InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Entrapment: A 21st Century Adventure ❯ Decisions, Decisions ( Chapter 9 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: King Baka 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Adventure / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 07.22.2011 | Pages: 3 | Words: 7.7K | Visits: 1.3K | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Adventure / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 07.22.2011 | Pages: 3 | Words: 7.7K | Visits: 1.3K | Status: Work In Progress
Disclaimer: I don’t own Inuyasha or any of the publicly known characters, plot, etc. I’m just renting them from Rumiko Takahashi, Viz, etc. I do own the plot of this story and any original characters I’ve created. I will make no money from this fic; I write for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of my readers.
Decisions, Decisions
Yoshida stood, arms folded over his chest, glowering at his men like a disgruntled drill sergeant. This was not the military, but observing the scene, Sasaki doubted that fact brought any comfort to the five men currently under their leader’s scathing glare. Yamazaki was out of the dog house, but only because his four companions had sunk to his level of incompetence. There simply wasn’t enough room to keep all of them in there.
“Well, I hope you idiots are happy,” Yoshida snapped. “Do you morons even know how much money just strolled out our fucking door?”
“We’ll get him back, boss,” one of the lackeys hedged quietly.
“Oh, we’ll definitely try. But the point is that we shouldn’t even be in this position. How incompetent do you have to be to shoot at a caged animal and fucking miss?! You know what I should have done is have you put the hanyou down as soon as Kagome escaped. My fault for believing you four jackasses could handle it if she showed up here. How did she find this damn place anyway?”
When Yoshida glanced in his direction, Sasaki shrugged. “My guess would be that she somehow sensed him using those miko powers of hers.”
“And why didn’t we know about that ability beforehand?” Yoshida growled testily.
Sasaki grimaced inwardly. Great, now he’s going to try to blame me! “That sort of skill is not exactly easy to test. She didn’t tell us she had such a strong connection with Inuyasha when we questioned her. Perhaps she was not even aware of it.”
Yoshida scowled, but Sasaki got the impression that he had succeeded in wriggling himself off the hook. In reality, he was probably the person least at fault for this mess, Yoshida included. Not that he dared to actually voice that thought.
“That’s the last time we underestimate that damn girl,” Yoshida snarled, glaring at Yamazaki, who gulped. “Alright,” he continued, switching to a more upbeat gear, “let’s get to work on catching our hanyou. We’re gonna have to call in reinforcements, and their compensation is coming out of your shares. Anybody got a problem with that?” He let the submissive silence linger for a moment. “Good. I want you to start brainstorming now. Where are they going to go? What are they going to do? What do they need to survive? Somebody activate the bug we put on the Higurashi phone line. Let’s hack into some security cameras in the city and see if we can’t spot them. I want someone keeping an eye on the news for reports of ‘Crimson Cat’ sightings in other cities…”
This went on for several minutes, with Yoshida doing most of the talking. But Sasaki thought they were missing something, one possible option nobody seemed to be considering—walking away. Recapturing Inuyasha would be much more difficult this time now that they lacked the element of surprise. The hanyou knew exactly what they were capable of, and they did not have the option of camping out at Kagome’s school and waiting for him. The only place they could assume with reasonable certainty that he’d show up was the well at the Higurashi shrine, but who knew how long it would take him to get there. Ultimately, their odds of success were substantially lower than before, even with the extra help Yoshida was bringing in. This realization made the thought of simply walking away all the more appealing. They were already in deep, but not inextricably so. Even if she could identify them, Kagome would never report them to the authorities for fear of exposing Inuyasha to the world. Perhaps cutting and running truly was the best course of action.
And yet, he couldn’t do it. He wasn’t driven by money like Yoshida and his lackeys, but by the prospect of worldwide recognition and acclaim. Inuyasha was, to put it simply, one of the greatest scientific discoveries of the past several centuries. He could not abandon the dream of bringing that spectacular prize to light. Resuming his old life, forsaking his aspirations of glory after having come so close to achieving them, would be impossible. Decision made, Sasaki refocused on the discussion at hand, and realized he could still contribute to the search effort.
“Excuse me,” he interjected. Yoshida glared at him, a look which sent a chill down Sasaki’s spine. It was not the anger of an interrupted man raging in those eyes. No, those dark green orbs reflected only cold venom, like a snake staring at a helpless mouse just before striking. It was as though the mercenary was daring him to say anything against his orders, or disagree with him in any way. Sasaki’s gaze drifted down to the knife on Yoshida’s belt, and he gulped as the memory of his close encounter with the blade surfaced in his mind. Then the malice was gone, and Sasaki was left wondering if he hadn’t been seeing things. Still, he was eternally grateful that he had decided against suggesting an abandonment of the endeavor.
“What is it?” Yoshida demanded sharply.
“I…uh, I was thinking about what you said earlier. Inuyasha is so recognizable now that Kagome won’t be able to bring him into civilization until he changes his appearance. She’ll probably try to buy clothing and other supplies with the money they took from your wallets. After that, we know they’ll most likely head to Tokyo, specifically the old well on the Higurashi shrine that apparently serves as a portal to the past. We should put some people at the well to stop any attempt to go through.”
Yoshida nodded, seemingly surprised that the academic had something useful to say. The discussion resumed, incorporating the new ideas into the planning. It was decided that Yamazaki would head over to the mall and watch for Kagome. They lacked the manpower to scope out all the possible shopping destinations in Morioka, but that seemed the most likely place for her to appear. At the mall she could find everything she might possibly need for the journey back to Tokyo.
Sasaki sighed in relief, but still could not drive away the sinking feeling which had settled in his gut. The way Yoshida had looked at him just now made him quite nervous indeed. He and the mercenary had been grating against each other since Kagome’s capture; perhaps Yoshida had finally decided that he was no longer of enough use to warrant keeping around—or alive. Yoshida had not betrayed him on any of their past expeditions to Central America, but the stakes had never been nearly this high before. Sasaki did not overestimate his worth to Yoshida, and his co-conspirator was certainly capable of both treachery and murder. It was something to think about as things moved forward, and always keep in mind. He hoped the day did not come when he would have to choose between his own life and his glory, but if that day came, he would be ready for it.
How they had come to be in this position was an interesting tale. Once they had reached the forest, it had only taken Kagome a few minutes to realize that this wasn’t going to be like camping out in the feudal era. She was without all of the amenities she took with her to the past, like a sleeping bag, pajamas, food, or matches. Inuyasha offered to go hunting after hearing the growling of both their stomachs, but she declined. She was feeling ‘clingy,’ for lack of a better word, and hadn’t wanted to separate from him for even that purpose. Besides, a fire would have to be made using an arcane friction-based method, and it all seemed like too much unnecessary work. Inuyasha was scarier than anything in these woods, and twenty-four hours without eating wouldn’t kill her. In addition, a fire might be noticed in this time period, especially if they happened to be camping out on private property.
As darkness settled across the land, and the night’s chill began to caress her skin, Kagome questioned her decision. Inuyasha went up in a tree, ostensibly to keep watch, leaving her all alone at the base. Her bare legs soon erupted in goose bumps and shivers swept down her spine. When her teeth started chattering, Inuyasha’s haori fell from the sky. She really wanted him to take her up to his perch with him, but accepted the makeshift blanket gratefully. Inuyasha could be quite shy when it came to physical contact, and she worried about upsetting him if she asked for anything more. So she resolved to get through this unpleasant night without protest. The haori at least stopped her shivering. But between her empty stomach, her almost vertical position, the uncomfortable bark at her back, that damn owl hooting loudly from a few trees over, and the dozens of hopefully imaginary insects crawling over her legs and face, sleep was impossible. In short, she was absolutely miserable.
