidding them a good night and ensuring his return in the morning to show them around Mizukagami.

Miroku slid the shoji screen open to reveal their quaint quarters and she leaned forward for a closer look into the room lit by a small fire burning in a pit at its center and a few lanterns scattered about on the walls. The space included a small table for tea and meals, lavish, cushioned furniture built into the floor around the fire pit at the center of the room, separate dressing and toilet rooms, and a single, large futon for sleeping.

Kagome groaned, earning a surprised look from her houshi companion as she moved past him and into the room. And really, if this was some odd kind of dream inspired by the stories she'd been reading, she should have been expecting this.

Before Miroku could ask, she muttered "Of course there's only one bed." In response she earned a devilishly handsome grin—'for kami's sake no one should have any right to be so damn good looking'—and a suggestive wag of his eyebrows, which she shrugged off with a role of her eyes and a hope that he hadn't noticed the faint blush that rose to her cheeks in that moment.

She deftly navigated his boyish teasing,—"Perhaps they assumed we're a couple. Oh, come now, Kagome-sama, that couldn't possibly be so bad?"—salacious suggestions,—"But it'd be an honor to warm your bed. I could think of a few very pleasant ways to do so if you're interested?"—and incorrigible flirting until, worn down, Miroku had finally admitted that he intended to sleep near the firepit to keep it stocked against the dampness of the night and that she should take the bed.

"I'm sure it was the result of a misunderstanding," he'd said. "We can request a second futon in the morning." And she'd nodded quickly in agreement.

With that decided, and her face so warm she prayed she'd find a basin of water in the dressing room, she fumbled through dressing in the sleeping yukata that had been left for her and wished she had thought to take a few things from her backpack before leaving it with Inuyasha and Shippō, which she had used as a ploy to calm the hanyou's rage following a series of threats and osuwari's once they had learned of the second barrier in Mizukagami. They could have her backpack with the ramen and pokey if he'd let her and Miroku go to the shiro without any further hassle. An assurance that she'd be back, as she'd left her belongings with them.

Kagome sank onto the edge of the futon with a sigh and attempted to unwind the ribbon from her hair as Miroku followed suit and stepped into the dressing room to change as well. When he reemerged, he was dressed in a light, black yukata, tied loosely at his waist, exposing a large portion of his chest and torso. It wasn't often that she saw him disrobed and removed from his houshi attire in such away; in fact, she could only picture rare moments of recovery in small villages after battle, at Mushin's shrine, in the cave they'd taken cover in months ago. Seeing him now in only a sleeping yukata, clearly and unabashedly enjoying a moment of comfort was new for her, but was a way of being that she immediately knew would come easy to him whenever he was finally able to settle down and build a home, a family. It suited him.

Violet orbs met her gaze with a small smile and a quirk of an eyebrow and she realized she'd been staring. She turned away from him quickly to hide her blush, fingers still fumbling with the ribbon in her hair.

The miko startled when he sat down beside her, offering his aid quietly, which she accepted with a nod—refusing to look at him so as to try to hide the blush that still stained her cheeks—and shifted to give him better access to the ribbon wound into and around her raven locks. He was gentle and took his time undoing the knot she'd failed to detangle and slowly unwound the white, silky fabric from her hair so as not to tug the locks too harshly. After a few minutes he presented the ribbon to her when he finished, absentmindedly running his fingers through her hair to sooth it out as he did, and as she turned to take the string of fabric from him, she was struck by how soft and domestic the moment felt—how easy it was to prepare for the evening and slumber with him and her heart stuttered at the thought.

He offered her another winsome smile and said softly: "Get some sleep, Kagome-sama. It sounds as if we have a busy day ahead of us." He must have somehow noticed her frazzled state, because when he stood to move towards the cushioned seating around the small firepit a few feet away, he settled into the cushions with an air of putting on a show that said: Look, you can see my hands, you know where I'll be, and I'll behave.

She chuckled and drew his attention back to her with a call of his name. When he rose an eyebrow in response she pulled a blanket from the top of her bedding and tossed it in his direction; he caught it with ease. "Goodnight," she replied with a soft smile of her own and curled into the blankets as he turned his attention to the fire before him.


Kagome is screaming.

Sleep falls from his consciousness slowly, and it takes a few moments for Miroku to realize that her screams are not a part of his dreams, but are, in fact, coming from where she sleeps a few feet away from him on the futon. When that realization sets in, he startles and quickly spins out of his blankets and up to where Kagome lies tangled and thrashing on the futon.

