InuYasha Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Prismatic ❯ Inconsequence ( Chapter 9 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

For as long as Kagome had been wrapped up in time-hopping and fighting demons -which wasn't actually that long in the grand scheme of things- mundane occurrences had begun to seem stranger than her new reality. So far removed from a life that should have been normal to a teenage girl, it hadn't even occurred to her that the man at the station had been flirting with her until she had told Usagi and Ami about the encounter the following day.

Ami had been just as oblivious, but Usagi had practically launched herself from their booth at the Crown Arcade to gush about the 'budding romance'. It wasn't unlike her own trio of school friends, and Kagome was vividly reminded of Ayumi's nature as a hopeless romantic. Unlike Ayumi, however, Usagi was not placated by Kagome’s baffled insistence that it had only been a polite chat with a stranger while she’d waited for the next train.

Luckily, once people started looking, Ami had been quick enough to draw Usagi back to the booth to distract her with the math workbook they'd been reviewing. Though new to their circle and contrastingly soft-spoken, Ami seemed to have a sense of empathy to her that left Kagome with a sense of relief. It was reassuring to know that Usagi wouldn't be alone during her trips through the well anymore.

Luna and Souta could only do so much in a fight.

Granted, their partnership was endearing, with the cat riding around on his shoulder or working together on something to do with the computer -which was apparently also magic- having become a quite common sight. When she had caught the pair of them with Souta's desktop hanging open, parts she couldn't identify strewn over his desk, the boy had muttered something about hard drives and cloning, but she understood the technology less than she understood her math book.

In that regard, Mizuno Ami was an absolute godsend. It was during one of their study sessions that the girl genius had offered to help her with a still floundering comprehension of that particular subject and Kagome had, perhaps channeling Usagi a bit, nearly tackled her with a squeal. The most magical thing about Ami, by far, was her ability to explain the subject in a way that Kagome finally understood once more.

It had been such a relief that Kagome had practically skipped from the well that weekend. She had all but bounced into Kaede’s hut, in far too good a mood to say anything about the baffled looks she got for it.

To Inuyasha’s dismay, there had still been no shards to be found. The most exciting development was a near-miss with a mountain dog and the growing strain in Sango and Miroku’s relationship. While Inuyasha continued to claim that he did not see what Kagome and Shippo saw between them he was wise enough to keep quiet on the matter when Sango announced her own departure at the end of that weekend’s trip.

At least to Kagome, it was obvious that the damage sustained to the Hiraikotsu was a convenient excuse.

Seeing Sango rush off with such pretenses, acting as if it were only business when that was clearly not the case, Kagome couldn’t help but wonder if Inuyasha was right not to see anything between the two of them. Perhaps she had only been blinded by the naivety of her own romantic hopes and the longing glances she so often caught the slayer wearing. After all, she had put on that same act, pretending that everything was perfectly fine regardless of the ache in her soul. 

She didn’t want that for Sango. If Miroku didn’t see what was plainly in front of him, and the brief conversation she’d had with him upon their return only confirmed as much, she wasn’t going to encourage Sango to pursue such heartbreak.

When she regrouped with Usagi and Ami that Monday, even they had agreed.

Of course, that had led to a suddenly very determined Usagi to loudly declare that since Sango couldn’t be there for a girls’ night, it was their duty to find a way to bring all the standard items of comfort to her. Ami had been confused by the declaration and, while the implications of it made her heart ache for the girl yet again,  Kagome found herself absolutely tickled. With mock exams out of the way and the semesters’ end only another month out, she had seen no reason to deny the blonde’s impulse.

Thankfully, that week remained fairly quiet, mercifully allowing the three of them to get to know one another and adjust to the new dynamics that came with the growth of their team. It was a welcome break, even if Kagome found herself once more struggling with such a return to normalcy after all that had happened. It was halfway through the week, during one of the shopping trips for the rapidly growing care package meant for Sango, that Usagi let slip her upcoming birthday.

While the lack of activity from the Dark Kingdom might still have been suspicious, at that news, Kagome had decided that Jadeite could just stay in whatever hole he had slunk away to.

June 30th fell on a Monday this year and, despite what she thought of them, Kagome had to assume Usagi’s family would do something for the girl on the actual day. Given their track record, however, she was determined to give Usagi a proper celebration ahead of time. Ami, to her surprise, had just as firmly agreed once Kagome, out of earshot of Usagi, explained the dynamics that had her so riled up. Her mother, naturally, needed no convincing and only promptly began making a list of her own once they settled on Friday.

Kagome was not going to miss that no matter the tantrum that Inuyasha threw over it.

