July 1577 – Late at Night

"There you go, Shimazu-san, all healed up," the Miko chirped with a brilliantly warm smile as she pulled her hands away from his left calf, the pale pink-white glow enveloping them fading.

"It's gone!" Houjumaru exclaimed as he prodded at the now flawless skin where the bone deep wound had been. Even the blood was gone without a trace, but the cut in his hakama was still there.

"Ne, Shimazu-san, would you like to see a neat trick?" The Miko gave him a gentler smile and reached her hand out to touch the damaged fabric of his hakama. Right before his eyes the fabric knit itself back together, almost as if by magic. "Now no one will know that anything happened."

"You mean that?" If there had been one thing he hadn't been looking forward to, it was telling his father that he had touched the sword without first earning it.

"It will be our little secret, Shimazu-san," the Miko said with a fondness in her sapphire blue eyes.

"All finished with the whelp, beloved?" The voice that spoke was low and smooth, filled with a tenderness as the speaker addressed the Miko. It belonged to the person that loomed over him, casting a shadow over both himself and his pretty savior.

"You're so impatient, dear husband," the Miko chided with an exasperated roll of her eyes. "You always have been." There was a meaning to her words that escaped him, and really he was now far more interested in the man that had shown up.

Houjumaru twisted around where he still sat and craned his neck to get a look at the man. Sharp gray eyes met his own, brilliant streaks of red marking the cheeks just under them, lending the man a much more frightening appearance.

"And you're not, beloved?" The man's gaze flicked towards the Miko while a smirk teased the corners of his mouth upwards. "You're as bad as I am when it comes to patience or need I remind you of the follies of your youth?"

"Says the idiot that nearly died twice the first day I met him," the Miko muttered under her breath. "I'll take my leave now, husband. Take care, Shimazu-san." She got up without so much as a rustle of fabric and left the darkened back courtyard.

"Well, that's me in the doghouse for the night," the man said aloud with a grim smile as the Miko slipped through the opening of the gate leading out to village streets. Once she was gone the man crouched down, his expression turning serious. "You're much too young to be handling that sword, whelp. Put it back exactly how you found it and don't speak of this to anyone, okay?"

Houjumaru frowned at the reprimand but nodded, as it had already been his intention from the start. Cutting himself with the heavy nodachi had been an unexpected disaster, and had the Miko not passing by at that exact moment…

"You're thinking too much on it, whelp. It happened, you were saved. No need to fret over it anymore." The man cracked a slight smile and casually reached over to ruffle his hair. "My wife has a tendency to be at exactly the right place at precisely the right time. Make sure you find yourself a girl like that, and hold on tight to her. She'll be worth dying for."

Houjumaru ducked his head away from the man's overly familiar gesture and made a face. "I don't care about girls, and I'm not scared of dying."

"Oh, you'll change your tune one day, whelp." The man gave a low chuckle and looked back in the direction of the gate. "But you're right about one thing…Shimazu don't fear death, we embrace it each time we rush onto the battlefield."

"You're part of the clan?" Houjumaru frowned slightly as he took in the man's kosode, which lacked any sign of the Shimazu crest that each member of his clan wore with pride.

"Indeed I am," the man replied with a cheeky grin as he returned his attention to Houjumaru. "That's not what's important here though. Just do as I said with the nodachi, and don't try to use it again until it's given to you by your father. You'll earn it soon enough, and when you do you'll be ready for it."

"And when will that be?" Houjumaru's question was met with another chuckle.

"That depends on you, whelp. Now, as much as I'd like to stay and answer any further questions I have a wife to console and a daughter to get back home to. I will leave you with a bit of advice, though…" The man lifted a hand and touched his index finger over Houjumaru's heart, his expression serious. "There's two things you'll need to remember when the time comes: You must first die in order to be reborn and, most importantly, with your dying breath you must utter the phrase 'Awaken and burn through me, Ketsueki.'."

"What?" That wasn't really the kind of advice he was expecting, and it was strange advice to receive.

"Just trust me on this, okay? When the memory of this conversation passes from your mind and finally comes back to you, it will be the right time." The man pulled his hand away then stood and turned his back to Houjumaru. "Now get going, Shimazu Toyohisa."

October 26th, 1497

"Awaken…and burn through me…Ketsueki…"

Displaced in Time

She stood there, rooted to the spot, all conscious thought gone as Toyohisa slumped to his knees almost immediately, the wickedly long blade of his nodachi protruding from his back. That the fight would turn out like this…

Kagome was vaguely aware that someone was screaming, a wordless and broken sounding noise that pierced through the night and roused the tired, injured villagers from their homes. From the way her throat burned and ached the only possible conclusion was that she was the one screaming. The scream devolved into a grief-stricken wail interspersed with choking sobs as her legs gave out.

"Shut up, you stupid bitch!" Inuyasha snarled as he turned from Toyohisa's deathly still form, his ears pinned back against his skull. In the blink of an eye he was in front of her and in the next he struck her across the cheek.

The sharp blow sent her sprawling, pain blossoming across her cheek as she was shocked into silence. That she could have uttered a single word to keep the Hanyou in check was forgotten, and her eyes went wide with fear as she scrambled to get away from Inuyasha.

"Just what do you think you're doing to my intended?" Inuyasha froze at the softly spoken words that even she could barely hear, but hear them she did. Beyond the Hanyou Toyohisa slowly stood up, impossibly so. The sword was still very much run through him, but it was ensconced by a dark red glow. No, that wasn't quite right, the sword was dissolving into a mist of blood that swirled around Toyohisa.

"You should be dead!" Inuyasha's accusatory statement was tinged with panic as he turned back to Toyohisa. The Hanyou took a step back, which put him closer to Kagome and a low, rage-filled growl echoed quite clearly across the area, making Inuyasha freeze yet again.

"Get away from her." The maelstrom of blood mist followed Toyohisa as he took a halting step forwards, and for some inexplicable reason it appeared to be thinning. His next step was more surefooted and quickly followed by another while the blood mist completely vanished.

Whether it was through his own will or not, Inuyasha moved away from her immediately and just as soon as he did Toyohisa was kneeling next to her. His touch was exceedingly gentle as he pulled her up to her knees and inspected her cheek. She whimpered and flinched away from the slight prod to the injured area, at which a murderous expression stole over Toyohisa's face, made even more frightening with the vivid red marks that now adorned his cheeks.

"Stay here." There was a hard edge to his tone despite how softly the order was given, and it was clearly an order. Toyohisa slowly stood up to turn and face Inuyasha who was frozen with fear a mere few feet away.

Inuyasha snapped out of his frozen state with an uneasy growl and bolted towards the forest like hell itself was after him. He barely made it ten feet from his starting position when Toyohisa exploded into motion and closed the distance between himself and the Hanyou much faster than Kagome could track. Dirt and rock sprayed upwards, hiding them from sight, followed by a pained yelp and a low, snarling growl.

"Kagome! What happened child?" Kaede called out as she hurried over to where Kagome was still kneeling on the ground.

Kagome pulled her gaze away from the fight, if it could even be call that anymore, and looked to Kaede, who was accompanied by a few men from the village. Her attempt to speak was only met with a sharp, searing pain that had her eyes watering so she did the only thing she could think of in that moment. She threw a hand up and motioned for them to stay back, which exactly none of them heeded.

As Kaede neared her she could apparently make out the swelling to Kagome's cheek by the light of the moon, and her face was drawn into a severe frown. "The bone appears to be broken," she assessed. "Help Kagome up and-"

A hoarse scream cut Kaede off, and diverted everyone's attention to where Toyohisa and Inuyasha were. At the end of a ten foot long furrow the samurai had the Hanyou pressed face down into the dirt, a knee pinning down Inuyasha's right arm by his shoulder joint. The scream had been from the Hanyou's humerus snapping in half as his arm was twisted towards his back.

"Is that… You must not kill Inuyasha!" Kaede's cry pulled Kagome's attention back to the elderly Miko while anger bubbled up in her at the plea for the Hanyou's life.

"He nearly killed Toyohisa, and he was going to kill me. Give him a good reason as to why Inuyasha's life should be spared, because I ran out of them when he disparaged me in front of my family." Oh, it hurt to speak, but the pain wasn't as bad as it had been when Toyohisa had tested the injury barely even a minute ago. She sat straight-backed as she stared at Kaede in a direct challenge. "And it better not have anything to do with hunting down the Shikon no Kakera."

"I feared as much when he was revived. He hasn't changed one bit, and still poses a danger even with the beads of subjugation. Even so, he was freed by your hand, Kagome, thus he is your responsibility," Kaede stated grimly as she returned Kagome's stare.

"That's still not a reason as to why he should be spared," Kagome argued, her anger flaring again.

There came a thud and an anguished scream not too far from them, interrupting their heated discussion and drawing their attention to the dirty and injured form of Inuyasha. His face was mottled with bruises and smears of dirt, but worse yet was the way his arm was laid out at a completely wrong angle.

"In return for the kindness you and yours showed Kagome the last three days I will spare the dog's life, but do not mistake this as a generosity on my part. You will be responsible for him as the price for your request." There was a faint growl to Toyohisa's voice as he spoke, and the samurai approached them with a scowl on his face. His gaze went to the armed village men gathered behind Kaede, his expression darkening slightly at the sight of them.

"You will not be moved on the matter?" Kaede looked from Toyohisa to Kagome and back, her tone imploring.

"No," Kagome answered sharply as she slowly stood up. Her legs threatened to give out almost immediately, and she staggered back a step only to find that Toyohisa had moved to stand behind her. She leaned into him, despite how awkward her bow and backpack made it, while Kaede hung her head with a sigh.

"Very well, I will take responsibility for Inuyasha." The elderly Miko turned away from them and walked over to InuYasha's whimpering form. "Rikichi, please see to it that Inuyasha is taken to my hut so that I may treat his wounds. Leave him outside and place some hay to the side of the hut as a bed for him."

"Yes, Lady Kaede." One of the men stepped forwards, and Kagome recognized him as the man who had rallied the villagers together against Mistress Centipede. At his direction, the men gathered with him lifted Inuyasha up and carried him off towards Kaede's home, leaving them alone with the elderly Miko.

"You were human last we met, of that I am certain. How is it you are now a youkai, Shimazu-san?" Kaede asked without turning to face them, her tone weary. Kagome herself blinked at the question, the belated realization of what those red marks having appeared on the samurai's face meant finally striking home.

"I'm human," Toyohisa stated bluntly and factually, though it was ruined by the undertone of a growl.

"I might be old, but my senses are not failing me. You are most certainly a youkai, and an extremely powerful one at that," Kaede retorted and looked at Toyohisa from over her shoulder. "You've no idea of the change that has been wrought over you?" Her gaze slid down to Kagome, eyes narrowing at the look on her face. "You clearly seem to know, Kagome."

"I… His sword turned into blood…"

Displaced in Time

She wasn't lying, he could tell that much from her scent and heart rate, but as he craned his neck and scanned the torn up path leading into the village behind them he noted that all of his weapons were accounted for. His wakizashi and tanegashima were still on the ground where they had slipped from his grasp, and impaled in the ground between them was his nodachi. He wasn't sure of what had happened himself, which led to him now being a youkai of all things, but he was certain that Kagome was not lying.

There was more to her scent that had Toyohisa pressing his nose into Kagome's hair and inhaling. A lingering bitterness and salt from her tears, a spiciness from her anger that was ebbing away, and an overall note of relief making up the greater portion of her emotions. Underneath that, she smelled of oranges, plums and a brewing summer storm.

"Um, Toyohisa, what are you doing?" Kagome's question did little to deter him as he shifted his attention from the Miko's hair to her neck.

"You smell good," he rumbled out and rubbed his nose against the skin just beneath Kagome's hairline.

"T-thank you, but we should probably get your weapons and head inside." The Miko pulled away from him, making him blink open his eyes with a disappointed sigh. She turned towards him, red-faced and her scent shifting to an interesting mix of embarrassment and happiness. The swelling in her cheek had reduced to nothing, and there was a faint odor that reminded him of lightning that radiated from where she had been injured. It smelled nothing like Inuyasha did, all traces of the Hanyou's scent gone from where he had struck her.

"I'll be just a moment," Toyohisa stated in a reassuring tone, at which Kagome gave him a faint smile, then went to retrieve his swords and matchlock gun.

"Do you know what manner of youkai Shimazu-san is, child?" Kaede asked in what sounded like a discreet tone.

"Oh, I do! He's an Inu Daiyoukai, which explains the growling and the, uh, sniffing." Kagome's answer made him pause with his hand over the nodachi's hilt, mouth drawn into a frown.

That he was anything relatable to Inuyasha made his skin crawl, yet Kagome had been perfectly at ease leaning up against him. She even knew… Wait, how did she know what he is when he himself didn't know?

Fingers closing around the nodachi's hilt, his frown deepened as he pulled the blade free. It felt much lighter than he remembered, and the color of the edge had gone from a pale gray to a deep red along the entire length. Everything else about the blade was exactly as he remembered it to be, from the feel of the grip in his hand to the light scent of the choji oil used in the maintenance of the blade.

He inspected the point of the blade for any damage and when none was found he slid the nodachi into its scabbard. His wakizashi and tanegashima were likewise put away then he took a moment to observe Kagome and Kaede from afar.

"Daiyoukai are very rare, very powerful and very dangerous. If he were to lose control of himself-"

"Toyohisa won't! Even though I've only known him for barely even half a day I know that he wouldn't lose control over himself!" There was a vehemence to her tone that had him wondering why he was even suspecting her. That she knew what he was would only serve to help him learn about what he was now capable of. It was a start, at least.

"The only person in danger of incurring my wrath upon them has been dealt with. If anything I would put this village under my protection, if it is needed," Toyohisa stated plainly as he returned to them, Kagome jumping slightly at his voice while Kaede seemed to consider his words.

"What would your protection of this village entail?" There was a gleam in the elderly Miko's eye, as though she were plotting something. Kaede motioned for them to follow after her and led the way over to her hut.

"I won't be taking control of the village from the Daimyou, which, if memory serves, would be the current head of the Takeda. I can only offer protection against youkai, bandits and raiders, as I have no desire to be a leader. I'm a brat of the battlefield and there is only one other place that I would rather be when I'm not in the midst of a fight." His gaze went to Kagome, the young Miko walking a few steps ahead of him, who blushed and once again gave off that mixed scent of embarrassment and happiness at the implication of his words.

"That will have to suffice," Kaede responded then paused as they reached her hut. "I should see to Inuyasha's arm and set the bone otherwise it will need to be rebroken. It will take but a few minutes so wait here, even if you intend to wed one another we don't want to have tongues wagging." With that said Kaede shuffled off to the side of her home that Rikichi had relocated Inuyasha to.

"How are you feeling?" Kagome faced him, worry etched into her expression as she looked him over. Her scent twisted with a note of sourness that made his nose wrinkle.

"I feel fine." Better than fine, actually. He felt alive for what honestly felt like the first time in his life, and energized.

"And your…wound?" There was a hesitation in her voice as she asked that question while he frowned.

By every right he should be dead, considered where he's been stabbed. A cursory inspection, a simple press of his fingers over his heart, made it clear that there was no wound to speak of. "Gone."

Kagome took a faltering step towards him then halted and looked around, uncertainty weighing heavily on her, and most likely Kaede's words.

"Damn the villagers and what they'll say, come here." Yes, it went against every tradition, even his own, but so had their day thus far. There wasn't going to be anything normal about their relationship.

Kagome all but collided with him and gave a soft whimper as fresh tears filled her eyes. His arms reflexively wrapped around her and he lowered his face to rub his jaw along the top of her head while she trembled against him. She flinched when a sharp yelp of pain, Inuyasha's, pierced the quiet and she clung to his shitagi with a tight grasp.

"Hey now, it's okay. I'm okay," he whispered out and pulled back just enough to look down at her. "Look at me, Kagome."

"You were stabbed through the heart, Toyohisa, and I don't know how you survived that, but I can't sit here and abide by these ancient traditions. I can't, because I want to fuss over you, and not leave your side and…oh." A look of realization stole over her face as her words faltered and despite her tears and the way her scent was overwhelmingly sad she smiled. "We could still take things slow even if we were to get married right away?"

The solution to their problem was so utterly simplistic and fell in line with the very traditions they had been ready to curse. There was only one answer he could give. "Of course." And there was only one question he could ask. "Higurashi Kagome, would you take up the Shimazu name and become my wife?"

Displaced in Time

"Otou-sama and Okaa-sama would kill us if they knew we snuck through the well," the younger of his older sisters commented as they watched the much younger versions of their parents pull apart at Kaede's return. "Oh, I wish we were closer. I know this is where Otou-sama asked Okaa-sama to marry him."

"You already know she says yes, Haru. No need to personally hear it, besides, we don't want Oyaji to realize we're here," his eldest sister commented.

"How can you be like that, Mitsuru? It's such a romantic moment!" Haru sighed and kicked at a cloud with a pout. "You agree with me, right Souma?"

"I want to get this done with so I can go back home and play video games. I don't care about romance, I'm only 119." He gave his sisters a flat stare then glanced back down to find that their parents had gone inside of the hut with Kaede. "We have until dawn to set everything up, and we need to be quiet."