His reiki reaches for hers as he nears, settles and curls around her as he grasps her arms carefully and gives her a small shake to wake her. "It's alright, you're alright. It's just a dream. Just a dream," he whispers as her azure blue eyes flutter and then startle awake.

His name tears from her lips as she shoots up quickly, almost knocking her forehead against his. Her hands grasp frantically for his as her ki surges, all sharp edges and flaring with panic as it had when they had last fought Naraku and he had almost–

Miroku forces himself to stop the thought, turns his focus back to the present moment, to the miko before him. He intertwines his fingers with hers and carefully leans forward, until his forehead presses against hers, violet eyes catching her wild blue.

"Miroku?"

He ignores the way his heart stutters with the familiarity she offers him in her frazzled state.

"I'm here," he says quietly, reassuringly.

"Naraku, he–" her voice breaks, her breath shuddering as her hands squeeze his, the sharp edges of her reiki scraping against his as he wills all the warmth and comfort he can into his own. Her fingers detangle themselves from his and quickly curl around his wrists, her eyes turning down to follow the movement of her hands as they slide up his forearms as if trying to assess the reality of his presence or drag him closer.

"I'm not strong enough, Miroku-sama," she whispers, rage and fear and pain lacing her voice, choking on the verge of tears.

"Kagome–"

Before he can try to comfort her she shakes her head slightly, forehead still pressed against his.

"Naraku told me that I couldn't save you. That I would never be strong enough to help you—any of you."

His breath caught in his throat and for a moment he's back in the battle and the flurry of action around him—of their taijiya, neko, and kitsune companions charging toward him, of an irate inu-hanyou desperately trying to find a way around the force of his kazaana, forced open when his prayer beads were torn from his grasp—are a blur in comparison to the rage and fear that makes his skin crawl when he turns to find Kagome caught in the kumo's grip, the evil hanyou's face mere inches from hers as Naraku whispers venom that the houshi can't hear.

And he knows immediately that these are the words he couldn't hear then, and that she has held onto and allowed them to burrow into her skin for weeks. And somehow he knows that these are words she has not shared with any of their other companions, that this is an unfurling of the tentacle that has lingered with her, despite her scrapes and bruises having long since faded.

He remembers the snarl that had ripped through his teeth: "Don't touch her."

He feels that fury build in his chest once more and wishes that anything he might do now could be more impactful than those words were then, prays that this will not end with another haunting between them.

"You think she'll fair better in your hands, cursed as they are?"

"Look at me," he implores softly, realizing that one of them—he's not sure which—is trembling.

She does, with eyes so blue and achingly forlorn that he has to force himself to hold her gaze.

"You're one of the strongest people I have ever known." When she shakes her head again and closes her eyes in response, he pulls a hand from her grasp to catch her chin between his thumb and index finger and knows that she must also feel the way his body quakes with the force of the tempestuous emotions coursing through him now. She meets his violet gaze again.

"We cannot—I can't do this without you."

And he's not even sure what he means by 'this'. Their journey for the Shikon no Kakera? Facing Naraku? Carrying the weight of the kazaana? Seeking life beyond these things? Perhaps it's none of these, perhaps all, but he knows that without her none of them are possible.

Between the surge of her reiki and his to meet it, watching a slew of emotions tumble across her face, and feeling the own trembling force of what he's just said, he's not sure who moves to clutch the other against them first, fingers tangling in hair and clothes as sobs wreck her body, but he doesn't let go. He doesn't let go when she mumbles that she can't do this without him either into the front of his yukata, nor when she whispers shaky apologies for waking him, nor when—sometime later—she pulls him down to the futon to lay beside her, pulling the blankets up over them both and curling her body around his before falling asleep with her head on his chest and his right hand—prayer beads, kazaana, and all—clasped between her hands.

And whether she fairs better in his hands or not, he can't let go now.


A/N: Here's a longer chapter for you all, with gratitude for your patience. Updating may be a bit patchy for a bit as my next semester is now in full swing, but I have more in the works, so stay tuned!

Vocabulary: jōkamachi – a type of urban structure in Japan in which the city surrounds a feudal lord's castle; inu-tachi – dog pack, or Inuyasha's travelling companions; shiro – castle; houshi – monk; miko – priestess; hanyou – half demon; osuwari – sit; minka – traditional Japanese houses; hakama – divided, pleated trousers; engawa – porch that surrounds much of the building and connects rooms; Kami – God; hanyou – half demon; kumo – spider; kazaana – Miroku's wind tunnel; Shikon no Kakera – Sacred Jewel shards