She didn’t know how long Inuyasha let her suffer down there, perhaps a half hour or so. Knowing him, he had probably been awake the whole time debating with himself whether to do anything else to ease her discomfort. Finally, his conscience and concern for her apparently won out over his reservations. He suddenly appeared in front of her, his golden eyes glowing in the dappled moonlight. They were guarded, revealing no emotion. Then he scooped her up in his arms and leapt up to his branch, settling against the trunk and depositing her between his legs. Kagome hadn’t said anything, knowing he would appreciate the silence, but she was sure he could smell her relief and gratitude. She had fallen sound asleep soon after.
Even now, she didn’t hold the delay against him. She understood how uncomfortable things like this made him feel. It was so much more intimate than riding or even napping on his back. At least she didn’t have to feel jealousy over his reticence; she was sure he had never held Kikyou in such a manner. In fact, that was probably a big part of why he’d been so reluctant in the first place. Pushing thoughts of the undead miko from her mind, Kagome resolved to enjoy the moment. Especially since those damn birds continued to make what seemed now an insistent, unholy racket. Eventually, after her stomach rumbled yet again, she gave up.
Inuyasha was gazing lazily at her when she sat up, seemingly much more relaxed than he was last night. The muscles in his chest and stomach had been tense indeed, but now their close proximity didn’t seem to bother him at all. She shook her head; Inuyasha was funny like that. Perhaps he had secretly enjoyed sleeping with her? As nice as that thought was, she knew it would be a mistake to ask him. Instead, she settled on something simpler.
“Good morning, Inuyasha.”
“Hm,” he grunted drowsily in reply, causing Kagome to smile warmly. Her hanyou was a regular model of tranquility.
“Thank you for letting me sleep up here. My bed in Sasaki’s house was really comfortable, but…that was the best I’ve slept in a long time.”
Inuyasha’s eyes came fully open at that statement, and his cheeks flushed noticeably. “K-keh. You wouldn’t have been good for much if you’d stayed awake all night.”
Kagome recognized an old defense mechanism when she saw one, and let the comment go. His actions and demeanor told her everything she needed to know about why he’d done what he did, and how he felt about it. Feeling the sudden and urgent call of nature, she leaned over and glanced toward the ground. Yep, much too high to jump.
“Um, can you let me down? I need to go to the bathroom.”
She squeaked in surprise as Inuyasha looped an arm around her waist and dropped out of the tree, setting her on her feet. He watched as she scurried into the bushes, then turned and unfastened his hakama so he could relieve his own bladder. He sighed as his urine streamed onto the forest floor, leaning his head back and closing his eyes.
It had been an interesting night, to say the least. He had hated that Kagome was uncomfortable, but for awhile his nerves got the better of him. He worried about the stupidest little things, like not holding her correctly and making her afraid of falling, or getting an erection and causing untold mortification for both of them. He should have known better; all Kagome’s presence had done was lull him into the deepest, most restful sleep he’d ever had. Holding her as she slept had filled him with an overpowering sense of rightness, like this was where he was meant to be. He could almost believe they would spend each night for the rest of their lives slumbering in each other’s arms. His rational mind’s questioning of that observation had made the warmth of her body no less soothing, nor her scent any less sweet. Knowing that she enjoyed it just as much made it all the more special. He was a fool for denying them that closeness for even a moment.
As he readjusted his clothing, he couldn’t help but wonder about their future sleeping arrangements. He definitely wouldn’t mind sharing himself with her in that manner every night, as long as they were alone. But could he actually find the courage to tell her that? Eh, he would cross that bridge when they came to it. Perhaps the events of the day would make the decision for them. And this was sure to be a long, stressful day. Their first task would be figuring out what to do next. He hated that he had to rely on someone else for knowledge of his surroundings, but he felt so out of place here. At least it was Kagome in whom he had to place his trust. Hopefully between the two of them they could come up with a workable plan. Though from everything he understood of their situation, escaping from their captors might have been the easy part.
He frowned. How did Kagome get away? He hadn’t thought to ask before, but now he was curious. He heard her footsteps coming closer, and figured there was no time like the present to find out.
“Hey Kagome, how did you escape anyway?”
There was no reply, but the momentary hitch in her step told Inuyasha she’d heard him. As did the way she bit her lower lip when she came back into view.
“My guard was taking a nap, so I sort of just strolled out the front door,” she replied, shrugging in a poor attempt at nonchalance. Inuyasha folded his arms over his chest and glared at her sternly.
“You’re a terrible liar, wench.”
Kagome sighed. That wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth either. She swore under her breath; she had really been hoping to avoid telling Inuyasha the details of her breakout. But he was far too observant for that, and now that his interest was peaked, he’d never let her get away with anything but the truth. Still, it was probably a good idea to sugar coat it a little.
“You’re not going to like it.”
Inuyasha’s brow furrowed; now he had to know. “Just spit it out,” he ordered, managing to limit his tone to only a moderate degree of impatience.
“Well, Yamazaki was the only one guarding me, and I kind of…seduced him a little.”
“You WHAT?!!!”
Kagome cringed, but met his fervent gaze without shame. She had not made that decision on a whim, nor without good reason. Once Inuyasha got past his initial jealous rage, he would understand. She could help him out by explaining things calmly and refraining from joining the shouting match.
“I was trapped, Inuyasha. Yoshida had threatened to kill me if I tried to escape again, so I knew I would only get one more chance. I was locked on a third floor room with vicious dogs waiting outside and a trained killer downstairs. I had tried climbing out before and got caught. The only way I could escape was to put Yamazaki out of commission first. How else was I supposed to get him to let his guard down?”
As Kagome’s explanation sunk in, Inuyasha felt his racing heartbeat slow just slightly, some of the tension flowing from his clenched jaw. His first thought upon hearing her statement had been that she got desperate and took Yamazaki to bed to get him to let her go. But that was ridiculous; Kagome would never sleep with a strange man. At any rate, his nose would have told him if she had. And she apparently hadn’t done it out of desperation either; this was a calculated move, only executed as a last resort. As for how far she’d taken her deception, or rather, how far Yamazaki had taken it before giving her an opportunity to incapacitate him, a large part of him didn’t want to know. Especially with Kagome rubbing her arms before him as if cold, staring off to the side with a haunted look on her face.
“I didn’t want to do it,” she continued sadly, “but they were using me to hold you hostage, and I couldn’t think of another way to save us. I’m…I’m sorry.”
Inuyasha’s eyes widened at that. She’s apologizing to me? Why? And for the first time, he realized how irrationally furious he’d gotten. The thought of another man touching Kagome made his blood boil, sent protective rage surging through his system. This went far beyond concern for a friend; this was jealous, possessive even. He hadn’t always felt this way, and the emotions had only intensified as time went on. Though this was the first time he’d actually pondered what it all meant.
Not that he had any answers, especially not with his passions still so riled. He was royally pissed, but Kagome looked so troubled and alone that he couldn’t stay mad at her. Annoyed yes, but not angry. She seemed to be silently calling out to him, and he went to her, clutching her tightly to his chest.
“Don’t do anything that stupid ever again,” he scolded firmly. Kagome shook her head emphatically, and Inuyasha took a deep breath, allowing her scent, mixed with his own from the night, to soothe him. Kagome was with him, and he wasn’t going to lose her. What happened was as much his fault as hers; if he had protected her better, she wouldn’t have found herself in such a thorny situation, forced to appeal to the lecherous side of some perverted bastard. He was officially adding this Yamazaki guy to his shit list, taking advantage of a helpless girl—his girl—like that. Although, the mercenary had quickly discovered that Kagome wasn’t so helpless, hadn’t he? Inuyasha could only imagine what Kagome had looked and sounded like when she tried to make herself more attractive than she already was. If she started acting all charming and sexy…would he be able to resist? Would he even want to? Probably not, on both accounts. But she would never want to seduce him, let alone go further than that, so—
“I don’t want to do anything like that with anyone else,” she said quietly.
