Labyrinth

 

Chapter 6: At Least It’s a Change…

 

            “This stinks.”

Miroku’s right brow winged upward at Kagome’s adamant pronouncement.  Cautiously he took a light sniff.  “It does?” he inquired.  Perhaps she could detect something he could not.

Kagome turned to look at him, and paused at the sight that met her eyes.  The monk had tilted his head so that his nose was “in the air” and had even gone so far as to close his eyes.  For a moment she just stared, her brow wrinkling in confusion.  What was he doing?  And then she remembered what she had said, and the fact that twenty-something year old men who grew up in magical, albeit annoying, labyrinths were not likely to be up to date with the current slang.

“Um, not literally, Miroku.” She gently touched his arm to draw his attention, and was relieved that he was curious enough not to take advantage. “It’s an expression.  It means that this is… really not fun, at all…”

“Ah.” He nodded, both in comprehension and in agreement.  Indeed, this really was no fun - at all.

The Labyrinth forest was, to put it mildly, creepy.  It was difficult to see three feet ahead, and even then one was never really certain what one was seeing. For one thing, the entire forest floor was covered in very dense undergrowth and lots of fungi.  Kagome was certain her biology teacher would have a field day, but she was not interested in mushrooms.  Then there was the fact that the forest was filled with strange noises.  Kagome had asked what made them, and Miroku had said she didn’t want to know.  She decided to take him at his word, and didn’t complain when he moved to walk closer to her.  For a brief moment it occurred to her that he might just be trying to scare her to get close to her, but really Miroku wasn’t usually that subtle.  And he really did look wary.  In fact, he hadn’t once tried to grope her since their entrance into the forest.  For some reason that scared her.

On the bright side –or rather, the dark side – this was definitely a change of scenery.  For example, instead of an unmoving sun there was now… no sun at all.  Yes, the forest was very, very dark.  Except, of course, for the occasional very small clearing or path; all of which were lit as though by a dying fire even though Kagome had yet to see any fire.

Sometimes it was better not to ask.

Kagome was betting this was one of those times.  If there were something in here that was going to kill her, she’d rather not know.  In fact, she was pretty sure she didn’t want to know about the things that would only maim her either.  No, she was perfectly content to walk the half hidden path, huddled behind Miroku, praying that his holy powers would keep anything dangerous far away.

Yes, that seemed like a very good plan to Kagome.

And apparently Miroku thought it was a pretty good idea as well.

Unlike their journey through the open fields, the two did not talk much.  The most conversation they had had in hours was Miroku’s whispered instructions for Kagome to avoid obstacles. 

This had only changed within the last few minutes.

They had entered an area of the forest that was clearer, and brighter, and Miroku had stepped away to walk beside her now.  He seemed more relaxed, and that helped Kagome relax as well.  Which was how they ended up having the “conversation” about how much the forest stank.

“Well, at least it’s a change.” Kagome muttered to herself, scuffing her feet along the dirt path.  Not necessarily a good change, but definitely a change.

Kagome slanted a look at Miroku, trying to determine how open to continued conversation he might be.  She was really, really tired of silence.  Seeing his shoulders relaxed and his staff hanging casually at his side she decided conversation was probably alright, “Hey, Miroku?  How big is this forest?”

“I haven’t measured it, Kagome.”

She rolled her eyes, “How long does it take to get through it?  To the city?”

“I wouldn’t know, I’ve never tried.”

That got her interest.  “Never,” she stepped closer to him, trying to look at his expression, “Why not?”

“Good self-preservation instincts.” His tone had become slightly clipped, and when he finished he clamped his lips in a thin line and looked away from her.

“That bad, huh?” she was trying to tease, but she sounded frightened.  He turned to regard her honestly.

“Kagome, Labyrinth city is not a safe place for humans.  It never has been.  There was a time in my life when nothing could convince me to go there.” There was a raw edge to his voice that told her he wished he’d found his courage sooner.  Was the person he was looking for in Labyrinth city?  He was avoiding her gaze again.  Knowing she had touched a sore spot, however inadvertently, Kagome allowed him to move ahead of her a little and moved her attention to her surroundings.  After several, uncomfortably silent, moments Miroku stopped with a sigh.

“We may as well set up camp here.” She looked up in surprise, “This is the safest spot in the forest, so far as I know.” He explained.

Kagome accepted this mainly because she had no other choice.  She didn’t know enough about the forest to argue, and they couldn’t walk forever.  In fact, now that she thought about it, her feet were very sore.  Wearily she nodded and sank down on a nearby rock.

“What do we need?”

