InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Beside You in Time ❯ 1633: Rome ( Chapter 6 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

She pulled a scarf over her hair, despite the heat of the morning, and tied it at the nape of her neck. Her list was written in Japanese - a habit she had never broken since she was back in her time. It was likely the market wouldn't have most of these items. Even so, she tucked the list into the bottom of her basket and turned to her only companion. "I'll need some money." She raised an eyebrow at him. "Where are you going?"

He lifted his chin and finished doing up his doublet at his throat. "I have a business meeting."

"Really?"

"I don't understand why that should surprise you. I am supposed to be a merchant in this city."

She smiled. "No, I'm glad. I just thought that since you made some money in India that you weren't going to do anything for awhile. I would understand that, since I know you don't like dealing with humans."

"As much as I detest your kind, I find sloth even less agreeable," Sesshoumaru replied.

"Well, as long as you're certain." She opened the door and sighed as a wave of heat swept inside. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to hire a servant?"

The taiyoukai frowned. "No. We will not be in Rome for long."

"You said the same thing about India, and we were there for decades. Plural," she said. "Anyway, are you coming?"

He joined her, and they hovered in the doorway for a moment as he handed over a few florin. Kagome quickly put them into her sleeve and nodded. "Alright. I'll be back in about an hour or so. It depends how long it takes for me and the merchants to understand each other. Any special requests?"

"No."

"Oh, good. It's so much easier that way." She glanced down the narrow street. "I wish we lived closer to the market though. Any meat I get could spoil in this heat just on the walk home. What time will you be back?"

"In time for dinner. Prepare something suitable for our guest." He moved to walk away.

"Whoa! This guy is coming back with you?" Kagome frowned at the taiyoukai's blank expression. "I need more warning than this in the future, Sesshoumaru. You just told me that we weren't going to hire anyone. Without a staff, I can't do as much as I'd like. I'll make something in time, but it's not going to be fancy."

He shrugged. "Very well," he replied.

"I just don't like visitors sneaking up on me." She held back another sigh at his lack of response. "Okay, I'm going to hope that you get what I'm talking about. I have to go. Linger as much as you want, because I need to clean up the place a bit too. Good luck."

Sesshoumaru nodded, and they parted. Her quick steps soon faded behind him.

The piazza twenty minutes away was overflowing with residents, pilgrims and pickpockets. The sun bleached the color from the buildings, and the ground glowed with the dust kicked up by the pedestrians. A few merchants called out to potential buyers from each corner of the piazza, from little pockets of shadows, where their produce wouldn't wilt. Pigeons fluttered around everyone's ankles, cooing and pecking at the earth.

He pushed his way clear to the fountain in the center, topped by a merman with fins for ears and a conch shell that spilled over with water. The only other demon in the square waited at its base with his back turned to the taiyoukai, although he had surely sensed Sesshoumaru's arrival. "Santini?" the demon said as he approached. With blue eyes and brown hair, he was either remarkably plain or had a fantastic concealment spell. To anyone else in the piazza, he was just another human. Still, there was no mistaking the predatory way he moved and the scent of youkai.

"For now, that is my name," Sesshoumaru replied. They grasped each other's forearms. "Fidelity to the alliance."

"And remembrance to our fallen brothers," the other male said dutifully, dropping his hand. He broke out into a smile, showing off his even, blunt teeth. "I don't see what formalities can do for you. I doubt that I could ever assuage your fears that I am who I say that I am, considering that other little problem that you have."

"Hm. If you are not who you say you are, you have picked a poor disguise. I have never seen you before. I will distrust you regardless."

He nodded. "And you should know that you may never see me again. I'm only the replacement. The one that was supposed to come here today was terminated a little more than a week ago."

Sesshoumaru drew in a long breath. "How many is that?"

"This year so far? Eleven, that we know of. Since the beginning? Well, that's anyone's guess." He drew a slip of paper from his sleeve. "The Countess von Triberg-Todtnau is somewhat concerned with your... well, lack of concern."

"You may tell her that I am very much invested in this matter," the dog demon replied, putting the paper into his own pocket without reading it. "Unfortunately, as you have pointed out, I do have another problem. One that the countess does not have."

"She was not so pleased when she discovered it on her own. She wished you would have told her about your odd predicament yourself."

Sesshoumaru frowned. "I am under no obligation to tell the countess anything. I am here as a courtesy only." His eyes, once again colored gray by a concealment spell, swept over the other demon. "You are not only a replacement."

"I am the countess's top advisor. And her cousin, actually. You may call me Brandt." He gestured to the teeming crowds surrounding them. "You are not the only one with additional problems, Santini. The war in the north rages, and although we keep out of such matters, it is sometimes difficult not to rip the throats out of these Catholic dogs that destroy my cousin's lands."

