InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Phoenix Blade: Time Lapse ❯ Into The Vortex ( Chapter 12 )

Disclaimer: Not mine, but I sure wish they all were…thanks, Takahashi-sama!

 

A/N: What? You thought Inuyasha was going to bed Kagome just like that? She may be twenty, but she ain't easy, boys & girls…of course, there's more angst to come!

 

The usual OOC alert and some very coarse language…you were warned!

 

MediaMiner is still messing up the reviews…have sent another polite email to the webmaster and am clutching my lucky rabbit's foot…This story is also posted on fanfiction.net and animespiral.com, so come on over if you're having difficulties…

 

The Phoenix Blade: Time Lapse

Chapter Twelve: Into The Vortex

 

Ж Ж Ж Ж Ж

 

Sengoku Jidai

 

Inuyasha carried the saddlebags, while Shippo found a spot on Kagome's shoulder. “Keh! Let's go track down that thieving monk…” She gasped.

 

“How…?” He tapped his nose.

 

“Could smell him on your armour…it'll be easy tracking Arashi, so let's go…”

 

Ж Ж Ж Ж Ж

 

Barely an hour later, Inuyasha was growing impatient with the pace. He growled, and went down on one knee in front of Kagome.

 

“Get on, wench…we won't catch the bastard until next week at this rate…” She hesitated a moment, before gingerly approaching and carefully collapsing against his back. Shippo clambered onto his shoulder, and took a firm grip on the hanyou's haori. With a grunt, he gripped Kagome's thighs, and humped them all upright. She yipped and grabbed a handful of hair, receiving a growl in response.

 

Then they were running so fast, the trees were blurred into a smear of green. The hanyou occasionally went airborne to avoid dips in the road, but she knew this wasn't the hell-bent urgency of their chase after the crow-youkai all those weeks ago. He was stopping to sniff the air every time they landed. He adjusted his grip on her every so often, usually to scoot her higher on his back. She tried to help by gripping his hips like he was her motorcycle, or Arashi, and things went smoother after that. She couldn't remember feeling so awkward before…

 

Ж Ж Ж Ж Ж

 

They arrived on the outskirts of a prosperous town by midday. Shippo and Kagome slid off, and Inuyasha started doing a passable imitation of a bloodhound, snuffling along on all fours. “He went this way…” The townspeople were giving them the hairy eyeball by this time. Kagome put her shoulders back and rose to her full height, then started doing a strut that any cadet would have recognized instantly as Lord Kogashu's `lookin' for trouble' walk…and the signal to get the hell out of his way. It had a similar effect on the watchers, because they gave the trio a wide berth.

 

“There she is!” Kagome followed the hanyou's pointing claw to see Arashi tethered outside a teahouse, and not a particularly elegant one at that.

 

“Arashi!” The grey mare whinnied and pawed the ground, tossing her head to try and pull her reins loose. Kagome ran to her, and rubbed her forehead, talking soothingly to her while the mare bunted her enthusiastically, reaching to nibble her armoured skirt and her obi. “There's my good girl…did that bad monk take you away from me? Inuyasha's going to spank him for you…” The saddlebags were thrown across the mare's back, and then the hanyou took her elbow and tugged her away from the animal.

 

“C'mon, you can kiss her later…”

 

“She doesn't kiss as nicely as you do, though…” she murmured back, eyes downcast. He blinked, then grabbed a grinning Shippo, and tossed him onto Arashi's back.

 

“Stay there, runt, and guard our stuff…” then hauled Kagome bodily through the ornately-carved door.

 

Inside, the entrance corridor was darkened, and Kagome could hear women's voices tinkling in laughter, and deeper men's voices answering as they edged past each room, doors firmly closed. Snatches of music came from farther inside the building, and Inuyasha guided them that way, his hand reassuringly on her shoulder.

 

Outside a broad sliding door, she could hear many women giggling, flirting and squealing, with a single male voice rising amongst them all. She looked enquiringly at the hanyou; he nodded, a predatory gleam beginning to shine in his glowing golden eyes. “I'm going straight for the monk, Kagome…he probably has the shards on him…” She grabbed a fistful of fire-rat, and pulled his face down to hers until they were nose-to-nose.

 

“Do…not…kill…him! He saved my life, remember? That would be incredibly bad karma to repay him that way…I mean it, Inuyasha! Damage him as much as you like for stealing the shards, but no death or dismemberment…got it?” He showed his fangs.

