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Feet First

Chapter 1: Happy birthday?

The fragments of her consciousness crashed and toppled over each other, scrambling into form as a screech yanked her out of sleep.

Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi would prepare the birthday cake in class while she stalled Kagome back at the Higurashi Shrine.

"Right," said Shino, thoughts crystal clear. It took only her entire childhood, but even when stirring she was already on the go. Throwing off the blanket with a kick and swinging her legs over the bed, she turned off the alarm clock and rose to her feet – to fall sideward. She caught herself, blindly swaying every which way until she found a wall kind enough to catch her in the face.

Unfortunately, her body always lagged in comparison with her mind.

Allowing the black spots in her vision to clear, Shino squared her shoulders and marched into the bathroom. Poise. That was important. But she was alone, and she could slouch and walk as mannishly as she wished. Only she didn't, so Shino approached the mirror with as meaningful a stride as her body could afford. It reflected a head of disheveled hair that sank just inches below the chin, and dark brown eyes that could swallow a man whole, deep abyss that they were.

Or so Shino liked to think on her delusional days. Today the thought was scoff-worthy, unlike the one that said come back to bed. The truth was that most of the time her eyes were nothing worth noting, except in the sunlight when one could actually see their color. Oftentimes she rued the day she was formed in her mother's womb and didn't inherit those bluish gray eyes, but that was when she was feeling especially dramatic.

Apparently, it was possible to stall oneself. If only she hadn't promised to wake up earlier than usual to fulfill their scheme! But Ayumi had spent the entire morning pestering Kagome for her favorite cake flavors while the others nonchalantly took down hints from her reactions. They had toiled over this, and it wouldn't come to waste.

Eri, Yuka, Ayumi, and Kagome comprised Shino's group of friends in junior high school, but she had known Kagome Higurashi since their elementary years. Her grandfather, known as Grandpa Higurashi to her friends, was fairly good friends with Shino's own mother, a firm believer in Shinto.

Today being Kagome's 15th birthday, they all thought it only right to prepare a surprise. After all, Eri had enunciated, fist pumped in the air for good measure, a girl doesn't turn a decade and a half every year!

That was the reason why Shino slipped into her school uniform – a long-sleeved blouse and a green skirt too short for her brother's liking – half an hour earlier than usual, slinging her backpack over her shoulder and closing her door as quietly as possible, then locked it. The key hung low from her neck, beneath her uniform.

"Shino."

She was going over the mandatory topics Yuka had thought natural enough distractions when the door to her sister's chambers opened. When hiding behind the wide pillar keeping their home's structure didn't help, Shino strolled by as though she hadn't been trying to sneak out.

"Oh, good morning, Tomoyo!" Shino flashed her most joyous smile. "Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"I was about to ask for breakfast," replied her sister, lifting an eyebrow. "Something is off."

Tomoyo was Shino's older sister by ten years. As the eldest, she was the naturally graceful one, prim and proper, almost cold. Often cold, in truth, and had been that way since high school, like she had found the sacred place where the flame of emotions were kept and doused, destroyed, stomped all over it. It confused Shino that Tomoyo never said a thing whenever catching her escape attempts – and she was always the one who caught her – but she chalked it up to her sister's naturally taciturn demeanor. All the better for Tomoyo, perhaps, that Shino disliked being cooped up at home and received most reprimands.

Then again, that wasn't Tomoyo's fault. Even Tomohito, the brother between them by five years, was beloved by all, and like their eldest was well-versed in most subjects, though they were long past her year level. He was the perfect son, just as nobody could ask for a better daughter than Tomoyo. Not that Shino disappointed! She was quite proficient in things she was asked to take up for appearances' sake. Pressure ensured that. It was just that she enjoyed playing dress-up doll the least out of their trio, no matter if she understood the necessity.

"I thought I'd go to school earlier," Shino shrugged. "Finish some homework."

"Spend time with your friends," Tomoyo corrected.

"Exactly," said Shino. And that wasn't a lie, was it? She turned in the direction of the stairway near the gardens. That was clear of the help in the morning. "Have a good breakfast! I'll see you—"

"The chauffeur should be waiting to escort you at the front door…" Tomoyo tested.

"I thought I might take a quick stroll through the gardens before going to the car. Pollution and all that."

"Oh, so you are taking the car," said Tomoyo, staring at her unflinchingly as she tapped her lip. "Was that why I saw your bicycle near the arts hall gate last night?"

Shino sighed inwardly. They both knew she kept it hidden near the private gate. If there was anything she could hold over her siblings, Tomohito had said to her, it was that she could bluff her way through a losing deck. If only it worked on them, who privately called her 'the girl who cried I'm not sneaking out.' Tomoyo never let her have her way when it came to arguments like this. Well, Shino knew how to fix this. Tomoyo left her no choice.

"Please, please, please don't tell," she begged, latching onto her sister's arm. "Tomoyo!"

"All right, all right," Tomoyo dislodged Shino from herself. "But I won't take the heat for any trouble you get into."

Shino dusted herself off and regained her dignified posture. "Do I ever get into any trouble?" Rhetorical, of course. If anyone could cause an uproar by hanging out with her friends at WacDnalds after school, she could. Though nowadays it was less of a security nightmare than something they had come to expect despite the reprimands she received.

"I don't want to know," huffed Tomoyo, and sauntered down the opposite hallway.

"Thank you!" Shino whispered loudly, waving as she tiptoed off, though some of the hallways she skirted through were so old (full of culture, said father) that the floorboards creaked. Still, nobody noticed as she climbed her bicycle at the private gate, thanks to the few men who were carrying food and supplies inside between large trucks that hid her comparably tiny frame from sight of any man or machine. If they did, she surmised it was when she was long gone, laughing in the wind.

Southeast of the city, the Higurashi shrine was fairly large property, on which their houses, shrines, and a Sacred Tree stood—and with enough space for a crowd. According to Grandpa Higurashi, it was bequeathed from a line of priests and priestesses ever since the Feudal period. Shino was more impressed by the number of mantras he had stored in his head.

"Good morning," Shino called out, climbing the steps and through the Shinto gate. The concrete tiles were dustless, no doubt Mrs. Higurashi's excellent cleaning skills, which she had passed onto Sota. Kagome wasn't nearly as tidy, nor did she have the patience to be. Speaking of which, where were they? The place was almost eerily quiet. Mrs. Higurashi must have fallen asleep right after cooking breakfast and Grandpa Higurashi was likely too focused on making offerings to hear.

"Kagome? Sota?"

A familiar scream came from one of the smaller shrines. Entering that one was forbidden, Shino recalled. Maybe it shouldn't have been a surprise that Sota had gone there, being a curious young boy and all. But he was a fraidy-cat – Kagome's words – and always 'yelped' (he insisted it wasn't a scream) during sleepovers when Eri told horror stories he insisted on eavesdropping on, so it was. The door was open and it was easy to spot Kagome's younger brother on his posterior, shaking like a leaf. He was pointing down the stairs, deeper into the shrine, and gripped at her with his free arm when she approached. Buyo meowed at her with aloof familiarity, as cats were wont.

"What's wrong?" asked Shino, prying his fingers from her crumpled blouse. Descending the steps to a square well whose wooden latch had broken off completely, she peered inside it. The sight made her uneasy even as she saw nothing. It felt darker than she thought it might be.

"D-Don't go there!" Sota yelled. Shino nearly jumped out of her skin. "K-Kagome was taken inside!" The boy looked like he was about to cry.

"…There's no one here, Sota," Shino reasoned. "Don't you think Kagome could have played a trick on you? Maybe she's already at school and you're going to be late. So am I, in fact, if that's the case." Not to mention Eri would kill her if Kagome got there too early.

"No!" Sota insisted. "I swear, I saw her—"

"I'll show you," Shino sighed. Really, he could be as stubborn as Kagome. But he was her friend's brother, and she couldn't leave him without allaying his fears.

"Shino!" Sota cried when she lifted her legs into the well, sitting on the edge and using it to steady herself over it. He wanted to move, badly, but he was frozen to his spot by what he had seen only minutes before. "Please don't…"

"Calm down, Sota. See? Nothing to be afraid o—!"

Her hand slipped as she eased forward to adjust her position. Shino knew she was falling inside. But the sensation was nothing like that – it was odd, like she was swimming but she could breathe, except an invisible, heavy weight was sinking into her chest and her eyes were slightly blurry, slightly painful, and that throbbing in her temple... There was a split second when it disappeared. She was lying down, but sprawled, but standing, but sitting all at once, and it was neither cold nor hot, only the absence of all sensation, like nothingness – was it death? – until she was on the ground. Completely unscathed.

"Sota?" Shino blinked. It was bright up there. Not like how the shrine was when she had fallen seconds ago. And seconds ago felt like a year. "Sota? Is that a flashlight? Answer if you can hear me!"

The brightness didn't move, so it couldn't have been a flashlight. And no sound reached her, there beneath the well. Sota must have gone for help. Shino put her right hand on the ground and moved to heave herself up. When her left moved to do the same, it pressed on something soft. The light above revealed it as a forearm, hand and fingers, cold and white, severed from anything that might identify its owner.

"What in the world?" she nearly screamed, but released it only as a bewildered whisper. Was this why that well had been boarded-up? What was the Higurashi family hiding here? Then again, this well had never been unlocked in all the days they'd come over to Kagome's. Disgusted, Shino distanced herself from the amputated limb as much as she could and backed into vines.

When had vines begun to grow on the well, when the thing was closed all this time?

Well, Shino wouldn't complain—she used the vines to heave herself out of the hole. There was no more shrine covering the well, and no property upon a high hill that denoted civilization. In fact, as far as her eyes could see, there was only a forest. Instead of panicking, Shino breathed. It was what her brother and sister would do. This couldn't be possible, unless the well had been a way into some underground tunnel, and that odd sensation was actually her stumbling through the secret passageway while she was unconscious.

But she couldn't recall walking or even falling, really. And her body was free of bruises, so she couldn't have fallen. Had she gotten a concussion, and was this all in her mind? Or was this where Kagome had really gone? If so, Sota might have been right. What a trick!

Shino planted her feet on the grass. Early morning dew. The scent invaded her senses, and the breeziness of the area, as compared to the city, made it out to be real. How far had she 'walked' to reach such a place? A single step, thought Shino. That was the start of a journey.

Or was this a kidnapping? Shino's breath hitched. What if kidnappers had been digging a tunnel from beneath the well all to plan a kidnapping, and had somehow taken Kagome? What if Sota was right and his inability to express himself properly had hidden this from her? Shino held her pack close and kept to the shade of the trees. If the kidnappers were here, then she couldn't call for Kagome. That would only invite more trouble.

Light footsteps on the forest ground. Any sign of civilization was welcome at this point – even the kidnappers'. If they had no idea she was there, then she still possessed the element of surprise. Picking up a gnarled stick from the ground, Shino nodded in affirmation to herself. The self-defense and weapons classes her parents had enrolled their three children into would not go to waste. Although she was terrible at aiming guns, unlike her siblings, she'd proven adept at using blunt objects.

The tranquility was breathtaking, only the chittering of small animals reaching her ears. Wouldn't they be silent if there were dangerous men around? Her grip tightened on the stick as she came upon a tree larger than all those in the forest, roots as high as her neck, curling into a silver-haired young man in a red haori with…Kagome, standing on the roots!

"Kagome!" she had reacted with joy when, to her right, she saw men dressed in farm garb wielding bows and drawing arrows, yelling at her friend. She understood them, but their words were incoherent in the face of their weapons. Shino bounded forward between them, spreading her arms wide. "Stop!" she demanded, looking at each of them, though their eyes were only for the two near the great tree. "I…I order you!"

Still she was too late, and the arrows were fired. Shino ducked and clutched her head as Kagome's scream filled her ears.

Oddly enough, the men had no apparent evil intentions for them. Threatening Shino and Kagome with another volley of arrows lest the two take another step closer to the silver-haired boy on the tree, they had actually seemed fearful of the two—as though they had never seen schoolgirls traipsing around the forest in confusion.

"I didn't think we'd gone so far from the city," Shino said to Kagome. They hadn't really managed a moment for themselves after being dragged down a hill and into a village, skirted by a small stream and rich with paddy fields. It was rural, houses built from the natural elements instead of bricks or cement or steel. This, on the outskirts of Tokyo? Impossible.

"How did you even get here?" asked Kagome, eyes searching the forest for anything familiar. Her mind drew a blank.

"Sota was outside the well, shouting that you were taken inside. I climbed in to tell him you weren't there—but here you are. How did you?"

"Uh—same," was Kagome's unsure reply. "So you just jumped in?"

"Slipped in is a more accurate term, I guess. Who are these people? Kidnappers dressed as period actors…?"

"No way they're actors," Kagome muttered. "Those arrows were embedded into that tree—we would've died if they meant to kill us! They seemed really scared of the boy with the dog ears, too."

"Shh," one of the men prodded her shoulder with a bow.

Dog ears? Shino hadn't noticed them. But this place was suddenly odd enough that she'd believe it. "Maybe…"

"Quiet!"

Shino sighed. But these men were no kidnappers – their loud discussion betrayed confusion equaling hers and Kagome's about their appearance.

"Maybe they know your father," Kagome tried later on, when a mat had been laid out for them to sit on in what appeared to be the town square so that people could gawk at them. There were even women and children! Maybe Kagome had been dumped here by the kidnappers when they realized they couldn't demand a ransom for her? "You should try talking some sense into them."

"Maybe. Then they can call the authorities and we can get home. I'll give it a try." Shino cleared her throat before projecting, "May I please have your attention? Good people of…" She felt silly and would have scratched under her chin if she weren't bound by the wrists. "I'm sorry, where are we?"

"Don't tell them!" gasped a villager.

"Right, they could be witches!"

"They'll endanger the village!"

"We are not witches!" Kagome frowned.

"Maybe fox spirits."

Kagome's bewilderment would have been funny if Shino didn't share it. "Not fox spirits, either."

"I didn't think backwater villages like this still existed," Shino breathed. "I've visited rural areas with father before and none of them are as wary as this."

"Maybe we're on the outskirts of the outskirts of civilization," Kagome muttered. It was a dumb misunderstanding. And she was still curious about the dog-eared boy. How could Shino not have seen those things? "This is impossible…"

"Make way for high priestess Kaede!"

A stout old woman wearing a patch over her right eye came forth, a bow in her hand and a quiver strapped to her back. She held a loose grip on a small satchel, her expression neutral as she approached. Not at all like the fear and apprehension worn by the villagers.

"Now what," muttered Kagome. Shino sighed.

Stopping right before them, the old woman stuck her hand into it and sprinkled the two girls with powder that made Shino sneeze. "Demon begone," she uttered.

Shino gave an uncharacteristic scoff. She didn't like to think of herself as haughty, but this was just rude! "Excuse me—hachoo!"

"Hey! We're not demons, okay?" Kagome scowled, wrinkling her nose.

The old woman, Kaede, squinted at them. "Then why were ye found in the forest of Inuyasha?"

After a confusing interrogation and more squinting on Kaede's part, Shino recovered. The old priestess seemed less concerned about her than Kagome, having been staring at her friend since inviting them into her home. It was a small hut with barely enough living space for four people, but it was homely enough with space for a natural heater. Instead of the usual sliding doors, this house had only a bamboo flap. Was it all they could afford, given the number of houses in the village and the abundance of trees in the forest? Shino didn't know much about provincial housing.

At any rate, she was only too happy when Kaede decided they were not at all a threat, declared as much to the villagers – who held so much faith in her that they agreed without question – and even fed them soup. Shino didn't realize she hadn't eaten breakfast until she smelled the broth. Granted, it was a simple meal; in the face of her hunger it was the best of her life. But the old woman had no idea where Tokyo was, which meant Kagome was right – this was even farther than the farthest outskirts they'd heard of. Everyone knew where Tokyo was. What was this place?

Easily finishing her meal, Shino set down her bowl. Kagome was less enthusiastic about the food, but she hadn't been trained to swallow food she hated for the sake of politeness. Clearing her throat as Kagome carried on with the task, Shino smiled at Kaede. "Thank you for the meal and your hospitality, priestess Kaede. Now, we were wondering…"

Kaede lifted her head and raised her good eye from the fire. She urged Shino to continue with a nod when a tremor in the ground and the sound of exploding wood racked their senses. Kagome nearly lost her soup in the fire. A bell rang out, echoed by the cries of the villagers. Getting to her feet with the agility of one twenty years younger, Kaede bolted out the door. Naturally, Shino and Kagome followed their host outside.

Smoke from the ruined village rose into the air. A long, segmented appendage sprang into the clear, sticks poking out from its sides. Shino's jaw fell as the image cleared in her mind. Not as a simple appendage but a body itself, like a centipede's – and the naked upper torso of a woman attached at its forefront, multiple human arms attached to its sides like the gods of Hindu mythology Tomohito liked to read to her about as children.

Kagome and Shino instinctively locked arms. "Inhuman," muttered the latter.

"Nay, a demon," Kaede corrected her simply, as though she'd confused Udon noodles with Soba.

"It's that thing!" exclaimed Kagome.