Whether she was reading his mind, or merely responding to his admonition, Kagome’s comment threw him for a loop. On its face, it would naturally be interpreted to mean she didn’t want to engage in sexual acts with anyone, the ‘else’ referring to Yamazaki. But something about her tone, the way the words rolled of her tongue with just a hint of sensuality, seemed to indicate that another interpretation was closer to the truth. Could ‘anyone else’ really have meant ‘anyone…except him?’
No, he had to be imagining things. Kagome wasn’t the kind of girl to throw away a kiss—probably her first—on a passing fancy, even for a young man who saved her behind on a regular basis. It was either real romance or nothing with her. So if she wanted to kiss him, or do whatever else ‘anything like that’ referred to, then she had to have romantic feelings for him. But how could she? Or better yet, why would she? She’d have to be nuts to fall in love with him. He was a mongrel half-breed who owned nothing more than a rusty sword and the clothes on his back. And, as she herself had pointed out on more than a few occasions, he was a rude, violent jerk. No woman in her right mind would want to be with him in that way.
And yet, he couldn’t quite seem to convince himself of the persuasiveness of that argument. After all, Kikyou had desired to live with him, though whether or not she had ever truly loved him he couldn’t say. Apparently two women of opposite personalities had fallen for him, one cold and rational to a fault even in life, the other passionate and rebellious, but unwaveringly loyal. She’s stayed with you all this time, even with all the crap you put her through. Do you really think she keeps coming back just to fulfill an obligation to complete the Shikon no Tama? As usual, that annoying voice inside his head could ask questions, and he could supply no answers. He knew Kagome so well, had such a strong friendship and connection with her, but her heart was cloaked. Occasionally he would catch glimpses of her true feelings, fleeting flashes that usually did nothing but tease and deepen his confusion. Perhaps this was one of those times.
He imagined his own heart appeared just as shrouded to her, especially since it was a mystery even to its owner. How could he hope to comprehend Kagome’s desires when he could not understand his own? It didn’t help that he had little experience with this sort of thing. Kikyou had taken the lead with their relationship, so he’d always had the benefit of knowing her feelings before making his mind up about something. Even her offer to live with him hadn’t really forced him to self-reflect beyond the fact that he was lonely and wouldn’t mind living with her. To this day he had never fully sorted out his romantic feelings for Kikyou. With Kagome, he didn’t even have that advantage and was constantly walking on eggshells. She pulled him in so many different directions every day that he usually didn’t know what to make of it all.
His lack of experience hindered him in another way as well. Truth be told, he had never really kissed anyone. Kikyou had certainly not been willing to engage in such conduct during her life, for several reasons. He didn’t count the one she had planted on him before trying to drag him to hell, since she had initiated it and he’d been more surprised than anything else. Other than that, the closest he’d come was the time he’d nearly kissed Kagome imagining her to be Kikyou shortly before the dead miko’s resurrection. He felt shame at that memory. How could he have confused the two of them for even a moment? They were completely different! He was glad Kagome had pushed him away. If he ever did kiss her, he wanted it to be real.
And here he was back on the original topic of his musings, the near impossible task of figuring out what each of them wanted. Hell, he couldn’t even decide if he wanted his interpretation of Kagome’s comment to be correct or complete bullshit. But when Kagome pulled away red-faced, gaze darting frantically anywhere but him, he was forced to come to terms with the truth. Her embarrassment could only mean one thing: she really did want to do…something with him. She had some genuine romantic feelings for him.
“I love Inuyasha!”
She had called that out, hadn’t she? Right before he burst in to rescue her from Naraku’s sadistic baby. He had honestly forgotten about that until now. It had been easy in the tumult of those days, after Kikyou’s apparent second death and during their hot pursuit of Naraku and his minions. And also because he hadn’t known what to make of Kagome’s declaration, with feelings of guilt toward both the women in his life clouding his already dubious judgment about such matters.
But now, armed with a clearer perspective on their relationship and even more evidence of Kagome’s feelings, he would not forget. He would remember how much he had missed her during their time apart, and how fulfilled he now felt with her by his side. He would keep the knowledge that she loved him close to his heart, and continue his journey of self-discovery, to eventually ascertain whether he returned her feelings.
For now, however, all of that needed to be put aside. They were in a tough spot, and nothing short of a full-focus effort would get them out of it. And so, Inuyasha pretended not to notice Kagome’s mortification, and turned the discussion to the task at hand.
“So what do we do from here?”
Kagome nodded, glad that Inuyasha had apparently not picked up on her little Freudian slip. As if this situation isn’t complicated enough without you blurting something like that out. Baka. But back to the topic at hand, she had thought a lot about their next course of action last night, and had come to a tentative decision. She was open to Inuyasha’s input, of course.
“Well, I suppose your average person in this position would immediately go to the police, but we obviously can’t do that.” Seeing Inuyasha’s ears lower, she hastily amended. “But then again, neither of us is exactly normal. The world thinks I’m dead, and your existence is merely an unproven myth. I think we should try to keep both of those things that way. So I guess the only thing we can do is try to make it back to the feudal era. At least we’ll be safe there.”
“But won’t they expect that?” Inuyasha asked. “And even if we do make it through the well, will you be able to return?”
“We have to go back, even if they do expect it. Sango-chan and Miroku-sama can’t defeat Naraku and complete the Shikon no Tama by themselves. As for me returning to this era,” she said quietly, “I don’t know if I’ll be able to.”
“Forget that! If running away means you’re stuck in my world forever, then let’s stay and fight. I’ll find those bastards and beat them so senseless that they’ll never bother you again. I’ll kill them if I have to!”
“I know you would,” Kagome soothed, placing her hand on his shoulder. He was incensed, heatedly resisting a strategy he thought would forever exile her to the past. The funny thing was that it wouldn’t feel like banishment to her. The feudal era was as much a home to her now as the age in which she was born. If she had to stay there forever, she would miss her family for sure. But that didn’t change their obligations, or the great difficulty and risk associated with Inuyasha’s proposal. Her plan was the wisest, despite the consequences.
“But don’t you see how dangerous that is?” she continued in a pleading tone. “We don’t know how many men Yoshida will have hunting us, and one slip from you, or a lucky shot from them, and it’s all over. We’ll be caught and we’ll probably never see each other again. I’ll most likely wind up buried on the side of some country road. At least if we try to go through the well we only give them a limited opportunity to get us.”
Inuyasha frowned, seeing the real reason behind Kagome’s idea—she was more willing to bear a heavy burden herself than allow him to take unnecessary risks. Typical Kagome. But he did see the logic in her argument as well; hunting dangerous prey was far more perilous than fleeing. It was for this reason that he decided to go along with her plan. His primary responsibility to Kagome was her personal safety, and he could more easily ensure that if he was trying to avoid their pursuers, not catch them. Once she was safely in the past, then he would worry about whether or not she could visit her family in the future. That didn’t mean he would ever give up, however, and he wanted to make that very clear to her. Grasping her hand which was still on his shoulder, he stared into her eyes as he spoke in a serious tone.
“I’ll never accept that you’re trapped in my world forever. Even if I have to go through alone with Tetsusaiga blazing, you’ll see your family again.”
Kagome smiled gratefully, masking her true feelings. In reality, she would never allow Inuyasha to try something so reckless just so she could see her family, even if she had to figure out how to seal the well permanently to stop him. But that was something they could argue about later, when and if they managed to return to the relative safety of the feudal era. She supposed it was possible that Yoshida and his gang would simply give up if they remained on the other side of the well long enough, but that was problematic for two reasons. First, the mercenaries seemed to think Inuyasha was worth a lot of money, and were not likely to admit defeat easily. Second, how were she and Inuyasha supposed to know when it was safe to attempt a return to the present? Any period of time they could come up with would just be a guess. The risk of recapture was still too high.
She supposed they could take the opposite approach, waiting out the mercenaries here in the modern era before trying to return to the past. But that strategy suffered from the same deficiency as the other, namely their pursuer’s strong motive to continue the hunt. Also, it would put their friends in the past in extreme danger. Naraku would not remain in hiding forever. If he discovered that Miroku and Sango were alone, he might strike at them while the Inu-gang was fractured. As strong as they were, the two humans did not stand much of a chance against the dark hanyou on their own. Naraku had a way to effectively neutralize each of them—the saimyosho and Kohaku, respectively. The best weapons against Naraku—Inuyasha’s sword and her bow—were on this side of the well. And Kagome was unwilling to let their friends go without them for too long.
“Thank you, Inuyasha,” she replied, pulling away to clear the somber atmosphere.
For his part, Inuyasha sensed that this discussion wasn’t over, but if Kagome was willing to put it on hold until later, then so was he. Though he often didn’t get his way when the future-born miko was involved, he would make sure this instance was an exception.
“Okay, so we head for the well,” he declared, picking up where they left off. “How far away is it?”
Kagome did some quick math, realizing for the first time just how far from home they really were. They had never traveled nearly this far in the feudal era. The Shikon no Tama had shattered over the area which would eventually become modern Tokyo, and the shards had simply not spread across the whole island, thank Kami. She was sure it was going to be quite a shock to Inuyasha when she told him the distance in the only unit of measurement he would understand.
“At a normal walking pace, at least twenty to thirty days. And that’s on a straight line, on flat terrain.”
“Twenty to th—how the hell did we get so far away?!”
“They must have driven us by car or truck.”
Inuyasha understood that; he had been told that those auto-mowbeel things traveled quite fast outside the city, perhaps even faster than he could run. It stood to reason that if they had been brought here in one of those contraptions, they could just as easily return in one.
“Can we get one to take us back?” he asked.
Kagome shook her head. “We only have enough money to buy a really junky one that might break down halfway there. Plus, I don’t have a license or know how to drive. I’d probably crash the car and kill us. We could take a train though, if you don’t want to walk.”
Inuyasha considered that for a moment. He had seen the trains in the city, and knew the basics of how they functioned. The idea of being confined to one of those metal tubes was not appealing, especially given the uncomfortable expression on Kagome’s face.
“We’d have to go into the city?” he inquired.
Kagome nodded, thinking along the same lines. “It would definitely be easier for Yoshida and his goons to spot us. They might already be watching the train stations. And you wouldn’t be able to carry Tetsusaiga on you if trouble arose.”
So they seemed to be in agreement that any form of modern transportation was a bad idea. Still, Inuyasha too understood the importance of getting back to the feudal era as quickly as possible in case their friends required aid. But he could shave chunks of time off Kagome’s twenty to thirty day estimate just by carrying her. Even in rough country, they could travel at a good pace. Given the problems associated with the other options, that seemed like the best choice. It would allow them to avoid the big cities and hopefully the watchful eyes of their pursuers.
“We’ll walk,” he stated, “if you let me carry you.”
“Some of the time,” she agreed. “I’m not going to let you wear yourself out.”
“Keh. You don’t weigh anything.”
“That’s not what I meant. I mean you shouldn’t have to run every day. That would exhaust even you.”
Inuyasha grumbled, but did not contradict her statement. She was right, of course; his stamina was great, but not inexhaustible.
“And in order to steer clear of large human populations,” she continued, “we’ll have to go up into the mountains. Most of the flat and forested areas we visit in the feudal era have been paved over by now. Japan is a very mountainous country.”
“You sure you’re up for that, Kagome?”
“Inuyasha,” she retorted with hands on hips, slightly offended. “How long have I been busting my hump in the feudal era?”
“Keh. This ain’t a leisurely hike on some country road, wench. Walkin’ up a damn mountain ain’t easy. And the higher we go, the colder it’ll get.”
“I know all that. Believe me, I’m ready. You just said you’d carry me some of the way, and we have enough money to buy warmer clothes, matches, and a dozen other things that’ll make the journey easier. I’ll be fine.”
“If you say so,” Inuyasha conceded reluctantly, still not thrilled about the idea of taking Kagome into a potentially harsh environment. He was probably worrying for nothing, but cold wind and precipitation could be really dangerous to a human. He would have to stay alert and try to anticipate any dramatic shifts in weather. And, if the situation called for it, perhaps he would be willing to make an additional consolation.
“Maybe if we have money left over,” he continued, “and we’re near a small town, you can buy a night at an inn. Don’t have to sleep under the stars every night.”
Kagome smiled at his concern. It was a good idea as well; the odds of Yoshida finding out if they stayed a night in some little mountain town were microscopic. She doubted she would spend all their traveling funds on clothing and supplies. In the feudal era, their occasional stops at inns were like mini-vacations from their day-to-day trek across a largely uninhabited wilderness. Now that she thought about it, she couldn’t help but see the similarities between her and Inuyasha’s planned journey and the one they had begun five hundred years ago.
“It’ll be just like when we first met,” she observed.
Inuyasha grinned in agreement. It would be just the two of them, heading into the wild on a quest to accomplish an objective. Some things would obviously be different, such as goals and destinations. But the greatest disparity had to be their relationship itself. Hell, he hadn’t even liked Kagome in the beginning. He had thought her naïve and about as useful as her pathetic archery skills. All of that changed quickly. She was still a little naïve, and wasn’t the best shot with a bow, but her strength of will and heart more than made up for it. He could honestly say that he would now enjoy the time alone with her, simply because she was by his side.
It was at this time that Kagome’s hunger decided to make itself known in the form of a rumble audible even to her human ears. Inuyasha’s chuckling abruptly ceased as his own stomach responded with an even louder growl, prompting both of them to agree that the very first thing they needed to do this morning was find something to eat. How to go about that was also relatively easy to decide, since they had to go into the city anyway. Inuyasha’s method of building-hopping had never gotten them in trouble before; in fact, that was how they exited the city last night. As long as they stayed away from tall buildings affording their inhabitants an uninhibited view of their surroundings, they should remain unnoticed.
They were, however, careful to give the warehouse complex where Inuyasha had been held a several-mile-wide berth. The hanyou moved just as quickly as the previous evening, but made frequent stops so Kagome could look for eating establishments and point him in the direction where she thought one might lay. After a few such halts, the miko spotted what she was looking for—a national fast food chain restaurant. Inuyasha dropped down into the alleyway between two squat apartment buildings and, after explaining to him again why he couldn’t come with her, Kagome crossed the street and went inside. She returned ten minutes later with enough food for three or four people, and both of them satiated their ravenous appetites. Feeling quite full, they spent some time simply lounging on the roof of one of the apartment buildings, allowing their bodies to digest their hefty meals. Eventually they began discussing their next destination, settling on the mall as the best place to find clothing and all the other things they needed, both for their journey and to better blend in to human society. Kagome remembered approximately where it was in relation to the warehouse, and was fairly certain she could find it. If not, Inuyasha could let her down and she could ask for directions on the street. Satisfied and confident, the pair set off.
A/N – If you’re interested in knowing more about the geography of Japan (not that you would be), here are the two primary websites I used in my research:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Japan
http://ww w.maplandia.com/japan/
Wikipedia says that almost three quarters of Japan is mountainous, with most of the human population living on plains closer to the sea or in between the mountains. You can really see it if you look on the satellite map at Maplandia
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Decisions, Decisions
Yoshida stood, arms folded over his chest, glowering at his men like a disgruntled drill sergeant. This was not the military, but observing the scene, Sasaki doubted that fact brought any comfort to the five men currently under their leader’s scathing glare. Yamazaki was out of the dog house, but only because his four companions had sunk to his level of incompetence. There simply wasn’t enough room to keep all of them in there.
“Well, I hope you idiots are happy,” Yoshida snapped. “Do you morons even know how much money just strolled out our fucking door?”
“We’ll get him back, boss,” one of the lackeys hedged quietly.
“Oh, we’ll definitely try. But the point is that we shouldn’t even be in this position. How incompetent do you have to be to shoot at a caged animal and fucking miss?! You know what I should have done is have you put the hanyou down as soon as Kagome escaped. My fault for believing you four jackasses could handle it if she showed up here. How did she find this damn place anyway?”
When Yoshida glanced in his direction, Sasaki shrugged. “My guess would be that she somehow sensed him using those miko powers of hers.”
“And why didn’t we know about that ability beforehand?” Yoshida growled testily.
Sasaki grimaced inwardly. Great, now he’s going to try to blame me! “That sort of skill is not exactly easy to test. She didn’t tell us she had such a strong connection with Inuyasha when we questioned her. Perhaps she was not even aware of it.”
Yoshida scowled, but Sasaki got the impression that he had succeeded in wriggling himself off the hook. In reality, he was probably the person least at fault for this mess, Yoshida included. Not that he dared to actually voice that thought.
“That’s the last time we underestimate that damn girl,” Yoshida snarled, glaring at Yamazaki, who gulped. “Alright,” he continued, switching to a more upbeat gear, “let’s get to work on catching our hanyou. We’re gonna have to call in reinforcements, and their compensation is coming out of your shares. Anybody got a problem with that?” He let the submissive silence linger for a moment. “Good. I want you to start brainstorming now. Where are they going to go? What are they going to do? What do they need to survive? Somebody activate the bug we put on the Higurashi phone line. Let’s hack into some security cameras in the city and see if we can’t spot them. I want someone keeping an eye on the news for reports of ‘Crimson Cat’ sightings in other cities…”
This went on for several minutes, with Yoshida doing most of the talking. But Sasaki thought they were missing something, one possible option nobody seemed to be considering—walking away. Recapturing Inuyasha would be much more difficult this time now that they lacked the element of surprise. The hanyou knew exactly what they were capable of, and they did not have the option of camping out at Kagome’s school and waiting for him. The only place they could assume with reasonable certainty that he’d show up was the well at the Higurashi shrine, but who knew how long it would take him to get there. Ultimately, their odds of success were substantially lower than before, even with the extra help Yoshida was bringing in. This realization made the thought of simply walking away all the more appealing. They were already in deep, but not inextricably so. Even if she could identify them, Kagome would never report them to the authorities for fear of exposing Inuyasha to the world. Perhaps cutting and running truly was the best course of action.
And yet, he couldn’t do it. He wasn’t driven by money like Yoshida and his lackeys, but by the prospect of worldwide recognition and acclaim. Inuyasha was, to put it simply, one of the greatest scientific discoveries of the past several centuries. He could not abandon the dream of bringing that spectacular prize to light. Resuming his old life, forsaking his aspirations of glory after having come so close to achieving them, would be impossible. Decision made, Sasaki refocused on the discussion at hand, and realized he could still contribute to the search effort.
“Excuse me,” he interjected. Yoshida glared at him, a look which sent a chill down Sasaki’s spine. It was not the anger of an interrupted man raging in those eyes. No, those dark green orbs reflected only cold venom, like a snake staring at a helpless mouse just before striking. It was as though the mercenary was daring him to say anything against his orders, or disagree with him in any way. Sasaki’s gaze drifted down to the knife on Yoshida’s belt, and he gulped as the memory of his close encounter with the blade surfaced in his mind. Then the malice was gone, and Sasaki was left wondering if he hadn’t been seeing things. Still, he was eternally grateful that he had decided against suggesting an abandonment of the endeavor.
“What is it?” Yoshida demanded sharply.
“I…uh, I was thinking about what you said earlier. Inuyasha is so recognizable now that Kagome won’t be able to bring him into civilization until he changes his appearance. She’ll probably try to buy clothing and other supplies with the money they took from your wallets. After that, we know they’ll most likely head to Tokyo, specifically the old well on the Higurashi shrine that apparently serves as a portal to the past. We should put some people at the well to stop any attempt to go through.”
Yoshida nodded, seemingly surprised that the academic had something useful to say. The discussion resumed, incorporating the new ideas into the planning. It was decided that Yamazaki would head over to the mall and watch for Kagome. They lacked the manpower to scope out all the possible shopping destinations in Morioka, but that seemed the most likely place for her to appear. At the mall she could find everything she might possibly need for the journey back to Tokyo.
Sasaki sighed in relief, but still could not drive away the sinking feeling which had settled in his gut. The way Yoshida had looked at him just now made him quite nervous indeed. He and the mercenary had been grating against each other since Kagome’s capture; perhaps Yoshida had finally decided that he was no longer of enough use to warrant keeping around—or alive. Yoshida had not betrayed him on any of their past expeditions to Central America, but the stakes had never been nearly this high before. Sasaki did not overestimate his worth to Yoshida, and his co-conspirator was certainly capable of both treachery and murder. It was something to think about as things moved forward, and always keep in mind. He hoped the day did not come when he would have to choose between his own life and his glory, but if that day came, he would be ready for it.
* * *
Kagome returned to consciousness slowly, serenaded by soothing birdcalls. Not quite fully awake, she tried to come to grips with the contradiction which was her body. Her joints felt stiff, and her rear sore, yet she was completely warm and comfortable. She grinned as her memory returned, the reasons for both becoming clear. Deciding she wasn’t ready to get up yet, she snuggled further into her hanyou mattress and pulled her haori blanket over her eyes, allowing the gentle rise and fall of Inuyasha’s chest to lull her back toward slumber. How they had come to be in this position was an interesting tale. Once they had reached the forest, it had only taken Kagome a few minutes to realize that this wasn’t going to be like camping out in the feudal era. She was without all of the amenities she took with her to the past, like a sleeping bag, pajamas, food, or matches. Inuyasha offered to go hunting after hearing the growling of both their stomachs, but she declined. She was feeling ‘clingy,’ for lack of a better word, and hadn’t wanted to separate from him for even that purpose. Besides, a fire would have to be made using an arcane friction-based method, and it all seemed like too much unnecessary work. Inuyasha was scarier than anything in these woods, and twenty-four hours without eating wouldn’t kill her. In addition, a fire might be noticed in this time period, especially if they happened to be camping out on private property.
As darkness settled across the land, and the night’s chill began to caress her skin, Kagome questioned her decision. Inuyasha went up in a tree, ostensibly to keep watch, leaving her all alone at the base. Her bare legs soon erupted in goose bumps and shivers swept down her spine. When her teeth started chattering, Inuyasha’s haori fell from the sky. She really wanted him to take her up to his perch with him, but accepted the makeshift blanket gratefully. Inuyasha could be quite shy when it came to physical contact, and she worried about upsetting him if she asked for anything more. So she resolved to get through this unpleasant night without protest. The haori at least stopped her shivering. But between her empty stomach, her almost vertical position, the uncomfortable bark at her back, that damn owl hooting loudly from a few trees over, and the dozens of hopefully imaginary insects crawling over her legs and face, sleep was impossible. In short, she was absolutely miserable.
She didn’t know how long Inuyasha let her suffer down there, perhaps a half hour or so. Knowing him, he had probably been awake the whole time debating with himself whether to do anything else to ease her discomfort. Finally, his conscience and concern for her apparently won out over his reservations. He suddenly appeared in front of her, his golden eyes glowing in the dappled moonlight. They were guarded, revealing no emotion. Then he scooped her up in his arms and leapt up to his branch, settling against the trunk and depositing her between his legs. Kagome hadn’t said anything, knowing he would appreciate the silence, but she was sure he could smell her relief and gratitude. She had fallen sound asleep soon after.
Even now, she didn’t hold the delay against him. She understood how uncomfortable things like this made him feel. It was so much more intimate than riding or even napping on his back. At least she didn’t have to feel jealousy over his reticence; she was sure he had never held Kikyou in such a manner. In fact, that was probably a big part of why he’d been so reluctant in the first place. Pushing thoughts of the undead miko from her mind, Kagome resolved to enjoy the moment. Especially since those damn birds continued to make what seemed now an insistent, unholy racket. Eventually, after her stomach rumbled yet again, she gave up.
Inuyasha was gazing lazily at her when she sat up, seemingly much more relaxed than he was last night. The muscles in his chest and stomach had been tense indeed, but now their close proximity didn’t seem to bother him at all. She shook her head; Inuyasha was funny like that. Perhaps he had secretly enjoyed sleeping with her? As nice as that thought was, she knew it would be a mistake to ask him. Instead, she settled on something simpler.
“Good morning, Inuyasha.”
“Hm,” he grunted drowsily in reply, causing Kagome to smile warmly. Her hanyou was a regular model of tranquility.
“Thank you for letting me sleep up here. My bed in Sasaki’s house was really comfortable, but…that was the best I’ve slept in a long time.”
Inuyasha’s eyes came fully open at that statement, and his cheeks flushed noticeably. “K-keh. You wouldn’t have been good for much if you’d stayed awake all night.”
Kagome recognized an old defense mechanism when she saw one, and let the comment go. His actions and demeanor told her everything she needed to know about why he’d done what he did, and how he felt about it. Feeling the sudden and urgent call of nature, she leaned over and glanced toward the ground. Yep, much too high to jump.
“Um, can you let me down? I need to go to the bathroom.”
She squeaked in surprise as Inuyasha looped an arm around her waist and dropped out of the tree, setting her on her feet. He watched as she scurried into the bushes, then turned and unfastened his hakama so he could relieve his own bladder. He sighed as his urine streamed onto the forest floor, leaning his head back and closing his eyes.
It had been an interesting night, to say the least. He had hated that Kagome was uncomfortable, but for awhile his nerves got the better of him. He worried about the stupidest little things, like not holding her correctly and making her afraid of falling, or getting an erection and causing untold mortification for both of them. He should have known better; all Kagome’s presence had done was lull him into the deepest, most restful sleep he’d ever had. Holding her as she slept had filled him with an overpowering sense of rightness, like this was where he was meant to be. He could almost believe they would spend each night for the rest of their lives slumbering in each other’s arms. His rational mind’s questioning of that observation had made the warmth of her body no less soothing, nor her scent any less sweet. Knowing that she enjoyed it just as much made it all the more special. He was a fool for denying them that closeness for even a moment.
As he readjusted his clothing, he couldn’t help but wonder about their future sleeping arrangements. He definitely wouldn’t mind sharing himself with her in that manner every night, as long as they were alone. But could he actually find the courage to tell her that? Eh, he would cross that bridge when they came to it. Perhaps the events of the day would make the decision for them. And this was sure to be a long, stressful day. Their first task would be figuring out what to do next. He hated that he had to rely on someone else for knowledge of his surroundings, but he felt so out of place here. At least it was Kagome in whom he had to place his trust. Hopefully between the two of them they could come up with a workable plan. Though from everything he understood of their situation, escaping from their captors might have been the easy part.
He frowned. How did Kagome get away? He hadn’t thought to ask before, but now he was curious. He heard her footsteps coming closer, and figured there was no time like the present to find out.
“Hey Kagome, how did you escape anyway?”
There was no reply, but the momentary hitch in her step told Inuyasha she’d heard him. As did the way she bit her lower lip when she came back into view.
“My guard was taking a nap, so I sort of just strolled out the front door,” she replied, shrugging in a poor attempt at nonchalance. Inuyasha folded his arms over his chest and glared at her sternly.
“You’re a terrible liar, wench.”
Kagome sighed. That wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth either. She swore under her breath; she had really been hoping to avoid telling Inuyasha the details of her breakout. But he was far too observant for that, and now that his interest was peaked, he’d never let her get away with anything but the truth. Still, it was probably a good idea to sugar coat it a little.
“You’re not going to like it.”
Inuyasha’s brow furrowed; now he had to know. “Just spit it out,” he ordered, managing to limit his tone to only a moderate degree of impatience.
“Well, Yamazaki was the only one guarding me, and I kind of…seduced him a little.”
“You WHAT?!!!”
Kagome cringed, but met his fervent gaze without shame. She had not made that decision on a whim, nor without good reason. Once Inuyasha got past his initial jealous rage, he would understand. She could help him out by explaining things calmly and refraining from joining the shouting match.
“I was trapped, Inuyasha. Yoshida had threatened to kill me if I tried to escape again, so I knew I would only get one more chance. I was locked on a third floor room with vicious dogs waiting outside and a trained killer downstairs. I had tried climbing out before and got caught. The only way I could escape was to put Yamazaki out of commission first. How else was I supposed to get him to let his guard down?”
As Kagome’s explanation sunk in, Inuyasha felt his racing heartbeat slow just slightly, some of the tension flowing from his clenched jaw. His first thought upon hearing her statement had been that she got desperate and took Yamazaki to bed to get him to let her go. But that was ridiculous; Kagome would never sleep with a strange man. At any rate, his nose would have told him if she had. And she apparently hadn’t done it out of desperation either; this was a calculated move, only executed as a last resort. As for how far she’d taken her deception, or rather, how far Yamazaki had taken it before giving her an opportunity to incapacitate him, a large part of him didn’t want to know. Especially with Kagome rubbing her arms before him as if cold, staring off to the side with a haunted look on her face.
“I didn’t want to do it,” she continued sadly, “but they were using me to hold you hostage, and I couldn’t think of another way to save us. I’m…I’m sorry.”
Inuyasha’s eyes widened at that. She’s apologizing to me? Why? And for the first time, he realized how irrationally furious he’d gotten. The thought of another man touching Kagome made his blood boil, sent protective rage surging through his system. This went far beyond concern for a friend; this was jealous, possessive even. He hadn’t always felt this way, and the emotions had only intensified as time went on. Though this was the first time he’d actually pondered what it all meant.
Not that he had any answers, especially not with his passions still so riled. He was royally pissed, but Kagome looked so troubled and alone that he couldn’t stay mad at her. Annoyed yes, but not angry. She seemed to be silently calling out to him, and he went to her, clutching her tightly to his chest.
“Don’t do anything that stupid ever again,” he scolded firmly. Kagome shook her head emphatically, and Inuyasha took a deep breath, allowing her scent, mixed with his own from the night, to soothe him. Kagome was with him, and he wasn’t going to lose her. What happened was as much his fault as hers; if he had protected her better, she wouldn’t have found herself in such a thorny situation, forced to appeal to the lecherous side of some perverted bastard. He was officially adding this Yamazaki guy to his shit list, taking advantage of a helpless girl—his girl—like that. Although, the mercenary had quickly discovered that Kagome wasn’t so helpless, hadn’t he? Inuyasha could only imagine what Kagome had looked and sounded like when she tried to make herself more attractive than she already was. If she started acting all charming and sexy…would he be able to resist? Would he even want to? Probably not, on both accounts. But she would never want to seduce him, let alone go further than that, so—
“I don’t want to do anything like that with anyone else,” she said quietly.