 

“Suits me…do you want to take a whack at him for swiping Arashi?” She let him go, considering.

 

“No…let's do this and get it over with…” She nocked a bolt, and took up a position to the right of the door. When Inuyasha slammed it open, she leapt into the room, bellowing, “Freeze! Nobody move!” The twittering women instantly fell silent, painted faces artificially pale, eyebrows non-existent, front teeth stylishly blackened. Kagome blinked.

 

Lovely looking ladies…

Who wouldn't want to spend an afternoon bedding one of those? Ick…

 

Inuyasha flew past her, snarling, claws outstretched for the monk, who was rising to his feet, apparently taking this all in stride. He neatly sidestepped the hanyou, and raising his staff almost casually, dealt him a resounding blow across the back that sent Inuyasha over the railings into the teahouse garden. A splash indicated that the carp were being disturbed. The monk strolled across the room, right up to Kagome's arrowtip. He smiled disarmingly.

 

“We meet again, sama…you are quite recovered from your ordeal?” Kagome made sure the bolt was centred on his chest. Her voice was grim.

 

“Hand over the Jewel shards, houshi…it would be a pity to ruin the décor with your blood…” His smile became solemn.

 

“It would truly be a pity, sama, but I'm afraid I must decline…” She was watching the staff, but missed the shift in his weight. He kicked her legs out from under her, and dashed out the door as she crashed to the floor, swearing volubly. She'd have a hell of a bruise…Shippo flew in the door, tripping over her, as a damp Inuyasha bounced over the railing and halfway into the room. The teahouse ladies fluttered against the carved screens as he stomped past, leaving a wet trail across the tatami mats.

 

“Kagome…Inuyasha…he took off on foot…toward the market!” Inuyasha pulled her up, and steadied her while she tested the leg, wincing. The reinforced boots had probably saved her a cracked bone, at the very least. She grinned tightly at the hanyou.

 

“Okay, now I'm pissed off…sic `em, dog-boy!” They burst out into the street, and tore off in the direction the kitsune indicated. They spotted their quarry dodging behind a market stall.

 

“He's trying to throw me off his scent…Kagome, head to the left. We'll cut him off. Don't let him hit you again…or I might have to kill him.” She smiled grimly and unsheathed her sword.

 

“Forget it, dog-boy…he owes me for that one, and I aim to collect…” They separated, and began moving cautiously around the perimeter of the market. Kagome hadn't stalked anything for a while, but she was on high alert as she slid among the bustling stall keepers and their customers. She was spared no few startled glances, but her sword convinced most to stay clear of this keen-eyed female samurai who was very intent on something.

 

A triumphant yell from the opposite side of the market told her that Inuyasha had flushed their prey. She dashed towards the sound and the tell-tale presence of Jewel shards, leaping over piled baskets and stacked fruit, dodging boys carrying long wooden trays of steamed buns on their heads. She heard the clash of steel, and sped up, vaulting over a couple of startled pigs until she reached the scene.

 

Inuyasha stood with a transformed Tetsusaiga, facing off against the monk and his unusual staff. As soon as Kagome raced up, the hanyou and the girl stood, shoulder to shoulder, their blades pointed at the monk. He smiled gently…then took to his heels at an impressive clip, heading away from the marketplace.

 

“I urge you people to leave the area for your own safety!” he shouted over his shoulder. Kagome and Inuyasha pounded after him until they reached an open field just on the outskirts of town. The monk whirled around, planting his feet firmly, and began unwinding a string of prayer beads from around his right hand. “I do so hate having to resort to violence…” he said sadly, but with a mocking edge.

 

Kagome and Inuyasha halted, and he shoved her firmly behind him. “There's something funny about this asshole…” he muttered. Then the monk tore off the beads and pointed his hand, palm out, directly at them.

 

“Vortex!” he shouted, but his voice was nearly lost in a roar of wind. Kagome grabbed onto Inuyasha's shoulder as rocks, melons, chickens, leaves and roof tiles sailed over and past them, all being sucked into a mysterious black hole in the centre of the monk's palm. Inuyasha drove the Tetsusaiga into the ground and held on. Kagome wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her face into his back. She peered over his shoulder when the monk started shouting.

 

“Give up, demon…you cannot resist the power of my Vortex for very long…”

 

“Keh! My Tetsusaiga will be happy to remove that problem for you…” As Inuyasha said this, a crack opened up in the ground in front of his blade, and he felt the Tetsusaiga shift forward. Damn, can't hold much longer…

 

Kagome felt the hanyou's heart rate accelerate in her own chest. Ever since that moonlight kiss, when their hearts had synchronized, she could map every beat of his. She remembered that the monk had warned people, present company excluded, of course, to clear the area. Maybe… In a quick movement, she sheathed her blade, and stepped out from behind Inuyasha. The wind stream seized her and she was airborne instantly. “Kagome! Nooo!” She felt claws graze her arm…

 

The monk's eyes widened as she flew towards him, gaining impetus the closer she came. She managed to execute a mid-air somersault, so she was going in feet first. At the last second, the monk retwisted the prayer beads…and she nailed him hard in the chest with her boots, tumbling to a sprawling stop just behind him. She scrambled to her feet, and drove into the monk's chest with one knee, pinning the gloved and prayer-bead adorned hand to the ground with one hand, while she patted down his robes with the other. She located the missing shards in a fold below the knot, and stuffed them back into the pouch inside the front of her armour.

 

Inuyasha's hand squeezed her shoulder tightly, the claws digging into her armour. “You fucking crazy wench…you could've been killed!”

 

“I took a calculated risk…he saved me yesterday, and he warned all non-combatants to leave the area before he opened up that…weapon. He can't be all bad…” Inuyasha didn't even have time for a response when Kagome felt something warm slide up her skirt and firmly grip her cheek, giving it a little rub and a pat. She screeched like she'd been bitten, and leapt away, pulling out her sword and levelling it at the monk, who sat up with a rueful smile, rubbing his bruised chest.

 

“Forgive my cursed hand, sama…it never misses an opportunity…”

 

“Oh, yeah? I'm surprised you're as healthy as you appear, houshi…you're inviting death at worst, and black eyes at least…” Kagome retorted, relaxing her stance slightly.

 

“It is all the fault of the demon Naraku, who cursed my family line with this Vortex…shall we withdraw a ways and talk? We have something in common…the desire to collect Shikon Jewel shards; we should see if our goals are mutually agreeable…”

 

“Keh! I don't wanna waste time watching you like a hawk so you don't swipe the shards again…and if you touch Kagome again, you're a dead man.”

 

Ж Ж Ж Ж Ж

 

Kagome collected Arashi and Shippo from the teahouse hitching post, and headed out of town. She stopped briefly to barter a few hanks of colourful embroidery silk for some steamed buns and fruit from a couple of wary vendors, and shared it out among the group when they stopped in a clearing outside the town limits. They munched happily enough, until the monk cleared his throat.

 

“I am Miroku. I have had this Vortex since the age of ten, when my own father was consumed by the hole in his own palm.”

 

“So it is a family curse? You mentioned a demon…”

 

“Yes, my grandfather was notable for his spiritual powers, and he battled the demon Naraku, who took on numerous guises over the years. Finally, Naraku gained the upper hand…pun fully intended. He took the form of a beautiful woman…”

 

“Are you sure your family curse isn't lechery?” Inuyasha snorted. Kagome poked him in the ribs, and encouraged Miroku with a smile. He looked into her eyes meaningfully.

 

“The men in my family are all deeply affectionate, hanyou-san…where was I? Oh, yes…Naraku took the form of a beautiful woman, and when my grandfather lowered his guard, the demon struck, cursing him with this Vortex. We are fated to either kill Naraku, or eventually die by our own hand, so to speak, which leads to my other quest…”

 

He dropped to his knees in front of an astonished Kagome, and took her hands in his. “Sama, would you do me the very great honour of bearing my child?” She spluttered, and Inuyasha fingered the Tetsusaiga, growling.

 

“Uh, thanks for the show of interest, Miroku-san, but no thanks…I'm on a quest of my own right now, and it is to recover the Shikon Jewel.” He let go of her hands, but kept watching her under lowered eyelashes. He was a little too close for comfort…

 

“This is where our quests join, sama. Naraku also seeks the Jewel to increase his strength. His first major success was to bring about the death of the priestess who guarded the Jewel fifty years ago. My grandfather began doing battle with him around the same time. Since the recent appearance of the Jewel in shard form, he has begun acquiring them. I am also collecting them, in the hopes that he will eventually come after me, and I can attempt to destroy him. Once he is dead, the Vortex will disappear.” Kagome had fixed her eyes on Inuyasha, as he digested the monk's words. She knew when his brain kicked in on the mention of the priestess, all hell would break loose. Sure enough…

 

“What was the name of this priestess he killed?” Miroku looked thoughtful.

 

“I only know that she had great spiritual power, and that he tricked her, probably by taking the form of someone or something she knew and trusted, as that is his favourite method of tormenting his victims.” Inuyasha's heart was racing in Kagome's chest.

 

“You're saying that he is a shape-shifter? What form is he in now?”

 

“I do not know…if I did, I would have sought him out by now and faced him down myself.” Kagome spoke up then.

 

“Inuyasha, this bridges the gap between your version and Kikyo's of the day you were pinned and she died…you were both tricked by this Naraku. You didn't betray her!” As she reached to touch his sleeve, she felt an uncomfortably familiar sensation on her backside again…and she ducked behind Inuyasha, who only grunted. The monk regarded them appraisingly.

 

“Excuse me…I didn't realize that you two were together…” Kagome flushed, but Inuyasha opened his mouth first, and inserted his foot up to the knee.

 

“Oh, we're not mated or anything like that…she's my shard detector…” he said, absently. Kagome's own heart dropped with a thud, but she rallied enough, when the monk got a certain gleam in his eye, to draw Fenikkusuken and make sure Miroku took a good look at it as she moved away from the hanyou.

 

“Yeah, I'm just the shard detector,” she said bitterly. “Inuyasha here actually has a thing for dead women, as it happens…but I swear, houshi, if you grab my ass again, we're gonna conduct an experiment. We'll see if the Vortex reappears in your other hand, because, so help me, I'll cut that one off…

 

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Present Day

 

Kagome furiously slammed the door of the well house open, and stormed across the courtyard. The front door nearly came off its tracks, as she flung herself into the house. Buyo and Sota fled; her mother looked up from her newspaper with a welcoming smile.

 

“Hello, dear…your adventures over for the week?”

 

“Yeah, mom…something like that…” she hesitated, and Mrs. Higurashi rose to give her a hug.

 

“What happened, dear? Did someone…die?”

 

“No, mom…Remember I mentioned that Inuyasha's old girlfriend has showed up? Well, now he's found out that their, er, breakup wasn't really his fault…”

 

“Oh…I see…has he decided to make things right with her?” Kagome just sniffled, her eyes filling with the tears she hadn't been able to shed for two days. “Oh, sweetie…cut him some slack…your first love is very hard to forget…”

 

“I know, mom…it's just that…Inuyasha was my first love…”

 

Ж Ж Ж Ж Ж

 

When Kagome had finished crying all over her mom's shoulder, she felt marginally better. After changing out of her gear, bathing and dressing in some comfy sweats, she felt okay.

 

It's his loss…

Are you sure? That body of his is divine…

Oh, yeah…too bad it'll be wasted on the dead.

 

Her mom handed her a mug of tea and a thick, cream-coloured envelope. She took both, and sipped deeply as she turned the envelope over. The tea splattered all over the table; Mrs. Higurashi turned to see her daughter ripping open the Imperial Palace's missive, and reading rapidly, then cursing violently. She tsked mildly. Ah, well, Kagome had gone to military school…

 

“Oh, no…I'm freakin' doomed!” Mrs. Higurashi regarded her quizzically. Kagome was frantic. It's the New Moon Festival…I'm totally, utterly doomed!” Her mother calmly twitched the thick handmade paper, surmounted by the golden chrysanthemum, out of her trembling hand. She perused it, noting the elegance of the handwritten kanji, then looked at Kagome.

 

“I don't quite see how this could be the death of you…”

 

“It's five days from now…I can't go back to the other side, or I'll never make it back in time…and Inuyasha won't take kindly to an eight-day layover.”

 

“Well, he's just going to have to cool his jets…some time apart wouldn't hurt either… `absence makes the heart grow fonder', dear.” Kagome smiled ruefully.

 

“I lose on that count, too, mom…Kikyo was gone for fifty years, and he hasn't lost his affection for her…I'll only be off the scene for less than ten days.”

 

Ж Ж Ж Ж Ж

 

“FuckinggoddamnfuckingsonofafuckinggoddamnsonofaBITCH!̶ 1; Kagome punched the wall of her bedroom, and rocked back on her heels, cradling her hand and swearing a blue streak that would have made any drill sergeant proud.

