A Wrinkle in Time

Can't you see, InuYasha!? She tries to move again, grunting softly as she fights against the spell keeping her in place. She can sense that Kurama is working on counteracting it with his yōki, but it isn't unraveling fast enough. She has to use her miko powers as well. Exhaling softly, she closes her eyes and focuses on the lessons that Kurama and Hiei have been giving her to help her with her powers.

Realizing what Kagome is trying to do Kurama gives a faint, wry smile and doubles his efforts on undoing the spell. "Concentrate and bring your power to the surface, Kagome," he orders in a soft, encouraging tone.

Kagome pictures her power in her mind like she has been instructed, a ball in the center of her body. Taking one of the many tendrils that wisp off of the ball, she gently guides it outwards. Usually, her power needs to be brought to her hands and concentrated there so that it can be channeled into a weapon of her choice or to form a barrier, but in this instance, she isn't sure what to do. Maybe if she lets her power just cover every inch of her, like a second skin…

"Yes, just like that," Kurama murmurs, watching as a very faint glow suffuses her skin for a brief moment. He starts to withdraw his yōki so it doesn't have a chance to react with Kagome's holy powers, but a curious sensation halts him. Their powers aren't clashing. Instead, Kagome's power is attempting to work with him to undo the spell. "Easy… Take it slow." He doesn't want them to hurt each other.

Kagome keeps her breathing even as her power comes into contact with Kurama's. It feels weird at first, and she can tell that it wants to fight the yōki, and it will if she asks it to, but she doesn't want to hurt Kurama. I want to get rid of the spell. I need to work with him. It takes a lot of concentration on her part, and it is worth it because her power starts to twine with the yōki to combat the spell. She can feel when it breaks and her eyes snap open, a triumphant smile on her lips. It quickly fades when she remembers that InuYasha needs their help.

"When you withdraw your power make sure you do it slowly." Kurama begins withdrawing his yōki back into his body, noting that Kagome immediately begins withdrawing her own as well. "Good job. Now let's go rescue InuYasha from himself, hm?" He gets up and holds out a hand for the miko to take.

Kagome sits up and accepts the offered hand, both excited and anxious. She had initially thought that using her powers would hard, but with the rather simple instructions, her mentors have provided her it is surprisingly easy. She stands as well and looks over to where InuYasha and the faceless woman are only to gasp. "InuYasha!"

The woman has her hands plunged into InuYasha's back, a victorious smile on her lips. "I won't let you go… Become one with me." Where her hands go into InuYasha's back they began to fade and she is wrist deep.

InuYasha himself is paralyzed by whatever spell she has worked on him, though he can still hear someone calling out his name. Shit… I should have listened… He turns his head with some effort and sees Kagome and Kurama from his peripheral. The lovely landscape from before has turned dark and gloomy before everything darkens completely.

Kagome starts to pull away from Kurama to run over to where the inu hanyō and the yōkai woman are but the kitsune grabs hold of her wrist to hold her back. She looks to Kurama with confusion on her face, only to find that he has a finger up to his lips.

"We can't go rushing in without a plan. I have an idea as to what kind of yōkai that woman is, but we need to be careful." With his sharp hearing, he can hear a boat approaching through the waterway. The scent of the passenger is that of the kappa that is accompanying Sesshōmaru. "I suspect that she is a Nothing Woman, which is a yōkai formed of the vengeful spirits of mothers who have lost their children to war or famine. She protects children in danger, but will also try to merge with or absorb them, as she seems to be doing with InuYasha."

"How do we stop her from doing that to InuYasha?" Kagome glances over to where the two are with a frown. InuYasha is partially merged into the woman's bared torso, his face sinking in between her breasts. Jaken now stands in front of them and seems to be conversing with the Nothing Woman. "We need to hurry."

"Destroy the reflection in the water. The Nothing Woman is holding his soul captive with the reflection of the water." Kurama lets go of Kagome's wrist and silently strides towards their comrade in danger. He will take care of Jaken and the Nintōjō, lest he tries to use the flames of the staff on Kagome. Brandishing a rose, he flicks it and extends it into a whip while Kagome creeps around to the other side of the trio. As soon as she goes for the water's edge he makes his move, wrapping the whip around the staff and wrenching it from Jaken's grasp.

The staff goes flying through the air, only to be caught by Sesshōmaru. The inu daiyōkai stares down at them impassively, his gaze narrowing slightly when Kagome shatters the Nothing Woman's spell by striking the reflection with her sword. The sword is humming with an interesting mix of yōki, but it isn't the sword he is after. "What information did she gather, Jaken?"

Kagome stiffens where she is, kneeling by InuYasha when she hears Sesshōmaru's voice. Glaring up in the daiyōkai's direction, she gently touches the inu hanyō's shoulder. "Are you okay, InuYasha?" she asks in a whisper, finally looking to the hanyō with an expression of concern.

"I'm fine," he grumbles.

"T-the right black pearl, Sesshōmaru-sama." Jaken gives his Lord a nervous glance then swallows as he shifts his gaze to the Nintōjō. The staff is tossed down to him which he catches, though it smacks into his face.

Sesshōmaru quickly appears behind InuYasha and grabs him up by the back of his neck, his expression cold and calculating. "Then I know where the tomb is."

Kagome gasps and scrambles backward onto her bottom, her back coming to rest against something firm. Startled, she looks up to find she is against Kurama who has his whip in hand. Where is Hiei-san? Blinking, she focuses on her senses to discover that Hiei is also behind her and to her left.

"Nice of you to join us, Hiei. Gather anything interesting from Sesshōmaru-sama?" Kurama asks mentally of his friend. He helps Kagome to stand up once again while they watch the inu brothers.

"He is after an heirloom kept inside of their father's tomb." Hiei's answer is rather evasive, so it is obvious that he knows more than he is letting on.

"To think that it would be in such a fantastic place that even this Sesshōmaru fails to perceive it." Sesshōmaru tightens his grip on InuYasha's neck as a vicious and victorious smirk alights on his face.