Whether she was reading his mind, or merely responding to his admonition, Kagome’s comment threw him for a loop. On its face, it would naturally be interpreted to mean she didn’t want to engage in sexual acts with anyone, the ‘else’ referring to Yamazaki. But something about her tone, the way the words rolled of her tongue with just a hint of sensuality, seemed to indicate that another interpretation was closer to the truth. Could ‘anyone else’ really have meant ‘anyone…except him?’
No, he had to be imagining things. Kagome wasn’t the kind of girl to throw away a kiss—probably her first—on a passing fancy, even for a young man who saved her behind on a regular basis. It was either real romance or nothing with her. So if she wanted to kiss him, or do whatever else ‘anything like that’ referred to, then she had to have romantic feelings for him. But how could she? Or better yet, why would she? She’d have to be nuts to fall in love with him. He was a mongrel half-breed who owned nothing more than a rusty sword and the clothes on his back. And, as she herself had pointed out on more than a few occasions, he was a rude, violent jerk. No woman in her right mind would want to be with him in that way.
And yet, he couldn’t quite seem to convince himself of the persuasiveness of that argument. After all, Kikyou had desired to live with him, though whether or not she had ever truly loved him he couldn’t say. Apparently two women of opposite personalities had fallen for him, one cold and rational to a fault even in life, the other passionate and rebellious, but unwaveringly loyal. She’s stayed with you all this time, even with all the crap you put her through. Do you really think she keeps coming back just to fulfill an obligation to complete the Shikon no Tama? As usual, that annoying voice inside his head could ask questions, and he could supply no answers. He knew Kagome so well, had such a strong friendship and connection with her, but her heart was cloaked. Occasionally he would catch glimpses of her true feelings, fleeting flashes that usually did nothing but tease and deepen his confusion. Perhaps this was one of those times.
He imagined his own heart appeared just as shrouded to her, especially since it was a mystery even to its owner. How could he hope to comprehend Kagome’s desires when he could not understand his own? It didn’t help that he had little experience with this sort of thing. Kikyou had taken the lead with their relationship, so he’d always had the benefit of knowing her feelings before making his mind up about something. Even her offer to live with him hadn’t really forced him to self-reflect beyond the fact that he was lonely and wouldn’t mind living with her. To this day he had never fully sorted out his romantic feelings for Kikyou. With Kagome, he didn’t even have that advantage and was constantly walking on eggshells. She pulled him in so many different directions every day that he usually didn’t know what to make of it all.
His lack of experience hindered him in another way as well. Truth be told, he had never really kissed anyone. Kikyou had certainly not been willing to engage in such conduct during her life, for several reasons. He didn’t count the one she had planted on him before trying to drag him to hell, since she had initiated it and he’d been more surprised than anything else. Other than that, the closest he’d come was the time he’d nearly kissed Kagome imagining her to be Kikyou shortly before the dead miko’s resurrection. He felt shame at that memory. How could he have confused the two of them for even a moment? They were completely different! He was glad Kagome had pushed him away. If he ever did kiss her, he wanted it to be real.
And here he was back on the original topic of his musings, the near impossible task of figuring out what each of them wanted. Hell, he couldn’t even decide if he wanted his interpretation of Kagome’s comment to be correct or complete bullshit. But when Kagome pulled away red-faced, gaze darting frantically anywhere but him, he was forced to come to terms with the truth. Her embarrassment could only mean one thing: she really did want to do…something with him. She had some genuine romantic feelings for him.
“I love Inuyasha!”
She had called that out, hadn’t she? Right before he burst in to rescue her from Naraku’s sadistic baby. He had honestly forgotten about that until now. It had been easy in the tumult of those days, after Kikyou’s apparent second death and during their hot pursuit of Naraku and his minions. And also because he hadn’t known what to make of Kagome’s declaration, with feelings of guilt toward both the women in his life clouding his already dubious judgment about such matters.
But now, armed with a clearer perspective on their relationship and even more evidence of Kagome’s feelings, he would not forget. He would remember how much he had missed her during their time apart, and how fulfilled he now felt with her by his side. He would keep the knowledge that she loved him close to his heart, and continue his journey of self-discovery, to eventually ascertain whether he returned her feelings.
For now, however, all of that needed to be put aside. They were in a tough spot, and nothing short of a full-focus effort would get them out of it. And so, Inuyasha pretended not to notice Kagome’s mortification, and turned the discussion to the task at hand.
“So what do we do from here?”
Kagome nodded, glad that Inuyasha had apparently not picked up on her little Freudian slip. As if this situation isn’t complicated enough without you blurting something like that out. Baka. But back to the topic at hand, she had thought a lot about their next course of action last night, and had come to a tentative decision. She was open to Inuyasha’s input, of course.
“Well, I suppose your average person in this position would immediately go to the police, but we obviously can’t do that.” Seeing Inuyasha’s ears lower, she hastily amended. “But then again, neither of us is exactly normal. The world thinks I’m dead, and your existence is merely an unproven myth. I think we should try to keep both of those things that way. So I guess the only thing we can do is try to make it back to the feudal era. At least we’ll be safe there.”
“But won’t they expect that?” Inuyasha asked. “And even if we do make it through the well, will you be able to return?”
“We have to go back, even if they do expect it. Sango-chan and Miroku-sama can’t defeat Naraku and complete the Shikon no Tama by themselves. As for me returning to this era,” she said quietly, “I don’t know if I’ll be able to.”
“Forget that! If running away means you’re stuck in my world forever, then let’s stay and fight. I’ll find those bastards and beat them so senseless that they’ll never bother you again. I’ll kill them if I have to!”
“I know you would,” Kagome soothed, placing her hand on his shoulder. He was incensed, heatedly resisting a strategy he thought would forever exile her to the past. The funny thing was that it wouldn’t feel like banishment to her. The feudal era was as much a home to her now as the age in which she was born. If she had to stay there forever, she would miss her family for sure. But that didn’t change their obligations, or the great difficulty and risk associated with Inuyasha’s proposal. Her plan was the wisest, despite the consequences.
“But don’t you see how dangerous that is?” she continued in a pleading tone. “We don’t know how many men Yoshida will have hunting us, and one slip from you, or a lucky shot from them, and it’s all over. We’ll be caught and we’ll probably never see each other again. I’ll most likely wind up buried on the side of some country road. At least if we try to go through the well we only give them a limited opportunity to get us.”
Inuyasha frowned, seeing the real reason behind Kagome’s idea—she was more willing to bear a heavy burden herself than allow him to take unnecessary risks. Typical Kagome. But he did see the logic in her argument as well; hunting dangerous prey was far more perilous than fleeing. It was for this reason that he decided to go along with her plan. His primary responsibility to Kagome was her personal safety, and he could more easily ensure that if he was trying to avoid their pursuers, not catch them. Once she was safely in the past, then he would worry about whether or not she could visit her family in the future. That didn’t mean he would ever give up, however, and he wanted to make that very clear to her. Grasping her hand which was still on his shoulder, he stared into her eyes as he spoke in a serious tone.
“I’ll never accept that you’re trapped in my world forever. Even if I have to go through alone with Tetsusaiga blazing, you’ll see your family again.”
Kagome smiled gratefully, masking her true feelings. In reality, she would never allow Inuyasha to try something so reckless just so she could see her family, even if she had to figure out how to seal the well permanently to stop him. But that was something they could argue about later, when and if they managed to return to the relative safety of the feudal era. She supposed it was possible that Yoshida and his gang would simply give up if they remained on the other side of the well long enough, but that was problematic for two reasons. First, the mercenaries seemed to think Inuyasha was worth a lot of money, and were not likely to admit defeat easily. Second, how were she and Inuyasha supposed to know when it was safe to attempt a return to the present? Any period of time they could come up with would just be a guess. The risk of recapture was still too high.
