In a brilliant arc, Kagome’s arrows streaked toward the inuyoukai pair. Bracing themselves for a seeking strike, they leapt away and whirled. Their plan was to swat down the arrows with spear and whip as they changed course. It was a good plan. But the demons’ instinctive, well-timed slashes met only with open air—

Kagome’s arrows weren’t seeking at all.

Blindingly bright as they were, her fired shots abided by the laws of physics just as well as any ordinary arrows would. They continued straight on their original trajectory and sunk with a fizzle into the ground. It was anticlimactic to say the least. The two demons scowled in surprise.

“What—” Red-stripe began to grit out, turning back.

But whatever disparaging remarks he had in mind for her, Kagome would never know. That was when her second, actual seeking shot connected—striking both demons square in the chest.

A double-feint.

They hadn’t seen that one coming.

Kagome couldn’t help but smirk a little as the two toppled over, frozen into a pair of shocked, bristling statues by the power of her sealing spell. Lying there like just another set of bizarre courtyard sculptures, the proud demons glared ahead, unblinking. It was a comical sight. She doubted these two had ever suffered the slightest indignity, let alone at the hands of a mere mortal like herself. First time for everything, Kagome mused. She almost wished she could be there to see the haughty looks wiped off their faces by whoever found and released them.

But shouldering her bow again, Kagome resumed her course. Daiyoukai were far easier to seal than to kill, and she had nothing against this pair of knuckleheads. They were only acting on Sesshoumaru’s orders, after all. And she was only trying to get the hell out of here as quickly as she could.

“No hard feelings, you two—that seal won’t cause you any lasting harm. I could have killed you, though,” she said as she stepped past them, knowing they could still see and hear her just fine. “Remember that.”

Kagome advanced through the gate. Dispelling the barrier at the base of the grounds, she stepped foot once again onto the pale mountain path.

Through those never-changing woods, she walked alone. Their muted tranquility seemed somber to her now. As the white trees thinned, the path ended abruptly. Beyond it, there was only a cliff, and the blue-white mists shimmering far below. Peering along the craggy edge, Kagome speculated whether she could somehow climb down. But this didn’t seem viable. Even if there were enough holds in the rock, for all she knew there was no ‘real’ bottom to this mountain. It might just drop off abruptly between realms, and she wasn’t sure she could survive whatever fall might remain.

As she was contemplating what to do, she caught the glimmer of something moving in the mist. Cresting and diving in ribbons of pale, undulating blue. Swimming around in that froth of ethereal cloud were a group of familiar, insect-like shapes—

Shinidamachu.

Looking at them, Kagome braced her chin in her hand, and wondered.

Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi