It was a girl in the traditional priestess robes, a white kimono top and red pleated trousers, sweeping the steps of the entrance. Her black hair was long, tied into a ponytail. She was very beautiful but in a strange way "Kagome, Kagome you're back," squelled her little brother.
"Who's that," she pointed to the girl.
"That's the new priestess, Ren Takashi. She arrived soon after you left," he replied. He took her hand and pulled her into the courtyard.
For some reason she couldn't help but stare at strange girl. There was something about her that she coudln't put her finger on. Ren rolled up her sleeves and Kagome saw that the tattoos were glowing with not one, but two Shikon jewel shards.
"And this girl you said has a couple of jewel shards imbeded in her arms," asked Miroku on the night of her return.
"I'm sure of it. But I wonder why. I can understand why I had a jewel shard in my body but why her," replied Kagome.
"You said that she had a strange aura about her, did you not Lady Kagome? Was it demonic," Myoga insited on his questions.
She hadn't given it any thought. The aura was powerful and nothing human. But it certainly wasn't demonic. Before she could reply, Inuyasha stood up.
"Inuyasha, what are you doing." Kagome ran up to him.
"What does it look like? If this girl is a demon, those jewel shards shouldn't be in her hands. Naraku already has most of the shards. Would you'd rather have us get them or him"
He began walking into the sky. Kagome couldn't just stand there while he terroized an innocent girl.
"Inuyasha, SIT!" Immediately he landed face and body first into the brown dirt. A ditch surrounded where his body lay.
"I hate it when you do that."
Darkness filled the sky like an ominous storm cloud. Thick black smoke swirled around her as she lay on the red earth. No part of her body would respond. She couldn't move an inch if she really wanted to. But Tatsuhana's (Ren) body felt so weak.
The black smoke lifted from her off the ground with some kind of supernatural force and dragged her to the man dressed in Chinese armor standing across the way. His face was covered by the smoke. Yet his eyes glowed red, blood red, like demon eyes in the night.
"Tatsuhana, my princess, come to me," he whispered cooly.
He wrapped an arm around her slender waist and pulled her ever closer to him. His body was cold and hard as stone. She closed her eyes tightly as his lips moved in on her. Tatsuhana felt them briskly brushing against her neck. Then a sharp pain erupted from every pore around her throat. He was biting into the now white flesh of her neck, drinking in her blood. It was intense as nothing else she had ever felt. It was pure unadulterated agony.
The real Tatsuhana immediately sat up with cold beads of sweat like diamonds on her brow running down her hot face. Her voice was hoarse probably from the screaming.
She looked around the small apartment. It was small with only a bed on which she lay, a fridge big enough for a carton of milk, a small dresser, and a Chinese tapestry hanging on a wall in the southeast corner. Tatsuhana sat there, listening to the leaky focet drip into the sink. It wasn't much but it was all that she could afford.
What she missed more than actual clean running water was her little sister, Jun. She imagineed Jun sleeping in a nice cozy bed while she laid on a lumpy mattress. Their apartment wasn't much bigger than the one she lived in right now, but at least it was home.
Reluctantly, Tatsuhana was over come by sleep and slept till dawn of the next day.
'You can do this, Kagome. You can do this," she thought to herself.
Ren slowly came into view from outside the well shrine. "Ren, could you come here for a minute," Kagome shouted.
The other girl made her way over to her, not knowing of the trap. Once inside, Kagome lead her to the well. Ren looked down but saw nothing. The abyss was almost frightening.
"I don't see anything," she said.
"Maybe you should look deeper," Kagome replied as she shoved the priestess down the well.
Quickly she followed her into the swirling purlple vortex that opened to the past realm. Down, down they fell into the abyss, Ren screaming until they reached the other side. Kagome was the first to reach the top as Ren struggled with the ancient vines. Inuyasha grabbed hold of her wrist and pulled her out.
"What the hell just happened? We fell down the well down up," she asked.
When she realized that Inuyasha was still clasping onto ther arm, she stared at him with cold eyes. They seemed to bore into his very soul.
"Kagome, tell dog boy here to let me go or else," she said not turning to look at her.
"Or else what?" Inuyasha asked.
She clenched her so tight that her knuckles turned white. Her nails dug into her skin so much that it was starting to bleed. As the crimson liquid slid down her arm, it burst into flames. In her fist lay a burnig ball of flames.
Inuyasha let go as soon as the flames erupted. His own hand was slightly burned black. He clutched it in pain. He stared back at her with egually cold eyes.
"You don't carry the scent of human. Nor the scent of a demon. So what are you," he grunted.
"That's none of your buisness," she replied angrily.
With a swift movement of her arm, she hurled the fire ball at the field and sprang for the forest. The grew high and higher still, scroching the green grass.They could barely seem her escaping to the dense woods another the other side of the fire wall.
Ren ran as fast as her sore feet could carry her. Her chest heaved and her throat was aching. But she had to keep running. She didn't know why, but she just did. It was the only thing she knew how to do.
After running at least a mile into the forest, she collasped behind an oak tree. She started undoing her kimono. She would throw them off a bit to save her some time. Underneath he disguise was a gothic assemble, a black short sleeved shirt revealing her dragon and phoenix birthmarks and a pair of dark pants. Carefully, she removed a small bottle from her pocket. She sprayed herself with the strange scent.
As she sat there, waiting for her lungs to catch up with the rest of her, she felt something. A demon.
Slowly she turned her head to face it. Though she didn't know it, she was gazing ast Inuyasha's half brother Sesshoumaru. He was tall with flowing silver hair. He wore his usual armor over his white and red kimono. And unlike his brother, he was something she feared. He didn't have the same aura as Inuyasha. It was stronger. Much stronger.
Quickly she hid behind the tree in hopes that he hadn't seen her. But he did. He could sense her as well.
"You there, trying to hid. Show yourself," he spoke.
What was she to do? Her fire wouldn't be strong enough for him. Ren sat there in silence.
"You refuse to do so. Then I'll make you come out," with that he released his energy whip and slashed at the tree.
It came crashing down on top of her. Her anger began boiling as she lept from spot. "What are you trying to do, kill me?" she shouted.
"Perhaps," he replied, "Tell me what are you? I could feel your presense miles away and yet you seem nothing more than a pathetic human"
"Who are you calling pathetic," her fists burst into flames.
Inuyasha picked up the kimono laying on the ground. "She's trying to throw off her scent. But it didn't work. Ren isn't far off. There's worse news though"
"What is it," asked Kagome.
"She's with Sesshomaru."
They began followling the sounds of a firece battle ensuing not too far away. Ren was defending herself off from Sesshomaru as he tried to slay her with his sword. Weaponless though she was, Sesshomaru didn't stand a chance against her fire power.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd said you're as weak as the petty Chinese," he mocked with a swing of his sword.
Ren ducked and swift kicked him off his feet. If there was one thing you should never do in front of Ren, it was never insult her Chinese heritage.
"What did you just say?," her teeth gridding down into each other, "Nobody, NOBODY, insults my mother's heritage. Not even you"
With that, all her rage let loose through shear power in a storm of blazing heat. Her arms were raised as she planned to flap them like wings. She took the stance of the crane and balanced on her left leg. Jets of flames soared from her fingertips and rose towards the heavens. Combining together, the fire began a metaphorous. The simple jets became a living, breathing phoenix. Ren slowly lowered her arms and aimed directly at Sesshomaru.
The force sent him sailing across the forest floor. Blasts of fire burned away his protective armour, later scroching his flesh.
She glared at his unconscious body with still fiery rage. "If there's ANYONE who still wishes to use my Chinese heritage in a negative way, now's the TIME"
Little Shippo clung to Kagome's back in hopes of protection. "She's scarier than both you and Inuyasha"
Ren's gaze shifted toward Kagome. She walked closer to her and said softly, "Kagome"
Suddenly Ren wrapped an arm around Kagome's neck and put her in a head lock.
"You have five minutes to tell me what the hell is going on here," she screamed as Kagome struggled to get loose.