"You know that monster!?" Tomohito was a mythology buff and had read to Shino all kinds of creatures, but who ever imagined meeting one? Or being attacked by one in a strange village, for that matter? It demanded a sacred jewel, but there was little time to wonder what that was. The centipede-woman dipped low, snaking round the village before diving through the smoke for them.

Kaede groaned and got up on her arms, glancing at Kagome. "It said sacred jewel! Bear ye it still?"

Shino stared between them both, confused and horrified. "What?"

"I have no idea," said Kagome, shaking her head. Shino gaped at her. How was she still forming coherent sentences? "I mean, I've heard of the jewel, but I—"

The village men retreated to Kaede. It was curious that they deferred to this priestess, this old woman. How long had it been since something like that occurred? "Spears, arrows, nothing works!" they panicked.

"Lure it to the dry well," instructed Kaede. "In the forest of Inuyasha."

Shino hadn't noticed Kagome stiffening until she broke from their link. "Which way is the forest? Where the light's shining, right?"

"Kagome! Where are you going?" gasped Shino, stumbling after her friend's departing figure. She hesitated. Wouldn't it be safer with others? "What light?"

"I'll draw it away!"

Kaede called it Mistress Centipede, who bludgeoned Shino out of the way with another swing of her tail in her haste for Kagome. Shino lost her view of the only familiar person in the world clearly not their own. She wanted to run after Kagome, but the dust from the rising soil and the flying debris of the village sent her into coughing fits. One of the village men pulled Shino to her feet, asking if she was all right.

What a blow to her pride. She had always tried to be the type of girl who would never have to answer the genuine question. The self-defense classes, the weapon training, and her knees had buckled in the face of a creature Kagome was throwing herself at as bait to save these strangers?

"Girl! Snap out of it!"

Growing up in the environment she had, Shino had been desperate to construct an image of independence, both to herself and everyone else. Not a spoiled tenderfoot but a nimble warrior. Ayumi had always been the gentle one. Yuka and Eri were both strong-willed, determined to get what they wanted, and Kagome was level-headed. Which explained her easy attitude, but Shino had always thought of herself as…somewhere in between, choleric at times under the strong pair's influence but still the most likely to lead them in a crisis. Her station made her think so, she supposed, which was ironic—given that she didn't want to be judged by it to begin with when she already had herself.

"You must escape with the women and the children!"

Another band of men bearing spears, bows, and free horses had arrived, perhaps the ones who had evacuated the innocents. Kaede was directing them as to the plan of attack, dividing them between those who would remain to protect the village from demons that might take advantage of the situation and the group to follow Mistress Centipede.

Retrieving her wrist from the man who tried to help her, Shino shook her head. "No. Priestess, allow me to join you."

Kaede watched the girl doubtfully from her horse. "Ye must go with the others. This will be a dangerous altercation."

"I can't allow Kagome to throw herself into danger like this!" Shino hollered. At the woman's shocked reaction, she calmed herself. "I've ridden horses since I was a child and I can wield a blade – and a spear, I suppose. Please, Kaede."

Kaede sighed. "Very well," she said, motioning a horse and spear for Shino, but it was clearly against her better judgment. The only reason she allowed it was that Shino's part in all this mess was still hazy to her, not to mention the girl had appeared to finally gather her wits about her.

"Thank you," Shino bowed, then swung over to her given steed. They went swiftly on their way to the 'forest of Inuyasha,' who was supposed to be that boy pinned to the tree. Their only lead was the last marks of Mistress Centipede's tail, which appeared to have dug into the ground like small swords cleaved into the earth.

"Does this happen to your village often?" she asked, riding side-by-side with Kaede.

"Not in a long time, child. Where did ye learn to ride so well?"

"My parents hired a coach," answered Shino, absentmindedly, barely noticing the shock of the village men at her riding skill. In any other occasion, she would have beamed at the slight awe, but they were past the fields now, coming close to the forest spanning the hill. "There! Mistress Centipede!"

The demoness was playing tug-of-war for Kagome with the great tree. It was difficult to describe – her many human limbs were wrapped around the schoolgirl's waist while Kagome attempted to remain close to the tree by clutching at Inuyasha's silver hair at all costs. The boy himself was shouting painfully. Why he was now awake Shino had no idea, but it seemed to displease the villagers. Was it the ears? She noticed them now and wondered what those must feel like.