 

Inuyasha unwisely chose that moment to appear on her windowsill. He'd heard the cursing and the crack of wallboard, but didn't have enough sense to make a detour and visit with her mother until the dust settled…

 

“What's the matter, koishii?” He was startled, to put it mildly, when the snarling girl launched herself at him, and he ended up gripping the windowsill tightly to prevent being forced out backwards when she punched him in the chest hard enough to rattle him. She pointed a shaking finger in his face and let him have it with both barrels

 

“Do not ever call me that again,” she ground out, her eyes like a frozen winter sky. “I'm just the shard detector, remember? Now that Kikyo's back, you wouldn't want her catching you using the same endearments on her reincarnation, would you?!” He was open-mouthed with astonishment, and then she turned her back on him decisively.

 

What in all the hells…?

She's rather feisty today, isn't she?

 

Mrs. Higurashi poked her head around the doorframe. “Oh, hello, Inuyasha…Kagome, please don't be so hard on the walls…you knocked a picture down in the living room.”

 

“Sorry, mom…but I have a crisis on my hands. My official kimono has damn well disappeared into freaking thin air!” Inuyasha cautiously eased into the room, and sat with his back to the wall under the window. Mrs. Higurashi clucked her tongue, but came in to help Kagome search through her closet. The black kidskin pants and silver haori were lined up neatly on the bed, but after a thorough search, the two women had to admit defeat. Inuyasha took a risk at drawing attention to himself.

 

“What did this kimono look like, wench?” Kagome ran a hand through her rumpled hair.

 

“It was an Imperial commission, to go with my sword. Crimson silk patterned with silver flames and black phoenixes. Floor length sleeves, and a full court train…beautiful and irreplaceable…damn, damned, damnable!”

 

“Keh! Seems that Armoury place can supply all kinds of stuff…why not ask them?”

 

“It's worth a try, dear…that Sensei Shimano is such a lovely young man; I'm sure he would try for you…” Kagome stopped in the act of pulling out her hair, considering, then jumped to her feet.

 

“Nothing ventured, nothing gained…maybe I can find a replacement that would be acceptable…”

 

“Where was the last place you remember it, dear?”

 

“Outside the well house, on Graduation Day…where the hell could it have disappeared to?!” Her eye fell on the hanyou, sitting tight next to his escape route. “You still here, dog-boy? By the way, I won't be coming over for the next week or so…you and Miroku will have to hunt shards on your own until the Emperor is finished with me.” Inuyasha looked distinctly uncomfortable. “Spit it out, dog-boy…”

 

“The new moon is coming up in seven days…”

 

“Duh…why do you think I have to be at the Palace? Oh, wait a sec…right…” Kagome turned to her mother. “Could Inuyasha stay here on the night of the new moon? I'll be away for two nights anyhow…I'm expected to kip at the Palace during the festival.” Mrs. Higurashi smiled brilliantly at Inuyasha.

 

“Of course! That would be lovely, dear.” He smiled back tremulously. Great…more people who knew about his weakness… “Come downstairs, dear…I'll make you some ramen…” Kagome started packing her scattered clothes back into the closet.

 

“I'll call the Armoury and set up an appointment…oh, man, I hope I don't have to `fess up to Lord Sessaki…”

 

Ж Ж Ж Ж Ж

 

The next morning, festival-minus-four, found Kagome suited up in her leathers and backing her motorcycle out of the shed. She had an eleven o'clock appointment with Lord Sessaki to go over expected protocols, and she was hoping to have solved the kimono issue so she didn't have to mention it to her austere sponsor. Ojii-chan waved goodbye as she slowly wove back and forth across the access road to warm up the engine and tires. She lifted a hand in salute, and then was gone in a scuttering of gravel.

 

Inuyasha hopped down from the Goshinboku, and headed for the well house. He'd sat in the tree all night, watching Kagome sleep between catching forty winks now and again, and trying to figure out why she'd attacked him.

 

Why did she freak out when I called her koishii?

Search me ::ahem::

…Did I really call her the shard detector?

Hmmmm…I seem to recall something of the sort…

I know she's not Kikyo, and she knows she's not Kikyo…

She seems to be rather concerned about your feelings for the resurrected miko…there was that implied-necrophilia comment…

She sure was pissed…I'm not too happy about her taking the next week off now that we know about Naraku…

I don't think I'd mention it, if I were you…

Keh. Like I care…

The trouble is, you do.