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Disclaimer: Inuyasha and associated characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi.

Messed up formatting thanks to Ficwad.

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Chapter 19

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Where did THEY all come from? Alarmed, Kagome retreated several steps until she pressed against Inuyasha's back, staring at the encircling bird-demons. Their spokesman, the strange traveler from the road, now towered over them from his perch, and although he was as expressionless as he had been when they encountered him before, she could not mistake his hostility this time. But what had they done to provoke it? Had they lingered too long on the mountain after all?



Behind her, Inuyasha growled an oath as he assessed the multitude of opponents, his eyes and ears flicking across the clear space around them, before going back to the dark shape flapping above.



Kagome wished for her bow, now broken and buried under rubble, and winced at her lack of preparedness. Maybe she should have heeded Inuyasha's demand that they leave. He had known something was out there, but she had been concerned about leaving Inbe behind...she should have listened, should have trusted his instincts...



"We'll get off your fucking mountain when we're good and ready, asshole!" Inuyasha yelled.



...should have spoken up first. She heaved a mental sigh.



She twisted around to face the creature, and she called up hopefully,"We'll be happy to leave, if you'll let us!"



Inuyasha snorted at that, but did not take his eyes off the glaring figure above. He snarled, "One more time, bastard, who the fuck are you, and what makes you the king of this pile of shit? Did you have some kind of deal with the bitch sealed here?"



The wind rose, whipping their hair around, to swirl and eddy around Tessaiga. He was clearly ready to destroy them all with a Kaze no Kizu if he didn't like the answer.



Kagome swallowed nervously as she stared out past the fire, now blazing up wildly from the wind. Shippou pressed against her leg, and Inbe and Yasei stood back-to back with them against the horde that surrounded them.



Yasei was tense, but Inbe actually seemed fascinated. "Tengu. Of course," he murmured, turning his head slightly so he could watch this or that fluttering demon above them. The priest's eyebrows were raised, his expression reflecting interest and a sort of scholarly excitement.



Tengu? she wondered, thinking back to a long-ago conversation around the campfire about different tribes of youkai. They're some sort of crow demons, which makes sense. Sango said they're known as great fighters. She eyed the weapons in the hands of the creatures around them. Swords and halberds glinted in the flickering firelight, pointed at them. The demons themselves were different from their leader. While he appeared human, albeit strange, they had crow heads, but gripped their weapons with humanoid hands and arms in addition to the black bird-wings that kept them aloft.



"Deal?" The strange figure of their spokesman cocked his head. "We had no deal with her. On the contrary. The villagers made a bargain with us to protect them if the evil one should ever get out."



"Then you are the protectors on the mountain they spoke of?" Inbe asked, turning slightly to face the creature directly.



The tengu bowed slightly in answer. "Now I have a question for you, strangers." His black eyes glinted with cold suspicion. "You travel with one kitsune, I see, and you freed the other. What deal did you have with the nine-tailed one?"



Kagome felt Shippou shrink back against her, while Yasei gasped, seemingly offended. Inuyasha inhaled in disbelief.



"Are you for real, asshole? None! We came here to kill the bitch!" he roared, incensed.



The tengu seemed to ignore him, choosing instead to stare down his pointed nose at Shippou. "But the small one was her companion, and was with her the night she was sealed. And they are both unsealed, and he is with you now," he hissed. "Is he not?"



Shippou's face twisted with rage, and he leaped out in front of Inuyasha to face the tengu. "At least I tried to stop her!" he snarled, tiny fangs bared. "I didn't see you guys until the next morning, and all you did was stare at me! Where were you that night, 'protector of the mountain'? I didn't see you do much in the light of day, either!"



There was some fluttering and angry cawing among the assembled creatures, but the spokesman gestured for silence, staring down at Shippou. "Our patrols did not see or hear anything amiss that night, just as she arranged, kitsune. Everything appeared normal outside the walls, until the dawn," he said. "An illusion, I would suppose, that your folk are so good at."



Shippou spat, "Then at dawn you would have seen me lying in the courtyard, where she left me after smashing me into the wall!"



"Yes, lying in the courtyard. Several here did see you," he sneered. Two or three of the older crow youkai shifted, their postures reflecting animosity. "You could have been injured in the battle with the guards, for all we know, and left for dead. And then when you awoke, you went inside. To warn her that the monks were approaching, I imagine. Quite loyal of you."



"I DIDN'T warn her!" Shippou yelled in frustration. "That's how I got sealed too, stupid! I was trying to find out where she was going next, to stop her!"



Kagome took a deep breath. "Look," she said, stepping forward and raising her arms in a quelling gesture. "We're wasting time, and she's still out there. None of us are working with Soen, okay? We'll just be on our way, if it's all the same to you."



"You are a miko, human?" the spokesman asked, his assessing gaze now fixed on her.



"I am," she said evenly. She felt the pressure of the gathered youkai's attention as they all shifted their focus to her.



"And you vouch for the small one?" His gaze sharpened.



"Yes," she said firmly. She felt a flash of anger that anyone could ever suspect Shippou of being involved in anything like the horrible crime that had taken place here. "I would trust him with my life, and I have," she added heatedly.



He stared at her a minute longer, long enough for Inuyasha to bristle defensively, and then he looked away dismissively. "Very well. You may take him and go." Ignoring Inuyasha's sputter, the tengu turned to Yasei."Then what of you, kitsune? You trespass here."



Yasei drew himself up angrily. "Trespass?" he hissed. Staring up at the creature, he began to shift, to the form of a large fox with reddish fur. Then he started to glow, Kagome was astonished to see, with a pure white light. A holy light. His voice grew in volume and resonance, and sounded utterly unlike the Yasei she had become accustomed to.



"I am a messenger of Inari-sama, on the business of the kami,"he boomed. "Do you dare to interfere?"



Inuyasha frowned, and Shippou gaped. Inbe stood by calmly, his hands folded in front of him, but his eyes twinkled.



The tengu stared, unblinking. The god-touched glow reflected dully off black feathers, glinted in the eyes of the watching crow demons. Finally the spokesman sighed.



"We wish no quarrel with the kami. Be on your way, messenger. Your business awaits." A ripple of release flowed through the flock; they cawed and gabbled among themselves excitedly and some started to flutter off.



Inuyasha watched suspiciously, still gripping Tessaiga, as he tracked the movement of the dispersing youkai. Yasei had resumed his humanlike appearance, and had a small self-satisfied grin on his face. Inbe looked tolerantly amused, and had begun to slowly move away, toward the side of the wreckage and the way back to the road. Kagome let out a breath, and leaned down to touch Shippou's shoulder; he was still standing tensely, staring at the crows, and started at the contact. He looked up at her with a forced smile.



"Guess I told them, huh," he said weakly.



Kagome smiled back. "You sure did, Shippou-chan," she said encouragingly.



Inuyasha grunted. "Let's get going. We still have a crazy bitch to find."



She nodded, and she and the kit followed him as he eased back slowly, following the direction that Yasei and Inbe were taking. He was watching the youkai carefully, his sword still held at the ready, though the wind had died down now. With his other hand he held her arm, to guide her as they moved into the utter darkness away from the fire. As they picked their way back she glanced up; the tengu spokesman was still on his perch above, but was now ignoring them. His attention was instead on several crow-like tengu that approached, cawing and flapping heavily with seeming exertion. A few alighted nearby on wreckage of the house, but one swooped nearer its leader. Inuyasha tensed and pushed Kagome behind him as it flew uncomfortably close to them.



"Naikibo-sama!" it called breathlessly, hovering. "The kitsune has gone to ground!" This set off a spate of agitated cawing, but the leader merely cocked his head to follow the creature's gyrations. Inuyasha stopped, listening.



"Well?" the tengu said impassively.

The one who called was smaller than the rest-female, perhaps?-and, Kagome thought, seemed young. Even so, she carried a spear in acasual, practiced grip, like she knew quite well how to use it.



"We could not get the creature's door open," she gasped. "We have a watch set, so it will not escape."



"Like hell!" Inuyasha burst out. "While you're flitting around and babbling, that bitch is going to get away!"



The tengu leader peered down at them. "Are you still here, hanyou?" he asked flatly. The young tengu landed on a piece of the roof, and glanced from them to her leader with some confusion.



The tengu don't seem to be bad, Kagome thought. If we can convince them to work with us, we might have a better chance to find and stop Soen before she does something terrible. "Naikibo-sama," Kagome said, stepping forward, "we have some stake in this too. Can your people show us where the bolt-hole is? Maybe we can get it open."



"You can't get it open," snorted Yasei, behind them, who had also paused to listen. "But I can."



The tengu gave him a cool glance. "You would work against your own kind, kitsune?"



"She's no kin of mine," Yasei snapped.



Naikibo seemed to consider for a moment. He looked over at one of the older crows in attendance, an advisor, perhaps. "If the creature still offers a threat to us here, it will be dealt with." He paused. "If it has fled, then it is no longer our business. These," and he nodded negligently at Yasei and Inuyasha, "may pursue as they see fit. What do you think?"



"I agree," croaked the old tengu, giving the group on the ground a sharp glance.



The tengu leader then spoke to the young crow-girl. "Show them the way. We will follow soon."



"Naikibo-sama!" She bowed to him in acknowledgement, a sharp, jerky motion, and then gestured at them with her spear. "Follow, as well as you can." She flapped into the air.



"Wait!" Kagome cried out. "Inbe-ojiisan can't follow! Yasei, can you carry him all that way?"



Yasei looked dismayed; the answer, it seemed, was probably not. But Inbe merely smiled.



"I will head to the road, and wait for our friends from the shrine to pick me up. It won't be long, and I doubt I would be of much help if there is a fight," he said. He had picked up a flaming stick from the fire to light his way, and stood patiently.



Kagome hesitated. Leave him alone here, with all these youkai?



Inbe seemed to have no problem interpreting the doubt showing in her expression. "I will be fine, Kagome. The tengu will not harm me. Will you?" He glanced up at Naikibo, conversing with the grizzled crow-man perched nearby. The tengu seemed merely irritated.



"Go, priest. Unlike that fool in the temple I sent you to, you have acquitted yourself well. Leave in peace." The tengu turned back to continue a low-voiced discussion, ignoring all of them.



The decision to go was made for Kagome when an impatient Inuyasha grabbed her and swept her and Shippou to his back. "No time, wench. Let's go!" Yasei nodded, and the three of them took off after the circling crow-girl.



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The wind of their passage pulled at Kagome's hair, and ruffled Shippou's; Inuyasha had to maintain a good clip to keep up with the crow youkai flying above and ahead of them on the dark mountainside. It didn't seem that she was particularly looking for passable terrain for those she was leading, but Inuyasha was able to follow her without much trouble.



Unburdened, Yasei was almost able to match pace with the hanyou, though he lagged behind a bit, especially when Inuyasha had to leap ravines to follow the tengu. The kitsune caught up at one point when they were descending the long ridge of a mountain, breathing hard but steadily. The moon illuminated the vista beside them briefly; silver mountains marched off into the distance before sinking into darkness again when the moon went behind clouds.



She looked over at Yasei, now just a panting, vague shape in the darkness, from her secure grip on Inuyasha's back. "Are you alright, Yasei-kun?"



"'Course," he gasped, managing somehow to sound affronted in the middle of that exertion.



"Inuyasha can slow down if you need it," she said, poking the hanyou in the shoulder. He snorted, annoyed.



"If I slow down, I'll lose the birdbrain up there," he complained. A croak above indicated he'd been heard. Shortly Kagome felt a swoosh of air as the tengu stooped over them.