It had already been alarmingly easy to let go of her life in this era when she'd had no one to rely on her. In the wake of guilt and duty, it had been too easy to let the life she had on her side of the well fall to the wayside when the only ones in her life to truly understand the fantastical turn it had taken were on the other side to begin with. Usagi had changed that, giving Kagome a purpose and a friendly ear that she did not have to pretend to be normal for.

Sango and Miroku would always be some of her dearest friends, but a world of magic and fighting demons was normal to them. They could never understand the way her normality had been snatched away from her, how she had struggled to adapt to their world when the magic and the fighting within it was their normal. Even so, she would never be able to thank them enough for the absolute patience they extended her attempts to learn under them. Miroku, for all his lecherous habits, was still respectfully knowledgeable with an almost frightening sort of wit to him.

Kagome made a trip through the well a day early that Friday afternoon to inform them that she would be a bit late returning on Saturday only to find that Sango still hadn’t returned. It worried her a bit until Miroku admitted that the slayer had been delayed over a debacle with shinobi of all things. She wasn’t sure what to make of that story, so when the monk redirected the topic to the enemy on her side of the well, Kagome had allowed it. 

Now, as their conversation circled around to a different point of contention in the form of the barrier that she still seemed unable to cast, Kagome found herself childishly regretting it a bit. Having to go over that particular night yet again made her want to pull her hair out if only to hide the fear that resurfaced at the memory of it.

If Miroku noticed, he didn’t say anything, opting to keep to the topic of her inconsistent power. "And you haven't cast one since?"

"No!" Kagome threw her hands down with a huff. Trying to ignore the amused glint to the monk's gaze that was surely there, she crossed her arms over her chest and furrowed her brows. "It's annoying! I can channel it with the ofuda, or my bow, and even the pen! But…"

Miroku inclined his head for her to continue and Kagome heaved a sigh. "I can channel it to my hands for other things…"

It didn't make sense. It wasn't even that the problem came from an inability to call on her power. It had become easy enough to bring flickers of purification to her hands, though not as potent as with the ofuda or her bow, and draw out tiny wisps of healing.

But she still couldn't make it solidify into a barrier.

"Needing a conduit isn't so strange." Miroku looked thoughtful at that as he turned from her to tap his chin. "Your friend…Usagi? She uses her…tiara, yes?"

"Well, yeah…now that you mention it. Ami-chan doesn't though. She just…conjured hers, I think." Kagome set her hands in her lap, furrowing her brows as she turned to the monk. "But can we really assume their powers as sailor soldiers works the same way?"

"Keh, don't know how they're called soldiers." Inuyasha shouldered the door open, either not caring or not noticing the way Kagome spun to scowl at him. "Pigtail got lucky but they're no fighters."

Despite having only been there a short time, Kagome very promptly decided that she'd had enough.

"They've been fighting for less time than I have, and you haven't even met Ami-chan!" Inuyasha had at least seemed to realize his misstep given the way he flinched as she spun on him, visibly seething. "I have Miroku and Sango, but I still barely have any training! They don't even have a real teacher!"

She could only pass on so much when she herself was still so new to it all.

"You're still quite green without that bow of yours, though."

Deciding her visit had gone on long enough, Kagome turned her back to the half demon with a huff and shouldered her bag. She paused only to throw one last glare over her shoulder. "You know, if you think we're so awful, why don't you help us a little instead of being a jerk?!"

She didn't give him the chance to reply before she stomped off and Kagome was still angry when she got home. Grumbling obscenities as she climbed out of the well, she slammed the door behind her with a resounding crack. It was one thing for Inuyasha to insult her, but she hadn't been able to sit idly by while he insulted Usagi and Ami too. 'The nerve of him!’

He could forget that cake she'd been planning to set aside for him.

The shadow of the Goshinboku drifted over her, and Kagome closed her eyes, eager for the calming presence of the god tree. She lingered beneath the tree for a long moment, allowing the gentle hum of spiritual power to wrap around her. Usagi and Ami had turned up while she was gone, judging by the loud giggles emanating from the house.

‘I can’t see Usagi-chan with this face…not today.’ Kagome waited until the lingering feelings of anger and bitterness faded before she turned to walk the rest of the way to the house. She snuck in quietly and lingered in the doorway for a moment, going unnoticed until her mother padded into the hall behind her.

“Oh, Kagome, welcome back.”

She barely turned to return her mother's greeting before Usagi popped up from where she'd been crouched, attempting to coax Buyo into playing from his spot lazing on the sofa. Usagi brightened and the grin that split her face was all the warning Kagome got before the girl launched herself at her. 

"Kago-chan! You're back!"