He smiled as he settled on the ground across the path from her.  “Nothing.  A fire would just attract unwanted guests, and we’ve light and warmth enough.” He paused thoughtfully, “though, if you’re cold…” he trailed off with a suggestive smile that left her blushing to the roots of her hair.

“I’m just fine, thank you.”  And she had been worried when he wasn’t hitting on her?  In retrospect she should have been grateful for the break.

Miroku observed her with a slight smile, but did not disturb her any further.  In the quiet Kagome’s thoughts turned inward and she absently chewed on a lock of hair before shoving it behind her ear.  Reaching down she smoothed out her skirt.

“Miroku?”

He looked up at the gentle question; she wasn’t looking at him and she spoke rather distractedly.

“Yes?”

“What time do you think it is?”

His brow furrowed as he studied her, “Time?” This got her attention.

“Yes, you know… morning, mid-day, evening, night… what time of day is it?”

He shrugged disinterested, “I wouldn’t know.  It would be difficult to measure such things…” he waved a hand toward the sky.

She returned her attention to her skirt, picking at imaginary lint, “oh, I guess so.” She agreed half heartedly.  They sat in silence a few more minutes before she spoke again, “how long do you think it’s been since I met you?” her voice was very low, hesitant almost.

Miroku was a little concerned.  Not that he thought she was in any danger, but she seemed so melancholy.  He moved to sit closer to her and schooled his tone to be light and reassuring, “I’m not sure.  Does it matter?” he tried to catch her gaze, to see her expression, but she kept her eyes averted.

She was quiet for so long that he thought perhaps she would not answer, but then she spoke and it was so soft he had to strain to hear her.

“I was just thinking about my mama.” She confessed, “I wonder if she’s worried.”

Miroku didn’t know what to say.  How could he reassure this girl whose world was so different from his own?  He had hardly even known his mother, had never had anyone to worry about his well being.  In lieu of comfort her offered the only other thing he had… distraction.

Assuming his most playful expression he knelt in front of her and gently tugged her hands from her lap to his chest.

“I’m worried,” he told her, and she brought startled orbs to meet his gaze. “Worried that you haven’t considered my offer seriously.”

She blinked at him, adorably confused.  He let one hand slip from hers to reach down, heading for her backside. His lids drooped in a sultry expression.

“You haven’t told me, Kagome,” her name was a soft caress, “will you bear my child?”

And abruptly the mood had completely changed.  A resounding slap echoed around them and Kagome was standing in the path with her back to him.

“You stupid pervert!” she yelled. “I’m going to bed - alone.” She sharply rebuffed him before he could make another inappropriate remark.  “And I’d better wake up that way too.” She stomped across to the other side of the path and laid down without turning to look at him.

Miroku gingerly rubbed his cheek, but he was still smiling.  At least she wasn’t so sad anymore.  Silently he stretched out on his own side of the path.  And just before he fell asleep he heard her call softly to him.

“Thank you, Miroku.” And he knew that she understood.

 

***

 

Kagome wasn’t sure how long she had been sleeping when the sound of a drumbeat reverberating through the forest floor brought her back from the land of dreams.  Slowly she pushed herself into a half sitting position, rubbing her eyes sleepily.  For a moment she couldn’t remember what had awakened her, but then she felt the pulsating beat beneath her.

“Miroku?” a soft whisper.  She wasn’t afraid, but she was very confused.

“I’m here, Kagome.” He was sitting against a tree, eyes moving methodically, searching the surrounding trees.

“What is that?” she was almost awake now, stretching her arms and arching her back before crawling closer to him.

“The mimano.”

As though that told her anything.  She came to sit beside him, turning her head to watch him.

“And the mimano are…?”

“Birds.” He replied shortly, his head jerked slightly to one side, as though he had heard something that startled him.  “Friendly ones.” He continued.

She titled her head, tempted to wave a hand before his eyes to gain his attention.  She decided against it. “If they’re friendly, why do you look so…” she struggled to find the right word.  He didn’t really look worried, more like… ready for… something… action maybe? “vigilant?” She decided that was the word she was looking for.

“There are other forest creatures who would take this opportunity to do harm.”

“Oh.” She replied blankly.  Still didn’t make any sense to her. “So, what are we going to do?”

He finally turned to look at her, and she was surprised to see him smiling, “Why, my dear Kagome, we’re going to join them.”

“The mimano?” she asked blankly.

He didn’t bother to answer and an instant later she found herself being towed down the path by a firm grip on her wrist.

“Come, Kagome, we musn’t dawdle.”

“Miroku!” she tugged on her wrist in an effort to free herself, “I can walk by myself!”

He didn’t release her, and after several failed attempts she simply resigned herself to keeping up with him.  No point in letting her wrist get raw, after all.  At the rather hurried pace Miroku set it did not take them long to approach the sound of drums.  After a few minutes Kagome could see the flickering of firelight through the trees, and soon they came into a large clearing.  In the center of the clearing was a huge bonfire, and dancing around the fire were the most brilliant birds Kagome had ever seen.  That wasn’t to imply that they were intelligent, for Kagome had no way of knowing if they were or not, but rather that they were - quite simply – neon colored.  From blinding yellow, to glaring red, with pink and orange in-between, it was nearly overwhelming and Kagome had to close her eyes a moment just to adjust.

She turned to her companion to find him remarkable unfazed by the cacophony of color and movement around them.  In fact, Miroku was grinning.

Not his seductive “come hither” grin, not even his playful, teasing grin.  This was a grin of unadulterated excitement.

“I haven’t run across a mimano gathering in… a very long time.” He turned the full force of his grin on her and it was nearly as blinding as the birds.  Distractedly Kagome realized that he had very white and very straight teeth – especially for a man who had never seen a toothbrush, let alone a dentist.  “Can’t you feel their excitement, Kagome?” he didn’t seem to notice her rude staring.  “The very forest feels alive!”

He looked very good when he was happy.  The shadow of sorrow in his eyes faded even into non-existence, and the tension in his features melted away.  He looked so very young now, and Kagome realized with a start that he was likely only five or six years older than she was.

“Come on, Kagome.” He tugged at her hand and she stumbled after him, nearly overwhelmed by this series of seemingly trivial realizations.

But once Kagome was actually inside the circle of mimano she had little chance to think.  The birds were nearly riotous in their dancing, spinning first one way and then the other without pause.  They shouted and cheered and laughed, and now that she was so near it was almost deafening.  It was actually a little frightening in its intensity and Kagome wanted to withdraw, to regain her bearings.  But just as she managed to free herself from Miroku’s enthusiastic grasp she found herself face to beak with an extremely gangly bird.

“New are you?” it asked with unforced cheer, and Kagome could only nod in response.  The bird nodded back, “we love new people!” Kagome had decided that it must be a he.  The voice was just too deep to belong to a female.  “Join the dancing.” He encouraged, shooing her toward the center ring of dancers.  Kagome wanted to protest, but she didn’t have time before a smaller bird drew her into the next circle, laughing merrily.

“New?  That’s alright, you’ll fit right in, right in.”  A female this time, Kagome realized.  The bird guided her through a series of simple steps, encouraging her occasionally.  It was actually enjoyable once she got used to all the busyness around her.  Kagome soon felt a smile seep across her face.  Miroku circled by, looking comically out of place in his dark robes.

“Having fun yet?” he called to her and she nodded.

 

***

 

            Inuyasha was not having a good day.  He was bored, and the ball hadn’t allowed him a glimpse of Kagome in a very long time.  To make matters worse he couldn’t even sleep to kill some time because he only needed to sleep one full night every two weeks, and he had slept two nights before he appeared in Kagome’s home.  Sometimes being the Goblin King stunk… on second thought, he decided that it stank all the time.   In fact, it positively reeked.

            He didn’t know if he wanted to blame his brother or his father for that.  After all, if his father hadn’t given him the stupid title maybe Sesshoumaru would have left well enough alone.

            Moodily Inuyasha stomped to his stone throne and threw himself onto it sideways.  Hanging one leg over the arm while pulling the other up to rest his arm on it he glared at the crystal ball mere feet away.

            “Stupid ball.” He muttered, ears twitching, a clear sign of agitation.

            He stared at the offending object sullenly for long minutes, tapered fingers and sharp claws tapping against his upraised knee.

            Why wasn’t the stupid thing cooperating today?

 He jumped up and paced across the room, turning to toss a glare in the general direction of the ball.  And then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something.  Only a flash and a swirl of color, but the ball was definitely reacting to something.

In a single leap Inuyasha had cleared the throne room and was standing before the pedestal which held his most treasured possession – his link to the outside world.

“What?” he leaned close over the ball, his clawed hands framing it without touching it as he tried to will the image into focus.

And then he realized that the image wasn’t out of focus at all, it was just entirely too colorful and crowded.

“Mimano.” He said with mild disgust.  Stupid birds.  What right did they have to be so cheerful all the time?  He should feed them to one of the Labyrinth monsters.  There were plenty on the dark side of the forest.  But then he remembered that he had tried that once, about two hundred years before, and none of the monsters had been willing to eat them.  All feathers and limbs – no meat.

Inuyasha didn’t like the mimano; they reminded him of better times.  Besides, only an idiot could be that happy all the time.  There was also the fact that Inuyasha had never been fond of loud noises; with his sensitive ears it was to be expected.  And bright colors sometimes hurt his eyes too.  Then there was the fact that quick movements made him suspicious, especially when there was such a large crowd – easy cover for an assassin.  So, all in all, the mimano were exactly the sort of group Inuyasha hated most.  And being stuck here certainly hadn’t softened that feeling.

The sound of footsteps approaching and then coming to a stop just outside the throne room distracted him for a moment; he looked up to see the same dark haired servant that had come before standing there, a pitcher and cup in hand.  She was the only one of his servants who was willing to come here.  A glimpse of her vacant eyes reminded him of the reason for that – she didn’t have a choice.  Honestly he found her vaguely disconcerting. He motioned for her to leave her burden in the doorway.  She did so and then immediately turned and left, her steps graceful and athletic.  Inuyasha threw a last token glare at the colorful birds in his seeing stone before turning to retrieve the offered refreshment from the hall.  And then he caught sight of something that made him forget about creepy servants and much needed tea.  He growled unconsciously.

What was she doing there?

His claws flexed instinctively.

There, in the middle of the dancing birds, was Kagome.  She was smiling and laughing and she looked breathtakingly beautiful.  She looked happy.

He growled once more.

“Stupid, stupid girl.” He cursed, “haven’t you learned yet?”  The coppery scent of blood seeped into the air, evidence that his claws had pierced his skin as he fisted his hands in frustration. He had thought she had learned her lesson earlier when he had killed the old bird.  But apparently she was too easily distracted.  Looked like it was time to remind her again.

And then… and then… a flash of dark robes and a golden staff crossed into view.  Inuyasha recalled the servant so recently dismissed from his presence, and his thoughts, and a slow smile spread on Inuyasha’s face, revealing the gleam of sharp fangs.  Inuyasha saw opportunity.  Now, while the girl was distracted – this was the time to put his plan in motion.  He focused on the image of a man in holy robes and smiled.

 

***

           

            It probably should have struck her as odd.

            Miroku’s behavior that was.

            True, he had shown a propensity toward unwarranted light heartedness before… but this shift from calm to excited was really startling.  But then Kagome was beginning to realize that when one lived one’s whole life in danger – pleasure must be taken where it could be found.  There really wasn’t time to build up to it or get in the mood or anything.  And once she had joined in the party she realized the excitement of the mimano really was contagious.  And Kagome really was having a wonderful time.

            Every bird in the clearing was eager to dance and talk and laugh.  They didn’t care what dangers might come tomorrow - tonight they were safe.  And they were incredibly curious.  They didn’t want details.  They just wanted to know who she was, and what she thought.  They didn’t want to know how she got here or why, they didn’t want to know about her past or anything else that might make her sad.  They wanted to know what she liked.  What style of music was her favorite, whether she preferred the intricate footwork of the dance circles or the exuberant arm motions of the crowd around the edges of the clearing.  Each bird she came to asked her these questions until she didn’t know which she preferred, she only knew that she hadn’t felt this free in a very long time.

            It was during one such conversation that she looked up and realized that Miroku was gone.

            He was nowhere in the clearing.

            She had just sat down to catch her breath, but she was back on her feet again in an instant.  There was definitely no sign of the monk.  He wasn’t hard to find in this particular crowd.  The mimano were tall, for birds, but even the tallest fell short of her shoulders, and Miroku was taller than she was.  Plus, his dark robes made him stand out against the fluorescent birds.  She jerked her head from side to side, eyes darting frantically as she scanned the clearing for any sign of him.  And just when she was going to do something (though what, exactly, she might do she had no idea) the object of her thoughts came back into the clearing.

            He was walking slowly, wearily, his shoulders slumped.  Did he have mood swings or something?

            Waving in an effort to gain his attention she called his name.  For just a moment he looked up at her and there was something desperately sad in his eyes.  He looked almost in pain, as if he was literally being torn in two.  But almost the moment his eyes met hers he forced the darkness away, adopting a small grin.  Kagome tilted her head quizzically and he merely shook his head.

            It was not until much later, once they had left the mimano clearing continuing into the heart of the Labyrinth, that she had a chance to ask him what had happened.  And at that time he shrugged and told her it was unimportant.  She didn’t believe him, but the set of his shoulders and the way he deliberately looked away made it clear that he did not wish to speak of it.  And she let it be.  There were things about him she didn’t think she wanted to know.  Things that he had been through… things he was still working to get over… the things that hid behind the flirtatious smile and the twinkling eyes…  And she reflected, sadly, on how hard life in this place must be.