"If you have no involvement, then you would say the same of the Protestants. Or do they avoid the countess's lands as they march and do battle?"

Brandt smiled again. "The countess said you were married to logic."

Sesshoumaru arched an eyebrow. "Indeed. If you are truly removed from human affairs, you will view all of them with the same level of contempt, regardless of religious affiliation."

"I will keep that in mind," Brandt replied, clearly not heeding the advice. "Have you encountered the shape-shifters again? The countess understands that you move when you sense their presence. I'm assuming that is why you are in Rome?"

The dog demon shook his head. "We left India because we had been there for more than two decades. We do not know if they are in Rome or in Italy, but we were drawn back to Europe. If it were so simple as you suppose, then this problem would not be such a problem."

"Do you anticipate these immortals becoming a problem for us?"

"No. They are powerful and reckless, and for that alone, I cannot abide them. They even may be willing to join our cause, but I would advise against it. As thieves and shape-shifters, they cannot be trusted."

Brandt nodded. "Something to remember, of course."

Sesshoumaru gave him a sharp look. "Have you already approached them for assistance?"

"If you cannot find them, how could we?" asked the other demon. "You must admit though, that they would be wonderful assets for our purpose. Just as you are, my lord. After all, it is difficult to defeat an enemy that cannot die."

"Although I am immortal, that does not mean I am invincible. It seems that these humans are creating ever more inventive ways of killing one another. Their imagination knows no bounds when it comes to attaining victory." He paused and frowned. "It may be the only thing I respect in their inferior race."

"Then you must understand why we wish to find these shape-shifters."

The dog demon crossed his arms. "It would be wise not to alert me if you do. I will kill them when I see them again, regardless of your need for them."

Brandt gave him a half-smile and a nod. "Of course. Speaking of undesirable companions, how is your pet?"

"I have no pet," Sesshoumaru replied with a crease in his brow.

"Oh, then she is your equal? That human girl, who is not so human anymore?" His amusement faded. "The countess was not happy to hear about that either. It is one thing to have humans everywhere, but an immortal human? You should have told her. It could jeopardize everything."

"The only way it could threaten our common goals would be if the miko knew anything about those goals. She is unaware. She believes that she attends every meeting I have with other youkai, and although aspects of our departure from England raised a few questions, I expect that she has forgotten about it. At least, she has not brought up the subject again."

Brandt gave Sesshoumaru a sidelong glance. "I would expect that it's difficult to explain the presence of a young woman alone with you in your home," he said. "This is a Catholic country, after all."

"Yes, a place where Popes have children in shadows and armies killing under the Vatican's orders."

"Barberini has no illegitimate children," Brandt pointed out. "You too have been affected by the politics of the humans."

"And you call him by his family name and not his title," countered Sesshoumaru. He paused and let out a quiet sigh. "Perhaps we have both spent too much time with the Protestants. Their prejudices should not concern us. We are above such petty matters and should only concern ourselves with humans when they concern themselves with us."

The other demon nodded. "We have been wasting time. I must leave by nightfall."

"Then tell me what has happened. Eleven dead in just a few short months is higher than it has ever been. Who were they, other than my contact?"

"Mostly low level demons that refused to listen to our warnings. Two of them, however, were mates here in Rome. They didn't heed us either, but we let them alone. They were powerful enough to defeat anyone that threatened them. A short time ago, we heard that they had been murdered. Your contact was supposed to investigate before meeting you when he came to his end." He shrugged. "The countess fears that it could be significant, that they could have a new weapon, but I believe it was simply overconfidence."

Sesshoumaru turned and sat down on the edge of the fountain. "Sit," he said.

It wasn't a request. Brandt settled down on the marble. "My lord?"

"If we do encounter each other again, you must learn that I do not accept ambiguities or platitudes. You will tell me exactly what has happened, and I will decide if the countess is correct or not."

Brandt studied the taiyoukai for a moment and then smiled. "Of course. Forgive me, my lord. I will not forget. And I will start at the beginning."

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She lingered for far too long in the Forum, wandering from stall to stall in the heat. Columns cast their shadows across her path every once in awhile - ancient and stately, despite the grubby children playing tag around their bases. She could only see a fraction of what would be excavated in about a century, but it was still overwhelming to see the hulking stone towering above her head. A couple times, Kagome caught herself wishing that her immortality had began much earlier, and she had been given the chance to live through more history.

"I'm going soft in the head," she muttered each time in Japanese.

To distract herself from her own thoughts, she stopped at a stall piled high with a vibrant vegetables. "These are beautiful," she said to the plump woman with tawny curls on the other side of the table, not trusting her Italian to say much more. She selected several smooth, white mushrooms and handed over a few coins.

The farmer's wife welcomed the money, grinned and said something completely indecipherable. Kagome shook her head. "I don't speak Italian very well," she explained, although her poor accent had given that away already.