Whatever was left of her anger fizzled away, thoughts of her spat with Inuyasha going forgotten. Kagome's expression softened as Usagi latched onto her arm, only able to muster an amused shake of the head. "Hey, Bun."

Almost immediately, Usagi excitedly launched into a retelling of the morning she'd spent window shopping with Ami before they'd headed over to the shrine - or 'home base' as Usagi had taken to calling it. Usagi, for all her bubbliness, seemed none the wiser to what was going on in the kitchen at least.

It was a few minutes into Usagi’s storytelling, paused only to gush over the platter of snacks that Kagome’s mother returned with, that Ami appeared behind the older woman. The girl gave Kagome and Usagi a knowing smile before her eyes landed on the clock mounted behind them. 

"Oh, it's that late?"

Kagome had to bite her lip to keep from smiling as her mother seamlessly continued the act. When the woman turned to her with an expression of concern that she might have thought real if she hadn’t already known better, Kagome was only too happy to accept the request to run down to the shops. 

As expected, Usagi bounced to her feet and happily followed after the priestess with the declaration that she would go too.

---

Contrary to popular belief, Inuyasha knew when he screwed up. There were many times he did not understand the how or the why, but he knew when it happened. He had also become very intimately aware of what came from Kagome’s anger in the months that he had known her. So, against Miroku and Shippo’s insistence, he waited a little while before he decided it was safe to follow her.

Only Souta and the talking cat were in the sitting room when he walked in, though he could hear the faint sounds of Kagome’s mother chatting with another girl in the kitchen. The scent was new, but familiar, likely the ‘Ami’ Kagome had talked about joining them. Kagome and Usagi, however, were nowhere to be found.

"Oh, hey, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha took a cursory glance around the room, sniffing quietly before he heaved a sigh. "Geeze, wench already off getting in trouble with pigtail?"

"Nah." Souta waved a hand dismissively but didn't look up from whatever it was he was tinkering with. "Only gone to pick up groceries for dinner. Ya know, normal stuff, if you can believe it."

Inuyasha scoffed at that and hopped up to lounge in the open windowsill. "Keh. With her? Doubt it."

Souta did look up then, if only to raise a brow at him. "Which her?"

"Take your pick, kid." Hooking his arms behind his head, Inuyasha closed his eyes for a moment. As much as he gave Kagome a hard time about returning to this side of the well, it was relaxing in a way. The smells of the shrine were clean, unlike the rest of her world, but warm and comforting in a way that had unsettled him in the beginning.

When a set of footsteps began to head their way from the kitchen, he cracked one eye open to look up just as Kunloon poked her head in to glance at him.

"Oh, Inuyasha?" She looked a little surprised, but a smile tugged at her lips, motherly and welcoming in a way that Inuyasha still did not know how to reconcile with. "You'll be joining us as well?"

While it might have been a question, and he wasn't entirely sure what it was he would be joining, Inuyasha had visited enough times to know better. As it usually went when Kagome's mother 'invited' him to stay, she didn't wait for a response and only smiled instead.

"I'll set up another seat."

After this long, Inuyasha knew better than to argue the matter.

---

Getting Usagi away from the shrine long enough for the others to finish prepping, as it turned out, was the easy part of the day. Keeping Usagi busy shopping had also been easy. Keeping track of the blonde as she flitted around gushing about the things that caught her eye turned out to be infinitely more difficult. After the first few aisles, Kagome had given up, deciding that Usagi could enjoy herself while she stocked up.

It wasn’t a problem until Kagome realized it was time to head back. 

"Usagi-chan?" No reply was forthcoming, and Kagome heaved a sigh. Gathering up her bags, she meandered back towards the entrance, her brow furrowing when she caught no sign of her friend amongst the other shoppers. 'Where did she go?'

When she wandered out the front door and still found no sign of Usagi, Kagome furrowed her brow. A quick scan of the surrounding shops yielded no results until Kagome closed her eyes, trying to focus on the sensation of brightness that was Usagi’s natural energy. When it popped easily into her mind’s eye, Kagome heaved a breath and followed.

She wasn’t expecting it to lead to a clock shop of all things. She couldn’t imagine what had drawn Usagi’s interest to such a place. ‘Clock Look? What kind of name…’

Well, there was no point in wondering at the marketing decisions of a clock shop, Kagome supposed as she pushed the door open. The little bell jingled above her head at her entrance as she peered around. "Usagi? Are you in here?"

Kagome nearly leapt out of her skin when, instead of Usagi, another woman seemed to appear from nowhere to greet her. She had a sharpness to her gaze that made Kagome shift uncomfortably and she wore a sleek pink dress with an updo that seemed more fitting to a cocktail party than the operations of a shop.

