Untouched by Sesshoumaru’s corrosion, the flooring at Kagome’s feet gleamed, a little island of beauty in the desolation that surrounded her. More than half of the tower had been melted away. What remained was a pitiful, broken shell.

But Kagome could only feel concern for herself.

Sinking to her hands and knees, she hacked up blood so violently it stung in her nose. Her lungs felt like they’d been scraped raw from the inside out. Using her reiki to heal them exhausted her to the point of total collapse. In a naked little ball, she curled up on her side, and let unconsciousness take her.

Perhaps days or hours passed.

When Kagome finally woke, the sun was burning bright red through her shuttered lids. Blinking them open slowly, she drew herself up into a sitting position and looked groggily around her. While she was sleeping, even more of the tower had fallen in, and the ground had sunk away. Grimacing, Kagome slid down a little as she struck out from her perch. Her head still felt woozy, and the shifting earth made her stumble more than once as she picked her way across to the inner courtyard.

The pretty pool had been smashed open by the quakes and debris. Spring water spilled through the cracks in the ledge like blood through torn flesh. But when Kagome bent down to wash off the grime, the water that had once been steaming hot was now cold to the touch. Shivering, she made quick work of it, and pulled on her discarded clothes.

With her bow and other weapons at her back, she wandered ahead, through the breezeway that was still largely intact, and past the doors that led to the outer courtyard. Kagome’s eyes narrowed—it was just the faintest whisper against her senses, but she realized she was not alone.

“Show yourselves, demons. I know you’re there,” she said, drawing to a stop in the middle of the path.

Near the red torii arch, two figures materialized: both tall and silver-haired, and clothed finely in armor and silk. Inu daiyoukai, Kagome realized at once, and if they weren’t related to Sesshoumaru, she would be surprised. Though neither bore crescent marks on their brows, their handsome, haughty faces were slashed with red and blue cheek stripes, respectively, and the weapons they carried gleamed with dark radiance. The red-striped one wore his hair up high and wielded a heavy spear, while the blue-striped one had a loose braid draping his shoulder and a spiked whip coiled at his hip.

“You’re blocking the gate,” Kagome said, as she resumed her course. “Step aside.”

“Mortal wench,” Blue-stripe sneered, “you dare to command us?”

“We have been tasked to keep the gate,” Red-stripe added coldly, with undisguised distaste for the task. “We shall keep it.”

Reaching for her bow, Kagome sighed. “…How annoying.”

The pair tensed, reaching for their weapons in turn. But Kagome’s move was a feint; between the demons and the arch, reiki blazed up from the ground behind them, singing their snooty backsides. As they jumped away, snarling and smoking, Kagome smiled thinly.

“That was meant to be a near-miss, in case you were wondering.” Stringing a pair of arrows and stoking them with reiki, Kagome took aim. Her smile vanished. “This won’t be.”

The dog demons glared at her, smoking faintly still. Exchanging a dark look with his companion, Red-stripe bore his fangs, as the two defended their post with weapons glowing in hand.

“Who are you, woman?” he demanded.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Kagome replied, pulling back the bowstring a little tighter. “Last warning—move aside, or else.”

Blue-stripe’s eyes flashed a feral crimson. “Look closely at her, Ani-ue. She must be the one they call the Shikon Miko.”

“Ah,” Red-stripe mused aloud, peering. “The priestess Kagami.”

Kagome glowered, the strung arrows flaring even more brightly. “It’s Kagome,” she snapped. “Ka-go-me!”

Wincing at her shrill tone, the demons glowered back, before Red-stripe answered, “No matter; we’ll not move aside.”

“…Suit yourselves,” Kagome muttered darkly, as she let her arrows fly.

Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi

Feeling a little under the weather, so updates might slow down for a bit. Hopefully not, but wanted to give a heads-up just in case <3