"For your love. Your husband?" asked the woman, still smiling. She pointed down the row, and Kagome turned to see a tall, dark-haired man watching her. He didn't look away, but met her eyes as his own glittered with interest.

Kagome blushed. He was handsome. It had been a long time since any man had looked at her like that. "Oh, no," she said, shaking her head. "These are for... for my brother."

"Ah." The farmer's wife nodded with a grim fold between her eyebrows, and Kagome realized that she was being marked as an old and unfortunate maid. "But someday, you might meet a man to marry!" the woman added, seeing the miko's hesitation. Her eyes flashed towards the stranger again.

Kagome gave the well-meaning woman a small smile. "For now, at least, my brother needs me." She tapped the mushrooms in her basket. "Thank you."

"Yes, come back soon. We will have more," the woman said, grinning again.

The miko nodded and wandered off, suppressing the sigh at the back of her throat. The man who had been watching her was nowhere to be seen, and she wallowed in self-pity as she made her way through the rest of market. Every woman - married or single, young or old - said the same thing the farmer's wife had when they discovered she did not have a husband. And she always answered in the same way - she had Sesshoumaru.

And she had her curse. She wasn't sure which was the bigger barrier to the prospect of ever having a normal relationship with a normal man.

The shadows of the columns shortened, and Kagome decided to turn back home and forget her own woes. If Sesshoumaru expected her to cook dinner and present livable quarters to his guest, she would need to hurry. It seemed ridiculous - she and Sesshoumaru didn't need to eat to sustain their lives, although they did, because hovering on the edge of starving was quite uncomfortable. Still, they skipped meals quite often and cooking a meal for three was something she hadn't done in several years. It wouldn't do to forget how to make a proper soup though, and she quickened her pace.

She walked past the eight columns of the Temple of Saturn and joined the masses moving into the smaller avenues leading out of the Forum. It grew more and more crowded, and eventually, Kagome was forced to come to a stop. Groans of wholehearted displeasure went up in front of her, and she listened carefully - a man up ahead was raving and drawing angry retorts from the crowd.

"Galileo again," muttered someone close to her.

"When he's excommunicated, these fools who worship him instead of the one, true God will learn!" snarled another.

Kagome resisted the urge to lord her superior knowledge over the people around her. Her goods would soon be crushed, and besides, the old astronomer would be proven right eventually. Declaring her support of the idea that the sun revolved around the earth would only get her arrested and thrown in front of the Inquisition, alongside Galileo and the man advocating for him up ahead. She was fairly certain Sesshoumaru wouldn't appreciate the peaceful protest if it required a jail break. He really wouldn't appreciate his supposed sister being branded as a heretical idiot who couldn't keep her mouth shut. The majority of Galileo's most rabid supporters at least had that much sense - present protester excluded, naturally.

And so, to avoid the raging ignorance mounting around her, the short miko was forced to wade through the thick of the crowd. Enduring her fair share of swears, she finally reached the narrow alleyway that opened up between the buildings.

She took a deep breath as soon as she was free of the mob. No one would follow her, she was certain - the alleys, even so close to the center of the city and in the daylight, were not safe. Not for mortal beings, anyway - but since when could they hurt her? What kept her from marrying a human also kept her safe, and Kagome decided she would rather face a few scrawny thieves than the crush of people in the street. She set off to find an exit.

The sun, despite being nearly overhead, did not extend its golden fingertips this far. The tiled roofs of the houses almost touched, and she found herself wandering through a musty darkness. She could hear cats - what she hoped were cats - padding their way across the terra cotta tiles above her, almost certainly drawn by the smell of the chicken in her basket.

Kagome passed a hand over her brow when she came to an intersection. Onward, to the right or to the left? Left, she decided, reasoning that it was roughly the direction of home.

But she was forced to change direction twice more, and soon, Kagome was completely turned around. Without the sun to guide her, she had little idea where she lived or even how to get back to the Forum. She tried to find a way out, but only managed to discover a dead end.

The miko contemplated the wall that reached up four stories high and tapped her foot. "Should've brought breadcrumbs," she muttered.

A sudden prickling of the hairs on her neck told her that she should turn around and face whoever it was that stood behind her. If it had been Sesshoumaru, he would already be mocking her for getting lost in the back alleys of Rome. If it had been someone harmless, they would have made a noise. And yet, she felt no pull in her heart or her stomach - that uncomfortably welcoming feeling she had when she encountered the shape-shifters.

And so, she turned. If not harmless, they could not harm her, and that was an important distinction to make.

"You followed me. I should have known better," she said to the dark-haired man from the market, who stood where the alley hooked around the corner. The spark of interest in his eyes had not faded, but in the dim light, it was no longer flattering to have it bestowed upon her.

"This isn't very wise, you know," she said, her voice surprisingly steady. The knife at his side was inconsequential, really, but she still thought of how much blood she might lose. It was a narrow alley, and although she would live, she had to get past him.

The man advanced in silence. Kagome stood her ground, her hands wrapped around the handle of her basket. "This is pointless," she said, trying to intimidate him with her calm just as much as he intimidated her with his. "I don't even have any money." Her eyes swept over his well-dressed form, and she realized that money was probably not his object. Although it had not occurred to her before, the idea that he was after what some perverse men wanted from unwilling women crossed her mind in a flash of hot fear.

She took a step back. She would wait until he was close, she decided, and then unbalance him somehow before running for it. He was tall and thin, but didn't look nearly as strong as Sesshoumaru. He could be knocked down more easily than a stout man. Simple, right? The knife didn't matter, she reminded herself. It would hurt, but it would heal soon enough. As for any other possibilities - well, they weren't possibilities yet.

Her muscles began to tense - he was drawing near. Kagome couldn't help but press her eyes shut for a moment as he lifted the hand that held the blade.

She opened her eyes again and looked at her silent assailant, preparing to crash into him. The knife was pointing towards her - directly at her chest, instead of raised high above his head. This would be painful, she realized, but she had no time to rethink her plan.

But just as she bent her knees to spring forward, a dark shape rose from behind the mortal man. Claws wrapped around his throat and tore across the soft flesh like paper in one quick, vicious movement. Blood sprang from the wound and splattered Kagome on her face while her would-be murderer gurgled and grasped at his own attacker. But the jugular was severed, and it took only a brief moment for the human to die, still suspended on the demon's claws.

The youkai tossed the body behind him, where it rolled over and came to a stop. The knife had already clattered to the ground next to Kagome's basket, but she didn't move to retrieve it. "What did you do?" she shrieked.

A pink tongue flickered out of his mouth to clean his bloody claws. "Such gratitude," said the brown-haired, blue-eyed demon. He spoke in Japanese, as she had, but the German accent was recognizable.

"But you killed him! He couldn't have hurt me!"

His eyebrow raised. "Oh? Are you so sure?"

"Yes!" The fear of rape came back to her mind, but Kagome continued to glare at the unfamiliar youkai. "I knew what I was doing!"

The demon took a step towards the miko, pausing when her powers flared around her, creating a corona of pink light that was visible in the dark shadows of the alley. "That wouldn't have worked on him," he said, gesturing to the barrier, but keeping well away from it himself.

"Don't come closer. You're a demon, and you just killed a human, regardless of what he was trying to do to me!"

The demon cocked his head and gave her a grin that lacked all tenderness. "He said you were too trusting of your own kind."

Kagome blinked as the barrier sputtered and died. "He? He, who?"

"Miko, do not ask foolish questions."

She edged around the plain-looking demon to see Sesshoumaru strolling towards them. "You know this guy?"

The taiyoukai glanced at his companion. "This is Brandt. He is the Countess Gisela's cousin and advisor." He paused near the body of the human male and frowned. "I thought we had agreed to let him live. Briefly, at least."

"You knew him too?" Kagome's eyes were wide.

They ignored her. "I followed for some time on the roof. I expected he would say something to her, but he advanced quite fast. It was a choice between letting the girl go through considerable pain or saving her from it." Brandt glanced back at Kagome and sniffed. "Perhaps I should have chosen differently."

"What is going on here?" the miko demanded.

Sesshoumaru leaned over the corpse and pulled a necklace out from under the dead man's doublet, breaking the chain with ease. The pendant was large and silver, and when Kagome stepped closer, she could see that one side depicted a man stringing a large bow. It spun in Sesshoumaru's grip, and she saw the same man blinded a cyclops with a spear on the other side. "Odysseus?" She frowned at the dog demon. "I don't understand."

The taiyoukai straightened and pocketed the pendant. "And that is the way it will remain," he said, as Brandt gave a slight nod.

"I doubt he could have told us anything beyond what we know already." He flicked one claw towards at the miko. "Why haven't you taught her how to fight?"

"Hello, right here!" Kagome said, waving a hand.

Sesshoumaru shrugged with one shoulder. "What is the point? She lives forever, and if we encounter the shape-shifters, I will fight them alone. She could never amount to my skill and therefore, would only hinder me." He looked at the body once again and missed Kagome's venomous glare. "She does not need to concern herself with these mortals, after all."

Kagome set her hands on her hips. "Now, listen to me for a second!" she snapped, so loudly that birds could be heard fluttering away from the rooftops above them. "That guy just tried to kill me! I think I have a right to know about this. I've figured out the general picture anyway, so what's the harm in filling in the details? And if you tell me it's none of my concern, I swear to the kami, I will fry the both of you!"

"Can she actually do that?" Brandt asked, looking at the dog demon.

Sesshoumaru gave a look to the miko that would have frightened most battle-hardened soldiers, but she returned it with her own harsh stare. "Yes," he said shortly. "Although it would be extremely unwise of her to do so."

"Well, I think it's a pretty fair reaction to the fact that whatever you've been hiding from me almost got me sliced into little bits!" Kagome growled. "Now, tell me what's going on!"

The taiyoukai's eye twitched. "You do not have to live with her for eternity," he muttered.

Brandt took a deep breath. "As you wish, my lord," he replied. "But perhaps we should go somewhere else to discuss this?"

Kagome took a deep breath. "Our place is close, isn't it?" She gestured to the corpse without looking at it. "Shouldn't we hide that?"

"It will be clear what has happened to him when he does not return," Sesshoumaru replied. "You should not walk through the streets looking as you do."

She knew what he was talking about, and she went to her fallen basket to retrieve the square of cloth she kept at the bottom. The beautiful mushroom were lying in the dirt, and she pushed one more aside before grabbing the fabric and wiping the blood off of her face and neck. The spatter on her dress had seeped into the dark gray cloth and no longer had the bright red shine of fresh blood, although she could still smell its coppery scent.

"We're moving again, aren't we?" Kagome murmured as she finished.

"Yes." The edge in his voice told her that he blamed her for the situation entirely. He turned and nodded towards the bend of the alleyway. "Go. Retrace your steps until you are able to take a left. That will lead you to back to the street. We will be following."

Kagome nodded and walked away - behind her, Brandt and Sesshoumaru talked in sotto tones.

Her fingers still tingled with the power she had summoned - the first time since the encounter with the shape-shifters in India. She had let them lie dormant for too long, and when she had finally brought them to the surface, she had directed it towards Sesshoumaru and an apparent ally. "Idiot," she murmured. "He'll kill you the next time. And for good reason. Who wants an unstable miko around?"

She had certainly used her trump card for the first and last time. Sesshoumaru would be grievously injured if she used her power against him, but he could still push aside most spiritual attacks. She suspected he avoided it only because being singed was not entirely convenient. Same went for why he was willing to tell her this tremendous secret he now carried - he just didn't feel like putting up with the consequences of not telling her. If Kagome had been in a better mood, she would have laughed at the way the taiyoukai had surrendered to the threat of an eternity of her complaints. Oh, the sway a woman might have over the most powerful of males!

Turning where he had told her to turn, Kagome found herself only a few dozen yards from the street where their apartment stood. She flushed when a soft chuckle came from overhead. If she had only gone the other direction, she wouldn't have been trapped with that man. Maybe he would have lived.

Although, from what she had seen, Brandt was not about to give charity to any human. Including her.

She trooped down the street, deciding this little powwow with the strange demon and an annoyed Sesshoumaru wasn't promising a lot of laughs, and she might as well get it over with. When she reached the door of the apartment she and the taiyoukai shared, she didn't wait for them. They were inside already - waiting at the kitchen table as if they had stayed in the cool room all morning. Brandt was inspecting his now blunt fingernails - he had a mastery of a concealment spell that even Sesshoumaru did not have. Sesshoumaru was gazing out the window from his seat.

Kagome closed the door behind her and crossed the room without a glance towards either demon. The basket had been left behind in the alley, along with all of the food she had bought that morning, but she sliced a loaf of bread and some crumbly cheese that she kept under a damp cloth. The grapes she had bought two days ago were slightly wilted from the heat, but she put them out anyway, next to a dish of jet black olives. She poured each of them a glass of wine and sat down at the end of the table, folding her arms on top of the wood.

Sesshoumaru nodded towards Brandt, and the brown-haired demon pulled a sheet of vellum from his sleeve, flattening it in front of her. Kagome leaned forward over the strange little markings. "I can't read this."

Brandt snorted. "Of course, you can't. It is our language," he replied. He ran his finger down the list. "These are the clans that have been wiped out in the past few decades. By humans." There was a viciousness to his tone that made her want to run, to cower in the corner.

But she looked at him instead. "I'm sorry. I don't know how many demons there are on the Continent. Is this a lot?" There was a soft breath from her other side, and she turned to Sesshoumaru. "You know how it was in Japan. Sango was a demon slayer. Monks and priestesses killed demons too."

"That was an ongoing war. This," Sesshoumaru bit out, sweeping one hand over the parchment, "is an extermination."

She looked again. "How many are in a clan?"

"Depends," Brandt muttered. "A few dozen, usually. Sometimes smaller. Sometimes larger. These are the ones we know about." His tongue ran over his fangs as he studied her. "Don't you care? I was under the impression that you were overly emotional about such things."

"Wonder where you got that idea," she murmured, her eyes flickering over to Sesshoumaru's impassive expression. "Of course, I care. I care a lot. But I'm confused."

Sesshoumaru drew out the pendant he had taken from the human's body and placed it atop the vellum. "The Order of Odysseus. You recognized him?"

"Odysseus? Sure." She tapped the side that was showing. "He was in the Trojan War, and on the way back, he got lost. He wandered for years and years with his crew, but eventually he was the only one left. His wife, Penelope, had to fend off all these suitors. This is him when he got back. He was disguised, and he defeated all the suitors with the bow that he could only bend. It's all in The Odyssey. I had to read it in my literature class in school. It's a classic. Even now, in this time."

Brandt was frowning, but Sesshoumaru ignored his confusion. He flipped the pendant over. "You left out significant portions of the tale."

Kagome nodded. "Oh, well, he had lots of adventures while he was trying to get home. This is the Cyclops that he blinded, but he also tricked gods, went to the Underworld, fell in with a sorceress. That sort of thing."

"He was known for defeating creatures greater than him," the taiyoukai said, his eyes flashing. "They laud him for his trickery."

The miko ran her finger over the edge of the pendant. "So they're after you? This Order of Odysseus? They want to kill demons?"

"Yes."

"All of them?"

"Yes."

"Even the ones... well, the ones that don't hurt anyone?" She glanced at Brandt. "Unless they have to?"

"Yes."

Kagome paused for a moment. "Are they good at it?"

"Exceedingly."

She swallowed. Brandt sneered and pushed back his chair, letting it scrape harshly against the stone floor. "I think she's beginning to realize the problem."

"Do they - does he - know about us?" she asked.

Sesshoumaru frowned. "The countess and Brandt became aware of our curse when you were observed as remaining untouched by time, and when I recovered from injuries more quickly than any other demon could. As for the Order, I cannot say. Probably not. Not yet, that is."

"What do you know about them?" She felt a bit dizzy, but she would not show weakness in front of the dangerous demon to her right. Brandt had obviously acquiesced to this meeting out of deference to Sesshoumaru, but he hated her. She wondered which of the little markings on the parchment had made him hate humans so much, or if it was all of them. It didn't matter, she decided.

"We know little," Sesshoumaru said. "They are cowards and lurk in the shadows. You are the first one they have attacked in daylight for some time."

"And alone," added Brandt. "They usually send teams of their killers. They exterminated most of the weaker demons a long time ago."

Kagome's mouth dropped open a little. "They think I'm a demon?"

"Of course. They have been watching the two of you for some time. While they cannot know the cause, it is hard not to notice that you are the same as you were in England. And, of course, you were accompanied by a known demon." He shrugged. "They assumed you were a demon as well. They are cowards and fools."

"Still, they aren't unsuccessful if it has Sesshoumaru's attention," she murmured. "What else do you know?"

Brandt smiled that predatory smile of his again. "We do not know where their base is, who they are, how they are organized or even how they learned of our existence. We have no idea how they track us, although we have guessed that they have people like you on their side - magic users to seek us out. They rarely talk and the few that have been captured know nothing but their contempt for us. The only thing that is clear is that you were attacked by possibly the only organization in these lands for which religion doesn't matter. Protestant. Catholic. They all hate us equally." He leaned forward again and leered at her stricken expression. "Unity is so easy when you hate something as much as they do."

Kagome avoided his eyes. She knew instinctively what Brandt was - what the countess must be too, if they were really cousins. The heat of his ire was not just emotional, but physical. The wood underneath her fingers was growing warm. His disguise was slipping, and out of the corner of her eye, she could see his hair turning crimson. A fire demon. "I guess you've set up some sort of organization to combat this Order of Odysseus?" she asked.

"The countess leads Echidna's Alliance against them, yes," Sesshoumaru replied. "Youkai from all over the world have joined, although most of them are in Europe. As the Order's influence spreads, however, so must the Alliance."

Echidna. The mother of all demons. If Kagome remembered her mythology correctly, Echidna survived the death of many of her children and her mate. It was fitting. "I want to help."

Sesshoumaru almost smirked at the look of horror that passed over Brandt's face. "You?" the fire demon muttered. "You're human!"

"Not really. And even if I am, they think I'm a demon, and they're trying to kill me." She turned to Sesshoumaru. "And you. We promised to look out for each other, after all."

"That was not the precise oath we made," he replied.

"I know, but after all this time, I couldn't exactly let something happen to you," Kagome said. "Please, let me help."

Sesshoumaru ignored the soft noises of disgust coming from his male companion. "The greatest help you could be to our cause is information of the future."

Brandt sat up straight. "She is a seer?"

"No," Kagome said, and neither she nor Sesshoumaru offered any more explanation. She took a breath. "Are you sure?"

His eyes narrowed. "You have been keeping your own secrets, miko."

She squirmed. "Maybe. I'm not sure. All I know is that in my time, there are no demons in Japan. Not in Edo. Any demon that I've seen there came from your time," she said. "I don't know about other places in the world, but most people think that demons aren't real and never were. They're just creatures from old fairy tales, told to children."

The sound of splintering wood came from Brandt's direction, but Kagome kept her eyes on Sesshoumaru, who sat still and quiet for some time. "Then they are successful," he said at last.

"I didn't say that," the miko said immediately.

"We cannot easily hide from those that can sense our auras. Have you ever sensed one?"

She shook her head. "No, but Edo is so much bigger these days. There are so many distractions."

Sesshoumaru was silent, and she leaned forward slightly. "Maybe you just learn to hide more effectively?" she suggested.

It was the wrong thing to say. Sesshoumaru overturned the sturdy table as if it were made of paper. Kagome's knuckles turned white as she gripped her chair, trying not to flee. "Hide?" he growled. "Hide from you humans?"

She stood slowly. "You don't understand. You can't understand. You know the guns that humans use today. Those are nothing, Sesshoumaru! You think demons are so fast and so strong. There are weapons from my time that could kill thousands of youkai with the touch of a button. Tenseiga would be a joke." Kagome shook her head. "There are six billion humans in my time. Six billion, and they're everywhere! You want hope? You have to pray that you can hide at all! It's your only chance!"

Sesshoumaru's jaw clenched. The moment of unrestrained rage seemed to have passed as quickly as it came. "Six billion?"

"And counting."

"Like cockroaches," snarled Brandt.

"Actually, I think there's a lot more of those," Kagome said, receiving a quick glare from both youkai. "But... I see the comparison."

She turned away from the two shell-shocked youkai and went to the window. Sesshoumaru joined her sooner than she would have expected. "Are they gone?" he asked. "Or are they hiding?"

"I don't know."

"I will not allow my kind to be exterminated like vermin," he said.

"They can't kill us," she pointed out. "I mean, you'll always be around."

"Unless the shape-shifters kill us," Sesshoumaru replied. "Or if we kill each other."

Kagome nodded, a smile touching the corners of her lips. "Well, maybe we can amend our promises a bit. I won't kill you. You won't kill me. We'll look out for each other. Not just to protect the world from ourselves, but us from the world. And I'll do whatever I can to help youkai survive." The smile spread. "We are, after all, brother and sister."

"Do not be ridiculous," the taiyoukai muttered. "And your plan has little merit. Eventually, we must become enemies. Humans always fight youkai in the end."

The miko lifted a brow. "That's premature. You haven't seen the end yet."

"I suppose you are correct."

They stood, looking out the window at the blank, terra cotta wall of the building across the road. Brandt was shuffling around behind them, setting the table upright again, but moving with a deliberate silence that let them know he was listening to every word.

Kagome shifted her weight. "So, we're still together on this?"

Sesshoumaru ran his tongue over the points of his fangs. "It is probably the best course of action at this time."

The miko smiled again. "Alright." She leaned against the windowsill and looked down at the street. "Where are we going now? You said they usually send groups, but that man was alone. They thought that, separated from you, I was weak, and they only sent him. When he doesn't come back, they'll send more. Our greatest advantage is that they don't know about our immortality."

"I agree." He turned to the fire demon, who was now leaning against the chair he had previously broken. "We will go north."

Brandt lifted his head. "Then you will work with us, as the countess wishes?"

"For as long as I am able," Sesshoumaru replied. "I have other responsibilities that will present themselves in time."

"We understand that," the other demon said. He bowed his head. "I will escort you to our base, of course."

Sesshoumaru considered his offer for a moment. "Am I to understand that you are inviting us to remain at the Alliance's base for some time?"

Brandt's lips almost flickered into a smile. "The countess could have sent someone else. That was my final task - to ask you to return with me." He glanced at Kagome, and amusement died. "Gisela knew that the miko would not allow you to come alone. I have been asked to give assurances for her safety, although it is not necessary, considering your curse."

"We can still be hurt," Kagome muttered.

"And if anyone attempts to do so, I'm certain the countess will understand if you purify them," Sesshoumaru added, still looking at Brandt.

Kagome tamped down the urge to roll her eyes. She knew it wasn't about her - Sesshoumaru would simply see it as an affront to his own honor to have her injured. He would feel the same about a particularly fine riding horse. "I'm sure that won't be necessary."

Brandt bowed in recognition, if not with a bit of hesitation. "We need to leave tonight. I will return at dark."

Sesshoumaru saw him to the door and shut it behind him before any of the oppressive heat could worm its way inside. The tension in the room seemed to slither out of the room as well, and when the taiyoukai turned back to Kagome, he found her head bent forward. "What are you mourning?"

