“Come on then,” Kagome said to Kanako. “We’ll cut through the woods.”

“Hai, Kagome-sama,” the waif replied.

Together they set off for the forest’s edge. The dark sky was beginning to lighten a little, and they were able to find their way forward through the trees now without too much trouble. Soft beds of moss and fallen pine needles muffled their footsteps. As they passed through the thick of the woods, the roar of the melee behind them dimmed to a murmur.

With the castle walls at last in sight, Kagome slowed to a stop. From behind a large grizzled oak, she peered out. The fortified approach was bustling in a state of high alert. Soldiers moved hurriedly through the torii arches, shouting orders and readying arms—far too distracted in their haste to notice two women slinking through the thinning brush below them.

Near the entrance to the castle, things were much quieter, though the soldiers stationed there were visibly tense. Warily they patrolled along the battlements and through the outer courtyard, muttering to one another as they passed.

“…and Ren-heichou?” Kagome heard one soldier say to his comrade. “Has no one yet told him of the raid?”

“Ren-sama,” the other corrected him gruffly, “and he gave clear orders not to be disturbed this night.”

“Someone ought tell him,” the first soldier muttered.

“You tell him then,” the second scoffed back, “and see how he rewards his messenger. Boss Uetsugi is leading the charge: gods willing, those fell beasts will be routed by dawn.”

Kagome’s mouth twisted. Good news that Ren wasn’t panicking yet, but clearly these two didn’t appreciate just how badly their side was faring in this fight. It was only a matter of time until this fortress was ransacked from bottom to top. By dawn, whatever soldiers hadn’t broken rank and fled would surely be dead—them included.

As the watchmen resumed their patrol, Kagome and Kanako left the shadows of the wall and took cover behind a boulder in the garden. The castle doors were only a stone’s throw away now, but Kagome’s heart sank at the sight.

“…Damn, there are still men at the gate,” she said lowly, eyeing the four soldiers posted there, who were nothing if not vigilantly standing guard. “That’s no good—we’ll never sneak past them.”

“There is a way,” Kanako whispered in reply. “Follow me, Kagome-sama.”

Brow furrowed, Kagome followed the waif back into the woods. Circling around to the castle’s north side, they emerged to face the sheer, ungarrisoned wall of freshly hewn stone. There was no need for manmade defenses here; through the thin scraggle of trees behind them, the land dropped off into a precipitous gorge.

Kanako pointed to a window about two stories up. “The lock on that shutter is broken, Kagome-sama. If you scale the wall, you can pry it easily. I will show you.”

“How do you…?” the miko began, staring at Kanako in consternation a moment before she shook her head and sighed. “Never mind—lead the way.”

Kagome thought of herself as a pretty decent climber, but she learned quickly that she had nothing on Kanako. Seeking out handholds and footholds in the stone with practiced ease, the waif shimmied up the wall like a gecko. Kagome could just see the pale pink tip of her tongue sticking out from the side of her mouth as she jiggled the shutter from below to open it, and then slipped through the gap. After a second, the shutter popped up again, as Kanako peeped out from beneath it and waved.

The miko’s ascent was much slower and more precarious. Even if she hadn’t already been tired, it wouldn’t have been an easy task. As it was, she had to seek out those crevices in the stone with extra care, and pause for breath several times along the way.

But she made it, at last. Hefting herself over the sill, Kagome found herself standing in a little dark store-room of sorts, though it wasn’t being used much yet. Glimmers of sawdust still swirled through the pine-scented air.

“Now what?” Kagome asked as she rubbed at her eyes. “You seem to know your way around here. Where do you think he’s keeping Rin-chan?”

“Oh, Kagome-sama—I cannot guess.”

The miko’s expression went flat. “…Great.”

Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi