“Ashamed…” Kohaku echoed in contemplation, the blasted ground crunching beneath his boots as he stepped up beside her. “It would also explain why he took the trouble to return Kanako’s body so close to her home village.” Eyeing the claw marks laid into the blackened tree a moment longer, he turned to Kagome. “Let’s see what else we can find.”

The three of them fanned out into the surrounding wilderness. For the rest of the afternoon they searched, yet once again there was no material evidence of the killer to be found. No traces of youki which triggered Kagome’s spiritual instincts, no tracks by sight or by scent which alerted Kohaku’s or Kirara’s. Like Kanako’s phantom, it was as if the Beast had simply vanished into the ether.

Kagome could only wonder at what Inuyasha, with his superior senses, might have uncovered if he were here–or Sesshoumaru, for that matter…assuming she could have even counted on her brother-in-law’s cooperation. Shoving her sweaty bangs out of her eyes in aggravation, Kagome finally forced herself to stop with the pointless musing and turn back.

Exhausted and empty-handed, she reconvened with the others in the scorched grove. By now, the sun was truly beginning to set. With less than an hour before full dark, they needed to make camp–and quickly.

Summoning her reiki around her, Kagome sighed. “I should purify this place, before we leave.”

To lift the curse from the land, to ensure that it wouldn’t remain a barren, suffering scar upon the earth–this was the least Kagome could do, for Kanako’s sake. As the ground beneath her feet began to clear, the power of her purification spreading rosily outward, Kohaku placed a halting hand on her shoulder.

“Just a moment, Kagome-san–I have an idea.”

Blinking, the miko recalled her power as the taijiya knelt down above the hard, shiny earth. Uncapping and upending a tiny bottle at his hip, he sprinkled two drops of clear liquid onto the defiled ground. At once, the black slate began to sizzle, dissolving into a dark powder which Kohaku scraped carefully into an empty vial, etched with a briefly glowing sutra.

“Saint’s tears react with the lingering curse,” he explained as Kagome tilted her head in question. “And the warding spell contains it. If the demon who set this place aflame were to draw near, the contents of this flask would resonate with his youki.”

“Kohaku-kun…” Kagome said, a smile blooming across her face as her eyes flicked from the youkai detection charm to its bearer. “That’s amazing!”

Flushing, the young man looked aside as he secured the enchanted vial to his belt. “…It’s not much on its own, but maybe it’ll prove useful in the future.”

“Well, it’s more than Inuyasha and I ever managed to collect,” she said to him sincerely, the lambent glow of her reiki enfolding her once more. “Thank you.”

Meeting her gaze, Kohaku smiled back.

After ridding the grove of its curse, Kagome led them toward a stream she’d found during her earlier scouting efforts. While Kohaku built a fire and Kirara fished for dinner, Kagome decided to take a quick bath–more for the routine of it than anything.

As the rush of icy water froze her to the bone, she could feel the grimness of the day being stripped away by the cleansing current. Shivering, she hugged her arms over her breasts and dipped fully below the surface–the chill that met her when she rose again having nothing at all to do with the frigid temperature of the stream.

Though there was no demonic aura she could detect, Kagome felt low in her spine that she was being watched. Her bare skin prickled as she waded cautiously toward the bank. Casting a protective barrier around her, she slipped on her clothes and took up her bow and quiver. Even with such a strong shield in place, she couldn’t help but keep glancing over her shoulder, into the shadowed woods behind her, as she made her way back to camp.

Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi