Meanwhile…

“…So this guy Kikkoman has an army of underlings who travel the world delivering these flasks to his patrons?” Kouga summarized, looking thoughtfully at the empty soy sauce bottle in his hand.

Kagome nodded. “That’s the gist of it, yeah.” Her brow furrowed. “Except, well, I’m pretty sure he’s dead by now…”

The wolf prince grinned. “Dead and still at it, huh? The demons where you’re from are something else, Kagome-chan.”

The young miko smiled back, deciding to just leave it at that.

“Hey, Ginta, Hakkaku—get over here!” Kouga called out to his pack mates, who rose from the pelts they’d been lounging on and hurried over. “There’s a guy I need you to track down for me…”

Shaking her head, Kagome turned, glancing up at the forested ridge where Sesshoumaru had been practicing with Tessaiga–only to find that he was no longer there. With a frown, she ascended the ridge and looked around some more, but the daiyoukai was nowhere in sight. Sitting down on a low slab of granite, she watched the mountain breeze shiver through the needles of the fir trees, the faint outline of the barrier glowing through the gaps in-between.

It was hard for her to watch Sesshoumaru struggle with Tessaiga. Kagome got the impression that he wasn’t accustomed to such failure–with a name like his, she could only assume. Once more, she felt as though she’d thrown another wrench into his life, and though she wished more than anything that she could help him, she knew that there was little she could do. If Sesshoumaru was going to master Tessaiga, he would have to figure it out for himself.

She supposed that was why he’d taken off on his own just now. Still, she couldn’t help but be anxious not knowing where he was. Eager to take her mind off of her worrying, Kagome went back to camp.

Kouga and most of the other wolves were already taking a post-lunch nap when she returned. Only Ayame was awake. Perched on the old stony stump of a tree, she gazed down at the iris flower in her hand. Hesitantly, Kagome approached her.

“Ayame-san?” she began. “I’m sorry about earlier…with the ramen and all. Kouga-kun shouldn’t have said those things.”

Green eyes flicked to her sharply. “You really don’t care for him, do you?”

Kagome’s gaze strayed over to the snoozing wolf prince. “Not in that way, no. Kouga-kun’s just a friend to me. That’s how it’s always been.”

Dismally, Ayame nodded. “Well, even so, he’s clearly hung up on you.”

“I’m sure he’ll move on, eventually,” Kagome replied, biting her lip.

As Ayame went back to studying the flower, the miko sank down next to her, disturbing a sleepy wolf pup nearby. Whimpering, the pup wriggled into Kagome’s arms, and she smiled a bit as she stroked its velvety brow. She hoped that Shippou and the others were doing okay, back in Edo village. Already Kagome had been gone longer than intended, and she prayed that they weren’t worrying too much…

“Kouga-kun said that the woman he marries has to be able to detect the Shikon Jewel,” Ayame said after a while, glancing hopefully at Kagome. “Will you teach me how?”

Kagome frowned. “I would if I could, Ayame-san. But I wouldn’t even know where to start. No one taught me how to do it—I was just born with it, I guess.”

The wolf girl’s eyes hardened as she looked away. “I see.”

“Ayame-san…”

“Please,” the demoness said curtly, turning  away altogether, “just leave me alone.”

Gently sliding the dozing wolf pup from her lap, Kagome stood, crossing over to the other side of camp with a sigh. At her approach, Entei lifted his head from the lichen he’d been chewing. As she climbed atop his back, slitted yellow eyes peered up at her.

“Where do you think you are going, wench?” the imp asked imperiously, Ah-Un snoring smokily at his back.

Kwagome scowled down at him. “What are you, my keeper? I’m just going for a ride. I won’t be gone long.”

Before he could squawk at that, she and Entei took flight. Her hair whipped behind her like a banner as they soared high into the sky, the campsite shrinking to the size of a coin beneath them. For a while they just circled above it, Kagome relishing the cool air and the freedom.

Gliding lower at last, she strained her eyes for a glimpse of Sesshoumaru, but just as she’d anticipated, he was nowhere to be found. Idly, she headed east, just thinking of turning back toward camp when a glimmer atop a towering outcrop of rock snared her attention.

“Onsen!” she exclaimed in delight as Entei flew lower, a shimmer of unmistakable steam misting the air.

Feeling like she’d just hit the jackpot, Kagome touched down onto the smoothly worn ledge of the spring. A hot bath was just what she needed—and such a secluded spot! There were a few fuzzy monkeys staring at her warily from the far side, but they seemed harmless enough, Kagome ignoring them as she stripped down and dug through her pack for a bottle of shampoo.

“Ahh,” she sighed in bliss, slipping down into the balmy water.

As she lathered her hair, the little primates’ curiosity seemed to outweigh their suspicion. Creeping over, they chattered and poked at her discarded clothes, a fiery stamp from Entei sending them scampering off again as their dark puny fingers attempted to rifle through her backpack.

Laughing at their antics, Kagome finished her bath and waded over to the edge of the pool. Her muscles had turned to putty in the soothing heat, her eyelids drooping as she rested her cheek on her folded arms. Little monkey fingers preened and pulled at her damp hair, Kagome batting them away sleepily as she drifted off at last.

She’d only meant to doze for a minute—maybe she had? But the next thing she knew, the monkeys were screeching in terror, a frightened scream tearing from her own lips as she was ripped bodily from the spring.

---

Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi

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