As morning faded into noon, the mountain home of the northern wolf demon tribe finally appeared on the horizon. Much taller than their southern counterparts, the white-capped peaks soared high into the clouds, their flinty, jagged slopes rimed treacherously with ice and snow. This was a harsh, unwelcoming land–forbidding, even without the dark, ominous presence Kagome sensed hanging over it.

“This place gives me the creeps,” she mumbled to Entei, curling her fingers a little tighter into his rippling fire-red mane.

Scanning around for the presence of Sacred Jewel shards, Kagome sped ahead, her swift-hooved mount easily outpacing Ah-Un. So absorbed in her search, she neglected to hear Sesshoumaru’s warning until it was almost too late–Entei rearing aside at the last second as a youki barrier rose up against them. Kagome gasped as the horse youkai swerved, the side of her arm searing as it hit the barrier, her body pitching precariously to the side.

Strong hands seized her, bringing her roughly back into place. Heart-racing, she met Sesshoumaru’s stern gaze.

“S-sorry,” she said, loosening her death-grip on his pelt. “I was a little distracted.”

“Clearly.” She flinched at the cold reprimand in his tone, her shoulders slumping as he released her. “We are in enemy lands. There is no excuse for such carelessness.”

“You’re right,” she said meekly, glancing back at the activated barrier behind her—even now only discernible by the faintest glimmer of red. “What do you make of this, anyway? Do you think the wolf tribe sealed the place off?”

“Doubtful,” Sesshoumaru replied in disdain.

Gliding closer to the barrier on his cloud of youki, he raised a hand just above the shimmering surface, his power sparking like lightning in the space between. His eyes narrowed.

“This is a powerful shield,” he declared. “We cannot pass through it.”

“What?! How can you be so sure?”

Taking an arrow from her quiver, Kagome channeled her reiki down the shaft as the point connected. The barrier glowed, not warping in the slightest, her power diffusing along the curved surface. Gritting her teeth, she forced even more spiritual energy into the arrow as she drove it forward, the wood bursting beneath the strain in a shower of glittering splinters.

Bashfully, she turned back to Sesshoumaru. “Okay…I’m convinced.”

By now, Jakken and Ah-Un had caught up with them. The daiyoukai’s flat stare grew flatter still as the imp hailed him.

“Milord—a barrier appears!”

“Geez, you’re late,” Kagome said, shaking her head.

Jakken glared. She watched as he extended his nintoujou toward the barrier, giving it an experimental rap. The mouth of the dried-up old lady head at the top of his staff split in an ear-piercing shriek that had him toppling from Ah-Un’s back in alarm. The imp fell with a yelp, Entei’s teeth catching him by the collar just in time.

“It seems…we are at an impasse, milord…” the imp wheezed as he swayed in midair.

“Great job figuring that one out,” Kagome muttered darkly, lowering her hands from her wounded ears.

Fist propped beneath her chin, she considered their predicament. They were still a fair distance from the summit. Following the arc of the barrier with her miko senses, she still couldn’t determine just how far and wide it extended.

“Maybe there’s a way around it,” she said after a moment.

“Perhaps,” Sesshoumaru allowed, his gaze shifting to her. “Return to the forest with Jakken. I will see if there is another route.”

Both imp and miko stared at him in protest.

“But—” she began.

“Do not argue with me. Your behavior toward this barrier has been reckless.” Jakken quailed as his lord’s steely gaze fell upon him in turn. “Yours, as well.”

“Y-yes, milord,” the imp said, hanging his head dejectedly.

Kagome frowned in contrition. “…All right.”

Together, she and Jakken descended toward an open spot in the trees. As the imp sulked, Kagome sighed. Slipping down from Entei’s back, she fixed some lunch, which she ate sullenly, and then began to pace.

“That barrier…” she mused aloud. “It didn’t seem like Naraku’s signature…but who else could it belong to?”

“Go blabber to yourself somewhere else, human,” Jakken grumbled, reclining amidst the roots of a tree. “This Jakken is trying to rest.”

Kagome scowled over at him. Maybe she could put this downtime to good use by practicing her sealing magic—on Jakken’s mouth. Just as she was beginning to seriously entertain the idea, a faint, familiar glimmer prickled at the edges of her mind.

Inhaling sharply, she turned. “I sense the Sacred Jewel!”

“Eh?” Jakken trotted over, his bulging eyes squinting along with hers. “What’s that?”

A dustcloud swirled between the distant trees, drawing closer to them by the second.

Kagome’s eyes widened. “It’s…”

Jakken dove sideways with a frightened squeak as the cyclone blazed into the clearing, coming to an abrupt stop before Kagome. As the whirling dust and leaves dissipated, a dark-haired, feral-looking man materialized before her.

“Kagome-chan,” the wolf prince grinned, clasping her hands in both of his own, “long time no see.”

“Kouga!” she greeted in surprise.

“Kouga, huh?” With a glint of fang, he drew her closer, one set of claws curving around her lower back. “Why so formal?”

Kagome sweatdropped. “Ah…”

“Anyway, how’ve you been?” he asked smoothly. “I don’t see that mutt hanging around. Has he finally accepted that you’re my woman?”

Kagome’s face fell as she pressed a palm to his armored chest—hoping to create some much-needed space between them. “Kouga, Inuyasha is dead. He was killed by one of Naraku’s incarnations. That’s why I’ve come here, you see—”

A clawed finger pressed gently to her lips. Kagome blinked.

“No need to say anything more, Kagome-chan,” he murmured. “I know why you’re here.”

“You…you do?” she asked incredulously.

“Yeah.” Releasing her hand, he cupped her cheek instead. “You need me to protect you—as your husband-to-be.”

Kagome paled. “Wait, that’s not—”

Out of the corner of her eye there was a brilliant flash of green. With his Jewel-powered legs, Kouga leapt back as a ribbon of youki came slashing downward, scorching straight through the ground where he’d been standing. An instant later, Sesshoumaru landed before him, drawing Tessaiga in a swathe of blinding light.

“Touch her again,” the daiyoukai said lowly, “and you will die.”

---

Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi

Series Navigation

<< SessKag Series: Daily Transgressions, Part 45SessKag Series: Daily Transgressions, Part 47 >>