She supposed they could take the opposite approach, waiting out the mercenaries here in the modern era before trying to return to the past. But that strategy suffered from the same deficiency as the other, namely their pursuer’s strong motive to continue the hunt. Also, it would put their friends in the past in extreme danger. Naraku would not remain in hiding forever. If he discovered that Miroku and Sango were alone, he might strike at them while the Inu-gang was fractured. As strong as they were, the two humans did not stand much of a chance against the dark hanyou on their own. Naraku had a way to effectively neutralize each of them—the saimyosho and Kohaku, respectively. The best weapons against Naraku—Inuyasha’s sword and her bow—were on this side of the well. And Kagome was unwilling to let their friends go without them for too long.
“Thank you, Inuyasha,” she replied, pulling away to clear the somber atmosphere.
For his part, Inuyasha sensed that this discussion wasn’t over, but if Kagome was willing to put it on hold until later, then so was he. Though he often didn’t get his way when the future-born miko was involved, he would make sure this instance was an exception.
“Okay, so we head for the well,” he declared, picking up where they left off. “How far away is it?”
Kagome did some quick math, realizing for the first time just how far from home they really were. They had never traveled nearly this far in the feudal era. The Shikon no Tama had shattered over the area which would eventually become modern Tokyo, and the shards had simply not spread across the whole island, thank Kami. She was sure it was going to be quite a shock to Inuyasha when she told him the distance in the only unit of measurement he would understand.
“At a normal walking pace, at least twenty to thirty days. And that’s on a straight line, on flat terrain.”
“Twenty to th—how the hell did we get so far away?!”
“They must have driven us by car or truck.”
Inuyasha understood that; he had been told that those auto-mowbeel things traveled quite fast outside the city, perhaps even faster than he could run. It stood to reason that if they had been brought here in one of those contraptions, they could just as easily return in one.
“Can we get one to take us back?” he asked.
Kagome shook her head. “We only have enough money to buy a really junky one that might break down halfway there. Plus, I don’t have a license or know how to drive. I’d probably crash the car and kill us. We could take a train though, if you don’t want to walk.”
Inuyasha considered that for a moment. He had seen the trains in the city, and knew the basics of how they functioned. The idea of being confined to one of those metal tubes was not appealing, especially given the uncomfortable expression on Kagome’s face.
“We’d have to go into the city?” he inquired.
Kagome nodded, thinking along the same lines. “It would definitely be easier for Yoshida and his goons to spot us. They might already be watching the train stations. And you wouldn’t be able to carry Tetsusaiga on you if trouble arose.”
So they seemed to be in agreement that any form of modern transportation was a bad idea. Still, Inuyasha too understood the importance of getting back to the feudal era as quickly as possible in case their friends required aid. But he could shave chunks of time off Kagome’s twenty to thirty day estimate just by carrying her. Even in rough country, they could travel at a good pace. Given the problems associated with the other options, that seemed like the best choice. It would allow them to avoid the big cities and hopefully the watchful eyes of their pursuers.
“We’ll walk,” he stated, “if you let me carry you.”
“Some of the time,” she agreed. “I’m not going to let you wear yourself out.”
“Keh. You don’t weigh anything.”
“That’s not what I meant. I mean you shouldn’t have to run every day. That would exhaust even you.”
Inuyasha grumbled, but did not contradict her statement. She was right, of course; his stamina was great, but not inexhaustible.
“And in order to steer clear of large human populations,” she continued, “we’ll have to go up into the mountains. Most of the flat and forested areas we visit in the feudal era have been paved over by now. Japan is a very mountainous country.”
“You sure you’re up for that, Kagome?”
“Inuyasha,” she retorted with hands on hips, slightly offended. “How long have I been busting my hump in the feudal era?”
“Keh. This ain’t a leisurely hike on some country road, wench. Walkin’ up a damn mountain ain’t easy. And the higher we go, the colder it’ll get.”
“I know all that. Believe me, I’m ready. You just said you’d carry me some of the way, and we have enough money to buy warmer clothes, matches, and a dozen other things that’ll make the journey easier. I’ll be fine.”
“If you say so,” Inuyasha conceded reluctantly, still not thrilled about the idea of taking Kagome into a potentially harsh environment. He was probably worrying for nothing, but cold wind and precipitation could be really dangerous to a human. He would have to stay alert and try to anticipate any dramatic shifts in weather. And, if the situation called for it, perhaps he would be willing to make an additional consolation.
“Maybe if we have money left over,” he continued, “and we’re near a small town, you can buy a night at an inn. Don’t have to sleep under the stars every night.”
Kagome smiled at his concern. It was a good idea as well; the odds of Yoshida finding out if they stayed a night in some little mountain town were microscopic. She doubted she would spend all their traveling funds on clothing and supplies. In the feudal era, their occasional stops at inns were like mini-vacations from their day-to-day trek across a largely uninhabited wilderness. Now that she thought about it, she couldn’t help but see the similarities between her and Inuyasha’s planned journey and the one they had begun five hundred years ago.
“It’ll be just like when we first met,” she observed.
Inuyasha grinned in agreement. It would be just the two of them, heading into the wild on a quest to accomplish an objective. Some things would obviously be different, such as goals and destinations. But the greatest disparity had to be their relationship itself. Hell, he hadn’t even liked Kagome in the beginning. He had thought her naïve and about as useful as her pathetic archery skills. All of that changed quickly. She was still a little naïve, and wasn’t the best shot with a bow, but her strength of will and heart more than made up for it. He could honestly say that he would now enjoy the time alone with her, simply because she was by his side.
It was at this time that Kagome’s hunger decided to make itself known in the form of a rumble audible even to her human ears. Inuyasha’s chuckling abruptly ceased as his own stomach responded with an even louder growl, prompting both of them to agree that the very first thing they needed to do this morning was find something to eat. How to go about that was also relatively easy to decide, since they had to go into the city anyway. Inuyasha’s method of building-hopping had never gotten them in trouble before; in fact, that was how they exited the city last night. As long as they stayed away from tall buildings affording their inhabitants an uninhibited view of their surroundings, they should remain unnoticed.
They were, however, careful to give the warehouse complex where Inuyasha had been held a several-mile-wide berth. The hanyou moved just as quickly as the previous evening, but made frequent stops so Kagome could look for eating establishments and point him in the direction where she thought one might lay. After a few such halts, the miko spotted what she was looking for—a national fast food chain restaurant. Inuyasha dropped down into the alleyway between two squat apartment buildings and, after explaining to him again why he couldn’t come with her, Kagome crossed the street and went inside. She returned ten minutes later with enough food for three or four people, and both of them satiated their ravenous appetites. Feeling quite full, they spent some time simply lounging on the roof of one of the apartment buildings, allowing their bodies to digest their hefty meals. Eventually they began discussing their next destination, settling on the mall as the best place to find clothing and all the other things they needed, both for their journey and to better blend in to human society. Kagome remembered approximately where it was in relation to the warehouse, and was fairly certain she could find it. If not, Inuyasha could let her down and she could ask for directions on the street. Satisfied and confident, the pair set off.
A/N – If you’re interested in knowing more about the geography of Japan (not that you would be), here are the two primary websites I used in my research:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Japan
http://ww w.maplandia.com/japan/
Wikipedia says that almost three quarters of Japan is mountainous, with most of the human population living on plains closer to the sea or in between the mountains. You can really see it if you look on the satellite map at Maplandia
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