Usagi poked her head from around the corner, and Kagome brightened. Exhaling through her nose, she shook her head and barely heard what was surely a sales pitch as she strode over to her wayward friend.

"Kagome-chan, look!" Usagi spun around, holding up a clock that was carved into the shape of a black cat, its sudden nearness to her face making Kagome blink as she took hold of it.

"Erm…it's a cute clock, Usagi-chan but…" Glancing down, Kagome furrowed her brows at the stillness of the clock face. Bringing it up a bit closer to inspect, she couldn’t even hear the usual quiet tick. "It seems like it's stopped already, actually."

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say because the shopkeeper honed in on them almost immediately. The woman crowded them, making Kagome shift towards Usagi as she leaned forward just a little too closely to inspect the faulty clock. "Oh? Well, that won't do. Come, you can have another just like it."

"C'mon, Mama is waiting for us, remember? I just finished getting-."

"Ah!” Usagi didn’t even wait for her to finish, her eyes growing wide with alarm before she hastily shoved the clock into her bag and sprinted for the door. “Higurashi-san!"

“Usagi, wait a-!” Kagome sputtered a little, left staring after the blonde in bewilderment. "What's gotten into her?"

To her relief, the shopkeeper did not interject again as she gathered her bags back up and hurried to follow.

---

It wasn’t often that Jadeite found himself praising one of his servants. Ramua, as it stood, proved herself deserving. It had been a relief when Queen Beryl approved this plan, given the return to more subtle and slow-going operations that it entailed. Likely, it was the arrival of yet another soldier that had her willing to approve less obvious tactics.

Of course, that subtlety that concealed them wouldn’t last forever. The effects of manipulating the human perception of time would eventually cause a noticeable commotion. In the meantime, however, it gave him the opportunity to consider what he knew of the soldiers so far. He had hoped that, if his luck held, the downtime might even have allowed him to track down their civilian identities. But operating out of Tokyo, with only the information that they were based at a shrine, didn’t give him as much to work with as he would have liked.

When the humans started causing accidents and injuring themselves in their haste, Jadeite knew his time for reconnaissance was likely over. However, Ramua did offer him a bit more confidence. Her power in manipulating time was astounding, surely a threat even to the sailor soldiers. They were only human, after all.

“So are you!”

Narrowing his eyes at the errant memory, he supposed that damnable nameless soldier did pose a problem. She had a troublesome knack for negating the power of his youma and the dark energy they manipulated. But, Jadeite had almost gleefully realized, she also had a very obvious weak spot in Sailor Moon. 

He visited the shop to warn Ramua all the same, and lingered to watch her work her magic on a little blonde human that wandered in. Jadeite held no great appreciation for art, at least not in the way that Zoicite and Nephrite did, but watching Ramua work so masterfully instilled something close to it. 

The silly little thing accepted the curse unto herself so easily, oblivious to the energy that latched onto her own and anchored itself within her. The girl fell to its influence almost immediately and, when the bell jingled and she perked up at the sound of what was likely her name, Jadeite thought they might be lucky enough to snag a second.

He wasn’t expecting to see the same odd girl that he had encountered back at Shapely.

'That girl…Higurashi…' At first, he didn’t recognize her. She wore a skirt and blouse, a shade of blue that matched her eyes, instead of the gym uniform he’d last seen her in. The ponytail she’d worn last time was gone and her hair hung freely, though in a disarray that suggested she’d been looking for her friend for a while.

Ramua approached her with a pleasant welcome, a glint of amusement in her gaze when the blonde spun around to do the job for her. The little human practically shoved the cursed clock into the other girl’s face and Jadeite had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep the urge to laugh at bay when the girl went cross-eyed.

That urge rapidly faded when the girl only lowered the item from her face, unaffected if a bit bewildered. When she commented that it had stopped working, he met Ramua’s gaze over their heads. To her credit, Ramua handled the oddity of the situation seamlessly, and he waited until the two hurried out the door, the blonde girl still in their grasp, before he joined her side.

He watched after them for a moment longer before he spoke. "That clock was functional when you gave it to the girl, Ramua?"

"Yes." Her gaze was a little wild when she turned to look at him. "I am certain of it."

---

Usagi was a jittery, agitated, mess by the time they finally made it back to the shrine. Kagome had been reminded of just how quickly the girl could move when she’d nearly had to sprint two blocks to catch up. Usagi slowed for her, but was clearly unhappy about it, especially when they had to make a detour around a large multi-car accident in one of the intersections.

Ironically, Usagi’s anxious haste only made the trip up the stairs take twice as long as it should have. No matter the assurances that Kagome tried to offer, Usagi seemed completely taken by fears of having kept her mother and Ami waiting for ‘so long’.

Kagome was still trying to convince Usagi that they hadn’t been gone that long, the blonde dramatically pulling out her new clock to assert that they had, when a shadow cast over them.

"Oh, there you are."

Kagome felt her shoulders slump in relief as she looked up to the other girl, never so relieved as she was when Ami descended the steps to meet them. "Ami-chan."

“I thought you might need a hand bringing things up.” Ami looked them over, her brows furrowing as her gaze landed on Usagi, still pointing dramatically at her clock and demanding they hurry up. "Is Usagi-chan alright?"

“I…I’m not sure.” Kagome shifted her bags with a huff. "This is…weird, even for Usagi-chan."

"Well, perhaps she will feel better once we get upstairs." Ami took a bag from her with a smile. "She seems to quite enjoy helping Higurashi-san in the kitchen."

Kagome smiled a little in turn, softening a bit as she thought about just how seamlessly Usagi had inserted herself into the family. "Yeah, Mama is like that."

Usagi calmed a little when the pair of them ascended behind her, then whined dramatically when Kagome paused at the sight of the half demon waiting for them at the top. She wasn’t expecting to see him so soon, least of all after their argument back on his side of the well. "Inuyasha?"

Before Kagome could question if something had happened, Inuyasha tilted his head to look down at them with a sniff. "Keh, figures I leave you alone and you come back with pigtail reeking of demon magic."

Kagome paused, turning to look at Usagi with a jolt.

"D-demon? Where?!" Usagi’s eyes widened, pupils dilating in a panic that had Kagome fear she might try to leap back down the staircase. 

Kagome dropped her bags to catch Usagi by the arm when the girl, clutching her clock to her chest, looked as if she were about to do exactly that. "U-Usagi-chan, calm down!"

"Oh my…" Ami’s quiet murmur and proceeding footfalls were drowned out by Usagi’s wails, the blonde crying that she had to transform or the enemy would get them, deaf to Kagome’s assurances that they were fine.

"C'mon, Usagi-chan, everything's okay. Let's just get upstairs, alright?" Kagome was just coaxing Usagi through the torii gate when Ami reappeared with Souta, the little blue computer balanced on one arm and Luna perched on the opposite shoulder. 

"Oh, yeah you're right Ami-chan.”

When Usagi finally let her tug her through the gate and onto more solid ground, Kagome heaved a sigh of relief.

“Huh…that's weird." Souta typed something into the laptop before looking back up to the cat on his shoulder. "It's gone now…"

Usagi sagged against her, the tension in her body rapidly dissipating as Kagome held her up.

Ami approached them after a moment, her brows furrowed in concern as she knelt to check Usagi over and Kagome had never believed in the sincerity of the other girl’s desire to be a doctor as she did in that moment. After a moment, Ami rocked back onto her heels to stand, seemingly satisfied that Usagi was at least not physically hurt by whatever spell she’d been under. 

Then Ami’s gaze paused on the clock that Usagi still clutched to her chest and her brows furrowed. "Oh, Usagi-chan, your clock has stopped."

Kagome, slumped with her own relief and attempting to catch her breath, straightened at that. She turned to look down at the clock with a scowl. "Again?"

Luna seemed to catch on to her train of thought just as quickly. The cat leapt down from her perch on Souta’s shoulder as Ami gingerly took the clock from Usagi. "Usagi…where did you get that?"

Kagome didn’t hear the rest of the conversation, because a surge of energy suddenly caught her attention. She turned to look at Ami, too late to warn the girl away from her inspection of the cursed clock. There was a burst of light and a flare of energy, and when Ami let out a startled cry Kagome feared the worst.

Inuyasha, luckily, moved far more quickly than Kagome could. The half demon swung Tessaiga, still sheathed, between the girl and the clock that she still held. The energy that burst from it crackled loudly as it collided with the sheath’s protective barrier before it fizzled away harmlessly.

“Oh!” Ami, though visibly shaken, was no worse for the wear. After a moment, her shoulders relaxed and she turned to look at Inuyasha. "Oh my…thank you."

Inuyasha, true to his character, only turned from the girl with a scoff. "Keh."

Kagome rolled her eyes, but a little smile tugged at her lips. She met Ami’s gaze and shook her head as the other girl looked at her a bit helplessly. "That would be 'you're welcome' in Inuyashanese."

---

Unsurprisingly, at the determination that the Dark Kingdom was behind the cursed clocks -because who else would it be- Inuyasha insisted on joining their investigation. Luna, fitted with a headset that looked odd on a cat, even with their lineup, opted to come along as well. Souta, surprisingly, did not even attempt to join them, instead only passing the little blue laptop over to Ami and giving Luna a thumbs up with a promise to ‘monitor things from here’ that Kagome didn’t fully understand.