"I've been ordered to take you, and I won't lose you, groundlings," she said indignantly. "You have only to say if I go too fast,"she sniffed.



Yasei seemed ready to speak up, if he could muster the breath to do so, but Inuyasha cut him off. "Too fast? You're too slow, twit!I'd like to get there sometime tonight, before she fucking gets away!"



Kagome felt, rather than saw, the offended glare of the tengu. Yasei made a muffled moan of despair, and the tengu swept up and ahead.



"Keep up then," she said curtly, her voice fading as she flapped vigorously away. Inuyasha only grinned as he loped after her, leaving Yasei in the dust.



"Inuyasha, that's mean," Kagome whispered reproachfully.



"Yeah," piped up Shippou. "Don't you need that guy to open the door?"



"You're a kitsune," huffed Inuyasha. "Why can't you do it?"



"I'm a kid!" the kit exclaimed. "I was only just learning to do that stuff!"



"Whatever, runt," he replied. "Don't worry, Kagome, I'll wait for the punk. I can track the featherhead up there if she gets too far ahead of us."



But she didn't outdistance them; they were going downhill now, for the most part, and Yasei was able to keep up tolerably well. Kagome could see a sprinkle of lights indicating houses, here and there on the mountainside. Down in a valley up ahead was the winding glare of a highway, illuminated by streetlamps and the headlights of cars, and more light beyond it. The tengu fluttered to a halt before they reached it, alighting in a tree, and seemed a bit winded herself.



"Rest a moment," she gasped, staring out at the highway ahead. It was hard to discern an expression on the bird-girl, but Kagome thought she looked a little worried.



"How far is it?" Kagome asked, sliding off Inuyasha's back when he stopped. Yasei stumbled to a halt just behind them, breathing hard, and Kagome glanced back at him sympathetically.



"Past yon road, and down the slope, not too far," the tengu replied. She peered down at the small group. "You won't have trouble with the road, will you?"



Inuyasha glanced over at it. "Nah. I can jump it." Kagome followed his glance and studied it briefly. It was a four lane road, winding its way up the mountains, a different highway than the one they had taken to Ome. Traffic was light at this point in the evening, but steady, much of it trucks. The down slope area beyond it was brightly illuminated, looking considerably more developed than the mountains had been.



Yasei raised a brow disdainfully. "It should be easy enough to /cross a street/," he drawled.



"If you can't, tell me, kitsune," the bird-girl snapped. "I can fly you over if I have to."



"Shit," Inuyasha growled, eyeing the tengu suspiciously. "You'll get run over. I'll take you, punk."



"I don't think we'll have a problem," said Kagome quickly, trying to defuse the tension between the three of them. "Tengu-san, we really appreciate your guidance. Thank you for leading us."



The bird-girl left off glaring at Inuyasha and Yasei long enough to give her a stiff nod.



"I'm Kagome, and this is Inuyasha, Yasei, and Shippou," she said, indicating each in turn. She smiled a bright, expectant smile up at the creature. "Who are you?"



"Akarui," the tengu said, rather grudgingly, then pointedly looked away. She shook herself, fluffing her feathers before slicking them back down, and then checked the weapons strapped to her back.



Yasei took the opportunity to finish catching his breath as he stared assessingly down at the highway. Shippou was staring at the highway too, but in fascination.



"Kagome, what are all those lights on the road? Are they youkai?"



"No, Shippou-chan. Those are, um, carriages that people are driving. They have lights on them...remember my flashlight? They go really fast, so we want to make sure everybody gets across safely."



The fox kit looked confused, but Inuyasha forestalled any comment he might have made. "You'll see 'em close up, Shippou, when we go over."He indicated his back to Kagome, clearly impatient to get going, and she obliged, collecting Shippou and getting on.



Akarui seemed similarly keen, poised to fly out of the tree above. "If you are ready, groundlings. Shall we go?"



Without pausing for an answer, she launched herself, rising to a respectful height before crossing over the highway. Kagome could see her vague figure land on some projection on the other side, waiting. Yasei and Inuyasha jogged forward, and Kagome felt her heart speed up as they approached the noise and rush, and clutched his shoulders. Shippou gaped as they got closer, and she kept a good grip on him, too.



Smoothly Inuyasha increased his pace, running directly for the speeding traffic. At the very edge he leaped and they were airborne-flying over the roar of trucks, smelling the choking exhaust just for an instant-and then they were landing smartly on the other side, sliding a bit on the gravel of the verge.



Cars and trucks hurtled past them, and she turned her head to look worriedly for Yasei. But there he was, dancing across nonchalantly, ignoring the blaring horns of startled drivers. Kagome gasped at a near miss, but then he skipped onto the verge beside them with a swagger in his step, and a grin for her expression.



"See? No problem," he smirked.



She sighed in relief, and Inuyasha rolled his eyes.



"Let's go, then," croaked Akarui urgently from her perch."We're not far now."



Near them was an access road, currently deserted, which led off to a complex of warehouses, closed up for the night. Here, the tengu took some care to follow the streets, so as to better lead them through the maze of buildings. The ground still had some incline to it, but it was gentle; they seemed to be on the long slope down to the plains. The silent industrial district gave way to businesses, also closed and dark, and they then passed into a quiet residential area. Here Inuyasha sniffed, and quickened his pace, his expression intent.



At the far end of the grounds of a large school, a belt of trees bulked darkly against the dim haze of streetlights. The tengu was leading them straight to it, and Kagome could see other flapping wings silhouetted against the light. Then they were in the gloom under the trees, and she strained to see what they were clustered around while her eyes adjusted.



"This is where we followed the beast to," Akarui said shortly."She flew here and disappeared into the ground. We could not find her after that."



"Look familiar at all, Shippou?" asked Inuyasha, letting them both down. "Stinks like her."



It was a jumble of rocks, somehow left alone when this section of the forest was mown down to make way for more housing. Several crow-people stood around it, weapons at the ready, while Akarui relayed the orders from their leader. Their little group approached warily.



Shippou twisted his head around to stare at the surroundings."The rocks look right-but this was in the middle of the forest!"



"I see the door, right there," said Yasei judiciously, pointing.



The rocks formed a rough U-shape, the area he was pointing to being sheltered by the arms. Kagome squinted, and could see it-a dimly glowing oval outline.



"Shall I open it?" he asked, looking around.



"Kagome, you and the runt get behind that tree there,"Inuyasha directed, and they hurried to comply.



Kagome strained to sense something, anything, but nothing came to her; surely if Soen was waiting to pounce out, she'd be able to detect youki? But the pile of rocks was simply there, inert and boring, save for the faint doorway. No thin thread of malevolent power lead to it. Could Soen have realized, and found a way to cover her tracks, now? If that was the case, how much of what they were seeing was illusion? The supposition chilled her, and she rubbed her arms against the goose bumps that rose.



Inuyasha held Tessaiga ready, the crows likewise pointed their weapons, and all watched as Yasei examined the door closely.



The kitsune lifted his head to look over to where Kagome and Shippou crouched behind the tree. "Hey Shippou, keep an eye on what I'm doing here. You can open the next one," he winked. With some bravado he touched the door but quickly jerked back.



They all tensed as part of the rock vanished, to reveal an even darker void within. Yasei had flattened himself against the side of one of the framing rocks, but stretched experimentally towards the doorway, sniffing.



"I think it's safe, guys. Nobody in here."



"As if I'd trust your nose," Inuyasha grumbled, but he lowered Tessaiga slightly as he too sniffed the air, and then advanced on the door.



The crows followed him cautiously. Kagome watched, holding her breath, as first Yasei and Inuyasha, and then a couple of crow warriors disappeared into the hole. Several others, including Akarui, stayed outside watchfully.



"Can we go look, Kagome?" asked Shippou, his gaze fastened on the dark opening. "Soen never let me see what her place looked like."



They don't seem to be having any trouble down there, Kagome thought; and if they did find her, I don't think we'd be all that safe up here anyway. She closed her eyes and concentrated, but again nothing, no hint of evil youki came to her./ /"Sure, why not," she murmured, and the two of them advanced towards it. The crows moved aside for them with sideways glances.



Yasei had lit the interior with foxfire. The bluish glow revealed a short set of steps leading down to a small room, musty and plainly long abandoned. She could pick out the outlines of two other kitsune-doors against a back wall. Against the wall on the right were the remains of a futon, rotten with age. On the left wall was a dusty chest, with a similarly disintegrating kimono hanging out of it. A grimy mirror lay on top of the chest.



Shippou descended with eyes wide, and Kagome followed after him. Yasei was standing in front of the two doors at the back of the room, looking absorbed; Inuyasha, next to him, looked impatient. The two crows watched Yasei, but they seemed a bit nervous at being underground, their glances darting to the ceiling and back to the open doorway leading out.



"So where do those doors go?" Shippou asked, fetching up next to Yasei. The older fox looked down at him with a frown.



"That's the question, isn't it? They could be closets...which one is she hiding in, eh? Or they could be gateways to other places."



"What do you mean, gateways?" growled Inuyasha. "You mean to tell me she's getting away while we fucking stand around here?"



"Yup," Yasei said. "She's probably long gone." The crows stared at him suspiciously. "Those doors could lead to a network of other doors, if she's as smart as I think she may be. She's likely miles away, if not on the other side of the country." He shrugged. "Or it may lead to just another den somewhere."



Inuyasha stared hard at him for a moment. "Kagome, Shippou- /out/. And stay out," he ordered. He glanced at the crow-men. "You guys, do what you want, but that bitch might come roaring out of there, so look sharp."



The tengu nodded, and planted their feet grimly, weapons at the ready. Kagome and Shippou scrambled up the stairs and out, and then turned to peer back in.



"Which one did you want to open first?" asked Yasei, still staring consideringly at the doors.



"Does it matter?" growled Inuyasha, gripping Tessaiga in aguard position.



"Not really," he muttered, and taking a deep breath, touched the door on the left. It opened onto a softly lit, quiet green space.



A city park? Kagome thought, staring at the soft haze of electric lights coming through. "Any sign of her?" she called from the entrance to the den.



Inuyasha and Yasei had advanced cautiously to the doorway, going to far as to slightly poke their noses out. Inuyasha sniffed.



"I think she's been this way," he said grimly. "But she doesn't seem to have stuck around."



Kagome came down the stairs, to peer out the doorway, despite Inuyasha's disapproving grunt. When Yasei took a tentative step out onto the soft grass just past the edge, she followed, Inuyasha at her side and trying to nudge her behind him. Shippou bumped at her heels as she stopped one step from the door and quickly surveyed their surroundings. Where was this place? It definitely seemed to be a park of some kind; the grass was mown short, and not far away she could see gravel walkways, well maintained. Other than the lights around the periphery, it was dim, and silent.



She was gradually becoming aware of something prickling at the edge of her senses, some /wrongness/, but she could not see or hear anything disturbing the stillness here. Inuyasha, at her side, was frowning. None of them moved away from the door.



Her appraisal took in the high wall around the expansive green space they were in; interrupting the wall was an imposing covered gate, which was closed and locked for the night. Behind her, the doorway hung in the air-evidently it had once opened from a building long gone. She looked up and over it, and gasped. The others whirled to stare in the same direction.



"That's the Imperial Palace," she said, pointing to the huge and beautiful building behind them, beyond the floating doorway. "The old Imperial Palace. Guys, we're in Kyoto."





TBC





A/N: Many thanks to SoutasSister for her beta work, advice and general awesomeness!!