Nevertheless, Shino licked her lips and swallowed, eyes focused on Mistress Centipede. It was now or never, and never meant Kagome would die!

Shino lifted her spear arm, hoping her aim would prove true despite its record of 'never having done so.' "Please," she muttered, ready to hurl it – until Kagome released Inuyasha and held out her palm at the Centipede. A burst of energy blew the demoness back, sending her into the trees. Her human limbs fell to the ground, ends still sizzling as though seared off by some flaming sword from the heavens.

"Kagome! Are you all right?" Shino called from across the gap bridged by the demoness. Kagome was staring curiously at her palm as though she hadn't almost just been eaten alive! (Kaede had explained to her on the way that most demons liked eating humans. What a joy.)

"Y-Yeah…" Kagome's eyes widened at the spear in Shino's hand. But it was she who'd gone and severed the Centipede's limbs with no weapon at all! They would have shared a relieved laugh had a sphere of lavender pink not begun to radiate from beneath Kagome's left breast.

"Watch out!" a man cried. Mistress Centipede slithered in from behind the great tree, jaw stretched unnaturally wide to reveal sharp fangs, and sank her teeth into Kagome's torso. Clenching her teeth into the bite, she threw the girl's body high above them.

Shino cried out wordlessly. To her relief, the length of Mistress Centipede's body broke Kagome's fall. She landed before the silver-haired boy, who spoke to her with a menacing expression. Shino was too far to hear, what with the demoness raving on about the sacred jewel again. She was growing impatient. It was tempting to remain a spectator, but she had already spent all day doing that. Dismounting her horse, she slipped into the forest surrounding the clearing. The others were too busy watching the Centipede throw Kagome around like a rag doll to notice her.

Shino found she basked in this neglect.

The trees were much more fearsome in the dark, especially since night had fallen. Still she kept her eyes trained on the clearing, praying her trembling feet wouldn't step on twigs or branches that would alert the demoness to her presence. Finally, she came close enough around the side of the tree of Inuyasha to spot the sacred jewel. She had caught something glint against the light when Kagome was in the air, but it only made sense now.

By this time, Kagome had wound up next to Inuyasha on top of his tree's roots on her belly, for Mistress Centipede had her body constricted around them, trapping them to the trunk. What was it about the jewel she wanted so much?

Shino began to understand as she squinted at the jewel from behind tangled shrubs. It was faint, less than a creak and quieter than a whisper, like a drop of water in a suddenly empty room. But she felt it, that promise of power. Could the jewel grant her the strength to defeat such a monster? Fear gripped her again until she saw Mistress Centipede come closer to the jewel.

"No!" growled Shino, leaping out into the moonlight. There were gasps, but her eyes and ears were only for the jewel. She picked it up and closed her fingers around it. Its hum pulsated through her body like it was giving her new life, and she never wanted to part with it again.

"The sacred jewel!" the demoness hissed, swaying as she rounded on Shino in her desire for it. "Give it to me!"

"What are ye doing!?" gasped Kaede.

"Hey, stupid!" shouted the boy with the dog ears. "Do you have a death wish? Give me the sacred jewel!"

The kindest first words she had ever heard. But Shino blocked them both out, a daredevil's spirit coursing from her hand to her heart. As the Centipede lunged at her, it burst from her fist. She had punched the demoness into a tree on the left side of the clearing!

Her victory was short-lived. With a single cheer she was distracted, allowing the Centipede to recover and head for her arm, biting off a considerable amount from her shoulder. Shino screamed – but only briefly. Her arm wound was clotting. It itched and healed in the matter of a minute. In retaliation, Shino grabbed a fistful of the demoness' face and yanked it out, fingers dripping in blood.

"Fool!" shrieked the demon. Shino dodged out of the way, rolling painfully into the tree, but the bump felt dull to her, far away. Like she was invincible.

The tail was squeezing into Kagome's back, pressing her stomach and chest tighter against the tree. "What's happening?" she managed to choke out.

"I have no idea," Shino answered honestly, getting up. "But I can defeat this demon."

"Don't be an idiot," snapped dog-ears. "I don't know what you are, but that demon is going to kill you!"

Shino glared at him for a moment – who was he to talk to her like that? – before running forward again, lifting her legs as the Centipede dashed for her ankles. Clawing at the woman's back, feeling her spine twitch around her fingers, Shino whisked down the length of the demon's body with her hand tearing at the skin as quickly as scissors through cloth. How had the jewel granted her such agility? Certainly, she and Kagome were healthy and participated in enough physical activity to keep up in something like gym class, but this was worlds different!

Mistress Centipede retained full control of her body despite the injury, however, which didn't stop her from flicking her tail at Shino. The girl flew into a tree so suddenly that she fell limp against it, releasing her grip on the sacred jewel.

"I knew it," muttered Inuyasha, but his eyes flashed when the demoness lowered her tongue to the jewel. As if wriggling within his segmented shackles would work, he shouted, "Don't you dare!"

When Shino regained consciousness, the Centipede's human skin had turned a mottled pink and brown, eyes red and human limbs reattached. Her eyes turned to Kagome, who groaned painfully. Her friend could barely breathe at this rate; any more and their ribs would break around their lungs.

"Shino!" Kagome called, but the adrenaline rush had come and gone. It wasn't exhaustion that overcame her, however; it was regret, like she had grasped at straws at the energy she possessed earlier and her fingers had lost their grip too soon.

"Look," Inuyasha growled at Kagome, his eyes leveled straight at Mistress Centipede. "Can you pull out this arrow or not?"

"Nay, child!" shouted Kaede. "Once the arrow is removed, Inuyasha will be free to destroy us all!"

Shino's eyes traveled up to the boy whose ears and hair were unlike any other's. So he was powerful. Why did he need the sacred jewel if he already possessed strength enough to cause Kaede fear? Although if he really was strong, she supposed he wouldn't have been pinned to that tree. Unless he slept there with an arrow in his chest for his own pleasure?

"Don't be stupid, you old hag! At least with me you've got a chance – whereas that thing's gonna eat you!" Inuyasha shouted in return. "And what about you?" he addressed Kagome. "Are you ready to die yet?"

Shino came to a decision. If it was the creepy woman with a centipede for legs who'd bitten at her body parts and Kagome's or the boy who liked sleeping with an arrow in his chest pinned to a tree upright and expected his rudely-stated wishes to be granted, she picked the pretty silver hair. "Pull it out, Kagome!"

Kagome chose the same thing right as her friend screamed. As soon as she got her fist around the shaft of the arrow, it burst into a spattering of the pink light, as in the jewel. The glow around Inuyasha faded as his shoulders shook. Shino thought at first that he might be having a seizure. Maybe the arrow had kept him alive somehow, and removing it was finally killing him, but the boy was laughing.

Shino got up, preparing to request that he desist that ridiculous, ill-timed mirth when Mistress Centipede covered them entirely with her body. But she was given not even a moment to gasp when an explosion of light broke through the demon's legs, causing most of it to break off her main body. Shino dove to catch Kagome as she fell free; it was an attempt that ended with the latter's posterior on the former's now aching back. And it was a better landing than Kagome expected.

"Nasty hag!" spouted dog-ears, raising his right hand. Kagome and Shino leaned against each other to stand, seeing clearly that his nails were long enough to be called claws and sharp enough to be feared as weapons. At any other time, Shino might have found it highly unhygienic.

"Iron Reaver, Soul Stealer!" roared Inuyasha, reaching for the demon's mouth. It sent a disc of red wind spinning into Mistress Centipede's jaw, cleaving her body in half. She fell into pieces around them, segments of different lengths and sizes twitching.

"Find the glowing flesh, quickly!" Kaede instructed Kagome, coming forward with the villagers. Shino had almost forgotten their presence. Understandable. Without the sacred jewel, she never could have survived even looking it in the eye. "That's where the jewel will be. It must be removed at once, lest the flesh of Mistress Centipede revive!"

"Tell me you're joking," Kagome shuddered, but Kaede's expression remained solemn as ever. So Kagome's eyes searched the twitching remains of the demoness' body until she saw it: the lavender pink glow that was now familiar to her. Blood was still dripping from the bisected segments. "It's that one!"

Shino stuck her hand into the warm…viscous…corpse…and focused on the perfect sphere her digits felt through her nails. She pulled it out, hand dripping of the coppery substance. She had only ever seen blood from light wounds – that looked almost a bright red. But the Centipede's blood was even deeper than crimson, no dramatics required. There it was again, the power – but Kaede snatched it immediately and handed it to Kagome.

"Only ye may possess the sacred jewel."