"Besides the obvious?" she asked, looking up with a watery gaze. "I... I'm not sure. I guess it's hard to leave again."

"We could come back to Italy," Sesshoumaru replied. "But we must wait until it is no longer full of members of the Order."

Kagome nodded. "Are there really that many here?"

Sesshoumaru gave her a pointed look. "We do not know. But it is speculated that Rome may be a base of operations for the Order, and so we must leave."

"I understand. You didn't mention those rumors earlier though."

The taiyoukai let out a soft breath. "Brandt did not wish for you to know. I do not share all of his concerns."

She brightened a bit. "Are you saying that you trust me, Sesshoumaru?"

He leaned back against the door, looking complacent, but years of constant companionship revealed his discomfort to Kagome. "I already informed you that I believe we may one day turn against each other," he said. "However, we have fought together. If we continue on our present path, I would imagine that we will fight side by side again."

Her heart suddenly swelled with amusement, pushing out the worries that had plagued her minutes ago. "So is that a 'yes'?"

Sesshoumaru frowned. "Take it as you will."

The miko laughed under her breath. "Well, if nothing else, I feel better. I think we'll be fine, here or anywhere." She glanced around their small apartment and noted the satchels and trunks still full of their belongings. They never did have time to unpack after arriving. "I don't think we'll take very long to get ready, even if we are leaving tonight."

"Then pack our essentials, and I will take you to dinner at the inn."

Kagome looked up. "Really? Why would you do that?"

"You would prefer to eat the food that you spilled in the alleyway? I would be glad to retrieve it for you. Or perhaps you would like to go without food immediately before a long journey?"

"Smart ass," she muttered with a roll of her eyes. She wagged a finger in his direction as she crossed the room to gather her most precious possessions - including the blue silk sari from Surat - from her room. "I'm going to order the most expensive thing on the menu for that."

"I would not have expected otherwise, regardless of my acting like a 'smart ass'," he replied, his tone telling her exactly what he thought of her crude words. He lifted his chin, preparing for her retort.

Instead, Kagome paused in the doorway of her bedroom and smiled at him over her shoulder. "Thank you, Sesshoumaru."

He nodded, and they each went to pack up their things.

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A/N: Well, I know the wasn't very Christmas-y, but I do hope you accept it as your present! Merry Christmas (since that one's tomorrow) and all the other holidays you can possibly name! Heck, throw in holidays from April if you want.

Here are a few little tidbits for you:

1. Ijin has written another between-chapters fic, which is now collectively called "Besides" for this story - she's done one for India and her knowledge of the country makes it so real, it's fabulous. Go to her story here (remove the spaces!) and give her some love: http ://www.fanfiction .net/s/4518310/2 /Besides

2. This fic tied for 2nd place for Best AU/AR and won 3rd place for Best Drama in the IYFG's 3rd quarter! Kisses and hugs to everyone that made this happen and congrats to all the other winners!

3. Speaking of the Inuyasha Fan Guild, does everyone know that I am one of the mods? I don't know if I've mentioned it, but it's a wonderful resource to find and honor stories! Just Google it and find our website - then join! We'd love to have you.

4. Also connected with the IYFG - the group has a new LiveJournal community called iy_fanguild. Go and add us to your watch list! You can find me individually there too, under my second name, ReplicantAngel.

5. I'm going to start posting drabbles and one-shots and such on LJ, mostly as parts of the contests of the IY communities I've joined. I'll be adding all of them to FFN, the Sess/Kag ones to Dokuga, but I'm not sure about dA. The one-shots, sure, but drabbles might look a bit silly being all separated, since there's no chapter feature on dA. I'll ponder it. In the meantime, The Cricket's Cage collection on FFN will be updated once again after ages of being neglected with these stories, and I might start another collection that's much more targeted to perhaps a certain favorite couple of mine. ;)

6. Someone who identified themselves only as "D." wanted me to put them on their mailing list. Unfortunately, FFN's ridiculous censor cut off half of your email address, and there was no other way to contact you! So D, if you're out there, send me a note or something on any one of my sites/pages/whatever, and I'll add you!

7. History tidbit about this time - Galileo just went on trial for saying that the Earth revolved around the sun (instead of the other way around, which went along with the whole "the Earth is the center of all" thing). Pope Urban VIII, or Muffeo Barberini (his birth name), was a one-time supporter of Galileo and then turned on him. It didn't make him a very popular pope (along with starting an exceedingly ill-advised war), despite the fact that he didn't have most of the other pesky habits that popes had around this time, like fathering illegitimate children and then giving them important political positions, regardless of their competence. As for Galileo, he retracted his claims but spent the rest of his life under house arrest, going blind but also penning another great written work that had nothing to do with heliocentricism.

Whew. That's enough of that. I'm sure I've forgotten something, but I hope not. If I have, shake me and tell me. Until next time, then!