What was even more surprising was how absolutely irritated Usagi was over the whole affair. The blonde, still jittery but a bit more restrained, had needed absolutely no coaxing to call on her transformation and insist that Ami and Kagome did the same before she’d stormed out of the shrine.

As the three of them followed the fuming blonde soldier, Kagome once again felt as if she were taking part in the setup for a bad joke. If their team in the feudal era was considered a strange rag-tag mix, she didn’t know what they were here in her own.

The trip back to the shop took much less time than the earlier commute they’d had leaving it. 

Inuyasha’s nose crinkled as they rounded the last corner. "This it? Stink of magic is all over the place."

"Now that I'm paying attention to it…the air is…off here." Kagome took a step closer, furrowing her brows as she drew the tips of her fingers over the shutter. "It reminds me of the well…"

When they neared and Kagome felt the unsettling atmosphere of it without distraction, her stomach churned with guilt that she hadn’t noticed it before. Usagi might not have fallen prey to their spell if she had been paying better attention. She was a bit surprised that the shutter was pulled though. Given the early hour and how late the other shops they’d run had been left open, it left an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Mercury strode up next to her then, tapping a button on her earring that conjured a visor Kagome had not seen before. "I may be able to find a way to open it if-"

Clearly, Sailor Moon had other plans. Inuyasha yanked Mercury out of the way by the back of her uniform and Kagome narrowly dove out of range just in time for the blonde soldier to fling her tiara at the shutter. It burst open with an explosion of energy and groaning metal and Kagome was left gaping at the inside of the shop through the gaping hole.

Tonight, it seemed, they would be taking the direct approach.

“...or we just blow the door open.” After a moment, she snapped her mouth shut and turned to look at Sailor Moon with a blink. "I…guess that works too."

"Keh, least blondie here doesn't waste time." Inuyasha snorted as he let go of Mercury to allow the soldier to advance, but Kagome saw the way his lip curled up in amusement.

Kagome heaved an exasperated sigh, but couldn’t help her own feelings of amusement that welled up as she followed the two soldiers inside. When the metallic boom of the shutter snapping back into place echoed around them that amusement was very swiftly traded for dread.

“Oh!” Mercury spun from her position at the sales counter, where she’d been analyzing the clocks in the display case while Sailor Moon shouted demands for the monster to ‘show itself already!’. “It shut?"

Despite a certainty that the attempt would be useless, Kagome tried the door. Her throat tightened, but she was not surprised when it didn’t budge. "Damn…locked."

Sailor Mercury looked thoughtful as she came over to look it over, likely curious over the magic that had allowed it to regenerate.

‘It reminds me of…’ Kagome inhaled suddenly, a cold feeling of dread twisting her stomach as the parallel crossed her mind. She had only ever seen regenerative magic like that from those who came to possess the jewel shards. She turned to Sailor Mercury with a jolt, startling the soldier from her inspection as she fumbled for an ofuda.

The quiet chuckle that came from the darkness behind them derailed any hope Kagome had of conveying that theory before they were found out. "My, my. I’m impressed. I never expected you to show up so early."

Kagome wasn’t terribly surprised to see the shopkeeper from earlier, her discomfort in the woman’s presence rapidly making much more sense. The woman’s fair features melted into the more obvious ones of a demon, the grin that twisted her lips splitting her face eerily.

"Now, come and get me, sailor soldiers!"

Kagome gaped, flabbergasted when the large grandfather clock behind the demon suddenly shifted and swung open. Rather than attack them, the demon turned tail and fled inside the clock, the magic that coated the doorway indicating an obvious trap.

Sailor Moon, unfortunately, took the bait hook, line, and sinker. 

Left with only the choice to follow, Kagome exchanged a determined look with Sailor Mercury before they hurried in after their comrade. The feeling of being submerged rapidly washed over her. It was not unlike the sensation that came with traveling through the well, but there was a chilling discomfort within it that the well did not have. Sailor Mercury did not seem to notice, or if she did she wasn’t quite as affected by the sensations. 

Luckily, Sailor Moon had not gone so far ahead of them and Kagome heaved a sigh to only find her looking angrily at a door before she yanked it open, once more demanding the monster to show itself.

“I’m waiting right here. Why don’t you come?”

The monster’s voice echoed around them, amused and taunting, and Kagome inhaled at the sensation of energy that crept over her skin.

"Sailor Moon!" 

Mercury’s cry of alarm drew her out of her musings and Kagome spun to see what had happened. When she saw the form of Sailor Moon shrunken to that of a child and laughably swimming in her uniform, her mouth fell open. ‘I know Usagi’s got one heck of an inner child but this is kind of ridiculous…’

"Oh, dear…" Mercury typed something into the laptop, but Kagome didn’t understand much of the scientific terms that followed. Sailor Moon, as it stood, was panicking too much to have heard anyway. The blonde soldier flailed, unable to keep her footing as her body shrunk further still. Then, when she tripped and blindly grabbed onto Kagome’s reaching hand to catch herself, it was over. Her body popped back all at once and Sailor Moon was left standing there, clutching Kagome’s hand and looking just as baffled as the priestess.

"A-alright. Just…hold onto me." Kagome took Sailor Moon’s hand in her own, and the blonde soldier seemed to calm a bit, a look of clarity and renewed determination dancing in her eyes. A little smile touched Kagome’s lips before she turned to Sailor Mercury to set a hand on her shoulder. "Can you locate her?"

"Yes, just a moment…this way!" Sailor Mercury pocketed the computer and latched onto Kagome’s hand to lead them forward. They moved in unison, but Kagome still couldn’t help the sensation of dread that continued to grow in the pit of her belly. 

The demon came into sight not too much later. Sailor Moon lifted her free hand to her tiara with a declaration that the monster was going down, but the creature only grinned wider. “This is my realm. I am all around you, soldier.”

Kagome barely released Sailor Moon’s hand in time to shove her out of the way as a spear flew between them. The blonde soldier hit her knees with a cry and Kagome’s blood ran cold as she whimpered that she could not move. The monster strode towards them and Kagome gripped Mercury’s hand a little tighter as she stood between the remaining soldier and the monster.

The demon’s gaze drifted to the bow on her back with a cackle. "You can't fight me and shield them."

This, Kagome decided as the monster struck the ground beneath them, was a problem. The world around them seemed to shudder and, as her fingers slipped from Sailor Mercury’s, she watched in horror as the soldier froze in place. Catching her footing, she turned to run to the girl when she was hauled off of her feet instead.

She couldn’t help the tears that pricked her eyes as the demon yanked her away with a grip on her hair, lifting her to be eye level with it as it looked her over.

"How curious. You're not affected by the time manipulation like they are."

Grimacing, Kagome grasped uselessly at the back of her head, trying to ease the sting of her scalp. The demon seemed amused by her struggles but tapped the tip of a claw to her cheek after a moment, humming thoughtfully in her ear. Sailor Mercury’s eyes widened from where she stood frozen as Kagome felt the first dribble of blood trickle down her cheek.

"But you are still human like them, aren't you?" All at once, the creature dropped her and Kagome landed in a heap. She righted herself just in time to watch as the demon strode forward, the spear that had vanished before materializing in its grasp once more. "You'll come with me. Once I finish playing with these two."

It swung for Sailor Moon and Kagome stiffened. A thin line of blood blossomed on the paralyzed soldier’s face, and a helpless Sailor Mercury shouted in alarm. "Sailor Moon!"

Kagome watched as Sailor Moon wailed in fright but her screams were drowned out by the roaring of her pulse as it suddenly pounded in her ears. The monster reared back, its aim terrifyingly lower this time, and something in Kagome snapped.

"No!" Launching herself from the ground, Kagome dove for the demon as it swung on the frozen soldiers. Her hands wrapped around the butt of the spear, and Kagome glared at the creature as it spun to look at her in surprise. The demon stared at her for a moment, startled only for a second before it yanked the weapon closer, dragging her with it. It sneered down at her, tendrils of its dark energy winding around her.

When she brought a little of her own energy to her palms to charge the weapon, her grip on the spear was torn away as the demon’s free hand darted up to wrap around her throat. Kagome choked as it drew her up to its eye level, her hands uselessly lifting to tug at its claw. "My master only requested you alive."

For a moment, Kagome thought that this might be it for the three of them. Then, the demon made the mistake of tossing her to the ground. She landed with a cry, the ache of impact echoing through her body as she rolled. Her head was still swimming when her momentum rapidly halted and Kagome’s breath caught with a little flicker of hope when she saw where she had landed. "M-Mercury!"

Sailor Mercury unfroze with a jerk, but immediately fell to her knees to look her over. "Oh, K- are you alright?"

"I'll be fine…but the demon…" Kagome inhaled, turning to look to where the creature had gone when they heard Sailor Moon’s cry of fright. The demon’s essence was all around them, coating the air. She sat up with a jerk, startling the soldier at her side when she turned to her suddenly. "Hey, Mercury…can I use your mist?"

"Use my- oh!" Sailor Mercury’s gaze hardened a bit, a look of understanding crossing her features as she pulled Kagome to her feet and dropped into position. "Bubble…Spray!"