Shino looked away. How bizarre – as soon as Kagome took the jewel, Mistress Centipede's skin had all but melted off her bones, which looked about as fresh as fossils, now. The blood had disappeared from her hands like it was never meant to be there, though the smell remained.

Kaede's meaningful look as she gave Kagome the Shikon no Tama wouldn't leave Shino. It wasn't as though she wanted to keep the thing. It felt like the jewel had given her an energy she knew she could have but never did, like she'd reached the limits of her potential; that was all. She would never take something of Kagome's—especially since it had come from her torso. The thought was like trying to use someone else's limb, she supposed. Or wished she could.

Kagome inspected the jewel, glancing at Shino unsurely. "But why would I have a jewel wanted by demons?"

"Exactly," said Inuyasha, crushing one of Mistress Centipede's many ribcages with a mere stomp of his foot. "Humans can't use it, so why bother keeping it? If you hand the jewel over right now, I won't have to start sharpening my claws on you."

Shino took a step between him and Kagome, not that she believed there was much she could do if he chose to use those claws again. Still, there was merit in trying. Gave Kagome a chance to run, she supposed, the way Kagome saved the village earlier by running into the forest while she'd quivered in fear. Kaede appeared to think the same thing, spreading an arm out before them.

"I hate having to wait," muttered Inuyasha, a growl in his undertone, golden eyes flashing past Kaede and Shino, who felt like they were invisible to him faced with Kagome. "And I hate the smell of you!"

Shino would ponder the fact but nudged her friend first as the silver-haired boy lunged at them at a pace she had almost managed earlier. Kagome broke into a sprint behind her only to trip over the scattered bones. And it was a good thing she had, too, because Inuyasha had swung his claws right over her falling figure.

"You really tried to hit me just now, didn't you?" The disbelief rang in Kagome's voice.

Anger spiked in Shino's chest. Not that they had ever been formally introduced, meaning she had no reason to trust him in any way – his protection of them had obviously been a by-product of his own survival – but she was still indignant. They had possessed a common enemy, she supported his release and Kagome had broken the arrow binding him, so this was still turning on them. "That would have been a fatal swing, you…! You dog!"

Inuyasha stared at her like it was the first time he'd seen her. "What an insult," he smirked, when he was clear on the fact that she was human. "So you want me to scratch your back first?"

A din rose from the villagers, who'd finally come to a consensus as to their plan of action: shoot arrows at the boy who killed the Centipede demon without even touching her. But he deflected them with a lift of his arm as though his red haori were as tough as a metal shield and vaulted, clawed at the trees surrounding the men. Trunks and bark fell all around them, shaking the earth, trapping them into a triangle.

"Who do you people think I am?" boasted dog-ears. "You think you can hurt me like I did that Centipede?"

"I can get him," Shino promised, taking the jewel from Kagome and pretending not to hear her shocked yelp. This was an emergency. "I can knock him out. Run!"

Inuyasha hadn't seen the exchange and leapt for the girl who smelled like Kikyo, claws at the ready when the short-haired one tackled him to the ground, grabbing his right arm. Attempting to break free, he scratched at her with his left, but she had a tight grip and pushed his arm down on his neck, straddling him with strength unnatural for a human girl her age. Unless she was a priestess of some sort – dumb idea given that skimpy thing she was wearing. Why was she using only her left hand to grip him? He got his answer when he caught the scent in her fist, the one she refused to open.

"So you were using the sacred jewel," he sneered. "What the hell are you?"

Inuyasha managed to wriggle out of her grasp in their struggle, pulling one of his knees loose, and kick her into a tree. It seemed the norm for everyone of late, thought Shino, but the jewel numbed the pain. Not that it meant her body could take the impact. Her opponent growled, reaching for her, but she dove beneath him and lifted her neck with some difficulty. Kagome was still watching them.

"Run!" repeated Shino. This battle was lost, but maybe Kagome could use it, too. Shino tossed the jewel at her friend, hopeful that a little of her strength would remain – but it was wishful thinking at its finest. As soon as the Shikon no Tama left her touch, Inuyasha headbutted Shino into another tree trunk. Only the ground caught her dead weight.

"Damn it," growled Inuyasha. The jewel was no longer there. Leaving the meddlesome girl where she lay, he raised his eyes to the one who smelled like Kikyo. She yelped, eyes shifting between him and the Thing – whatever she was, because she was no demon – before squaring herself, raising the jewel in her hand, and bolting.

Inuyasha snarled and hurtled after Kagome.