Chapter 3: The Awakening
Kagome snapped awake from her dream with a gasp, her back arching as she struggled for breath like a newborn babe. She felt hands on her, steadying her. They held her still, whispering comforting, encouraging words into her ears as she came to. Slowly, as Kagome's vision cleared, Kagome opened her eyes. She saw four pairs of very concerned eyes staring down at her. Kagome blinked as she tried to remember how she got there in the first place. Her face flushed as she remembered that she was in the hot springs when she must've passed out. She looked at the faces of her concerned friends.
"Hey guys…I must have passed out bathing, thank you for saving me!" she stated thankfully as she tried to slowly sit up.
But Inuyasha's clawed hand stopped her in her tracks; his brow furrowed in worry and…was that fear? Kagome looked to her other friends' faces; they had the same looks on their faces as well.
'What in kami is going on? Why are they looking at me like that?' Kagome thought as she looked from her friends curiously.
"Hey guys…come on, what's the big idea?" Kagome said nervously as they continued to stare at her in wonder.
"Kagome-sama…have you seen your reflection as of late?" Miroku asked cautiously, eying Kagome up and down.
"No, why? What's going on?" Kagome panicked frantically searching for a mirror in her yellow pack.
They watched her as she finally found the mirror and was about to look at herself when Inuyasha stopped her. His yellow eyes held concern.
"Kagome…just…don't freak out, okay?" he said, cautiously removing his hand from the mirror.
Kagome's brow furrowed in confusion, but she did as he said and took a deep, slow breath before shakingly holding the mirror up to her face. Kagome's eyes widened and her mouth nearly dropped to the ground. Everybody watched her, waiting for her reaction.
"W-what in kami happened to me?!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, making birds scatter in the distance from the trees.
Kagome's appearance had totally changed. Instead of upper back length black hair, she had now snow white hair with black ends. Her skin was now a soft pale color, making her stand out. She had long pointed claws at the ends of her finger tips and sharp, pointy fangs. And her eyes! Her eyes no longer the chocolate shade of brown, now an intense violet! Kagome also noticed two pink stripes like Sesshomaru's on her cheeks and wrists, and a purple diamond on her forehead. Kagome noticed that her senses were now ten times more heightened than before, and she could hear and smell everything within a two miles radius. Kagome stared, mouth agape, at her reflection.
"Kagome…do you have any idea how this happened?" asked her best friend, Sango.
Kagome just stared, in shock, at her reflection. Her fingers touching her face as if to check if it was really her staring back at her through the mirror.
"Oi, Kagome! What the hell happened!" shouted Inuyasha, his nerves getting the best of him.
Kagome's mouth shut in a snap and she suddenly bolted up into a stand growling, her eyes flashing.
"THAT DAMN TIGER! I'M GONNA KILL YOU! COME BACK HERE AND SHOW YOURSELF, YOU FUR-BALL!" shouted a very pissed off Kagome.
The others looked at each other in confusion at her rant.
"What tiger mama?" asked Shippo as he looked at his new adopted mother in curiously.
"The damn tiger that has been visiting me in my dreams every night! He changed me somehow and I'm gonna kill him!" she raged as she shouted at the sky.
The others looked at each other wide eyed. Kagome was beyond furious. She was a yokai! A flippin' miko that has mysteriously turned into a yokai while she slept! She panted in effort of yelling a particularly nothing when she felt something soft and furry tap against her arm. She peeked at her arm and gasped. A tail?! The kamis thought it wasn't funny enough to turn a miko into a yokai that they had to give her a freaking tail as well! Kagome stared at the white and black striped ligament attached to her behind with curiosity and frustration. The curiously touched it and shivered at the tingling sensation that traveled up her spine.
'Yep…definitely attached.' Kagome mentally groaned as she released her now new tail.
"Kagome…if you don't mind me saying this…but, you look kind of like a tiger yokai. They are pretty rare these days, especially the white ones," Sango said in wonder, looking Kagome up and down.
Kagome stared at her for a moment, and then thought quietly to herself.
'That would make sense. The tiger said he was choosing me to be his successor…so thus turning me into one of his own,' Kagome thought.
Shippo ran up to her and leapt into her arms, sniffing her hair.
"Yep! She definitely smells like a cat!" he said proudly, hugging his mother.
Kiara mewed in agreement, walking up to Kagome, nuzzling her legs. The others watched in amusement as she rubbed herself in-between Kagome's legs, purring like a house cat. Kagome sweat dropped and groaned in frustration.
"Kagome-sama, you mentioned something about a dream you have been having… you should tell us everything that has happened in your dreams," Miroku said, coming to sit next to the agitated tiger yokai.
She took a deep breath and nodded, sitting down she began to tell everyone about her dreams and of the mysterious white tiger with violet eyes. During the conversation Inuyasha seemed to space out, not moving and just staring at Kagome. When Kagome finished telling them about her dreams, they all seemed to sit back and considerate this new piece of information.
Sango was the one to speak up first, "Kagome…they way you describe it, leaves me to believe I have a certain idea who this mysterious tiger was."
They all looked at Sango, curious.
"Who do you think he was then, Sango?" asked Kagome, her eyes wide with hope.
Sango was about to answer her when Inuyasha's low growl interrupted them. He was glaring off into the woods, his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"Come out, you Bastard!" he shouted at the mysterious on looker.
Suddenly Inuyasha's older half brother, Sesshomaru, stepped out of the trees, his gold eyes emotionless and cold. The full-blooded daiyokai was not to be messed with. Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed at his younger half brother.
"You should be careful on what you say to this Sesshomaru, half breed," he said coldly, his gold eyes leaving his incompetent younger brother to eye his pack.
When his eyes rested on Kagome, he froze, his eyes widened ever so slightly. Kagome shivered under his intense gaze, shuffling her feet slightly. All of a sudden in a flash, he was before Kagome, towering over her. He had his hand on her throat and he lifted her up in the air effortlessly, his eyes narrowed dangerously. Kagome gasped for breath, her clawed hands digging into his wrist ever so slightly.
"What trickery is this?" demanded Sesshomaru as he tightened his grip in warning.
Kagome coughed and sputtered, her eyes clenched in fear. She heard her friends yell for her and she heard Inuyasha's enraged roar. She heard Shippo's cries for his momma and something inside Kagome snapped. Her violet eyes snapped open and she growled at Sesshomaru, baring her teeth at him. Sesshomaru growled back, his eyes narrowing. Kagome's own eyes narrowed and she dug her claws in deep into his wrist, causing blood to ooze down his arm.
She hissed a deep warning, "let me go you dog, or I swear by the kamis I stall tear you to pieces and feed you to the dogs!"
Everyone gaped at Kagome, wondering if that really was their friend. Sesshomaru seemed to ponder this for a moment.
"You dare threaten this Sesshomaru, wench?" he stated, his eyes never leaving hers.
Kagome narrowed her eyes at him, her pupils' tiny black slits, making her eyes seem bathed in violet. Her tail lashed in anger.
"I dare," she growled, never leaving his gaze.
Sesshomaru stared at her, before doing something no one ever expected: he smirked.
"Very well miko," he stated as he released her neck, letting her go.
Kagome got up and dusted herself off, rubbing her neck, "thank you."
Sesshomaru's reply was a simple "hn" as he continued to stare at her. Kagome twitched under his intense gaze and looked at her friends for some help. All was quiet. Suddenly Sesshomaru spoke.
"How is it, miko, that you have become a tiger yokai," he asked, his eyes on her.
Kagome looked at him and then back down to her feet. She wondered if it was really okay to tell the killing perfection of her dreams. Then again, he is Lord of the West, he might know something. Kagome told him everything she told her friends, as she told her story Sesshomaru's eyes widened. When Kagome finished, Sesshomaru took a few steps toward her. Kagome watched him, nervous on what he was about to do. Sesshomaru looked down at her, seeming to be lost in thought.
"Somehow miko, though this Sesshomaru knows not how, you have become the only living heir to the Eastern lands. The true Lady of the East."