Clinging to the soldier, arms wrapped around the girl’s waist from behind, Kagome let the feeling of Mercury’s power wash over them as her own flowed to her hands. The monster paused in its taunting of Sailor Moon to look over at them in thinly veiled horror a moment too late. Mercury’s mist, dancing with the glimmer of purity, coated the realm the creature had so proudly claimed to be a part of herself.

The demon’s screech echoed eerily in tandem with the gong of a clock before the world shattered around them.

They landed in a heap, back in the middle of the shop. Kagome was the first to recover, startled back to reality by the shards of glass that pricked her palms. A moment later, she heard the sounds of the street filter in, and the chill of the evening air that tickled her skin announced their freedom.

When the half demon they’d been separated from was suddenly in front of her, Kagome leapt back with a shriek of surprise. "I-Inuyasha?"

"The hell happened to you guys?" His gaze was hard as he looked her over, his nostrils flaring when his gaze lingered on the blood that smeared her skin. Then his gaze landed on Sailor Moon, struggling to stand with Mercury’s assistance, and Kagome watched him frown. "What's wrong with pigtail?"

"It…drained her energy before I could get to her." A renewed stirring of guilt settled in the pit of her stomach, as Kagome looked the blonde over. The shards of glass and splintered wood cracked beneath her feet as she approached her friend, little wisps of healing dancing over her fingertips. Usagi leaned into the touch with a contented hum, and Inuyasha caught her when she wavered. He picked the soldier up with an exasperated sigh that Kagome knew better than to take at face value.

Satisfied that Usagi was healed well enough and feeling too unsteady to do more, Kagome crept to the front of the shop to ensure they were in the clear. She was met by a frantic looking Luna, and the cat visibly deflated at the sight of her.

"Inuyasha?" Sailor Mercury came up behind the half demon then, earning a raised brow as he shifted a dozing Sailor Moon in his arms. Then she bowed and he looked so startled by the gesture that Kagome almost laughed. "Thanks for getting us out."

"Huh?"

He blinked at her dumbly, and Ami straightened with a curious tilt of the head. "Isn't that why you destroyed the clock?"

Inuyasha arched a brow then shook his head with a snort. "Don't look at me. It was like that when I got in here."

---

It was a shame, Jadeite thought as he watched them leave, rubbing his hand thoughtfully. 

He’d had such high hopes for Ramua. Her magic had even been able to keep the demon out for a time. Yet, he wasn’t terribly surprised that she had failed him in the end. He was even less surprised by the quiet approach of his fellow king, and Jadeite did not feel the need to look to see Nephrite’s appraising stare. 

"It has been some time since one of us has bled." The man drawled as he sidled up to stare out at the city beside him. Canting his head to meet Nephrite’s gaze after a moment, Jadeite grit his jaw at the measured look he found. "You destroyed the source of your own servant's power."

Jadeite hissed irritably but did not deny the statement. Nephrite knew him too well for that. "Ramua took too many liberties with her orders."

After a moment, Nephrite hummed thoughtfully. "The queen won't be pleased to have lost such a profitable operation."

The queen, Jadeite thought, was rarely pleased to begin with. But he would rather risk her ire over the loss of another site than the loss of that girl. "The queen wants that soldier alive."

"Do you expect her to accept that excuse so easily?" Nephrite tilted his head, appearing entirely unconvinced.

"I'm sure she won't." That, Jadeite realized, was hardly the biggest problem they faced. "Besides… they've grown too aware of me for that to matter anymore."

When he turned from the edge of the roof, Nephrite heaved a sigh that Jadeite knew often preceded a lecture. "You're just letting them slip through your hands, Jadeite."

"It's better to draw them out." This was, fundamentally, where they disagreed the most on strategy. It was also why they worked so well together. Jadeite strode to the stairwell with a mocking hum, keenly aware of the gaze that bore into his back. "You wanted to observe them, didn't you? They won't notice you if they're busy chasing me."

Nephrite sobered, lips thinning as the man gave him a searching look. "And you're willing to sacrifice your own ranks simply to misdirect the sailor soldiers?"

"You seem to have forgotten, Nephrite." Jadeite turned back to the man with a scoff, pausing as he pulled open the door that would lead back to the empty shop below. "We are at war."

Something in his stomach churned uncomfortably at the declaration, and Jadeite did not miss the glint in Nephrite’s eyes as the other man averted his gaze. After a moment more of quiet, Jadeite thinned his lips. "If these soldiers do get lucky…"

"Jadeite-"

Knowing Nephrite understood, Jadeite cut the general off with a look far too casual for what he asked of the man. "I'm trusting you to take over the remaining operations and the youma in my place."