Well, I figured I've teased you guys enough, so here is an action-packed chapter with Kagome making her big kick-ass debut!
Enjoy!
As always, I do not own InuYasha and friends. I do, however, own the concept of Onikamasu Dojo and the brassy Joss.
Enter the Barracuda
Kagome had spent months sneaking off to Onikamasu Dojo where she'd invested countless hours of sweat and pain into her training. She'd busted her lip at least three times and had to soak for an hour in a hot bath after every session to relieve the tension in her screaming muscles. InuYasha had been suspicious when she'd insisted on returning home so frequently, but he chalked it all up to some influx of "test yokai" in her era.
The irony was that the "test yokai" was in the Feudal Era. Literally.
When Kagome returned from a visit to her world, Kaede told her that her friends had left the village to investigate a demonic aura.
"I'm worried about them," Kaede admitted. "This aura felt especially terrible and I've felt a disturbance in the air since they left."
"How long have they been gone?" Kagome asked tersely.
"Too long," Kaede answered. "If the demon is as close as I expect, they should've dispatched with it by now."
Kagome nodded in understanding and dropped her backpack on the worn plank floor.
"I'll need a horse," she stated calmly as she began to tug off her school uniform. "Can you see about getting one saddled up?"
Kaede stood unmoving, curiously staring as strange black garb was revealed hidden underneath Kagome's uniform. The leather outfit vaguely resembled Sango's fighting ensemble, but there was no mistaking the two. Kagome's was a one-piece affair that brazenly embraced her curves and the saucy v-neck cheekily hinted at cleavage. The words "Onikamasu Dojo" were embroidered in bright red down the sleeves.
Kagome kicked out of her dull brown loafers and plopped down on the floor. She retrieved a pair of black boots, a belt loaded with mysterious pouches and, most astonishing of all, a katana from her backpack.
"Kagome, what is all this?" the old miko inquired of the younger.
Kagome pulled on a knee-high boot, held the sides together and tugged the zipper up her calf.
"I'll explain everything later," she promised as she hurriedly pulled on the other boot.
Kaede nodded and wordlessly exited the hut. She instructed a village man to prepare the fastest of the village horses and do so with haste. He sprinted to carry out her orders and returned a scant few moments later with a lean roan stallion. As he brought up the mount, Kagome dashed out of Kaede's hut buckling her belt around her hips. She tucked her katana into a belt loop and secured it with practiced speed.
Kagome put her foot into the stirrup, grabbed hold of the saddle horn and swung up into the saddle. The villager handed her the reins and Kagome met the old miko's worried eyes with confident determination.
"I'll bring them back," she vowed.
She wheeled her mount around and urged him into a gallop, following the demonic aura and the impure ripple of a tainted Shikon Jewel fragment.
"Don't forget to bring yourself back," Kaede murmured, sending up a prayer for the safety of the futuristic miko and her friends.
Kagome didn't have far to ride and her thoughts were in a spin as she prayed that her friends were alright. This was it, the culmination of weeks of preparation and the moment of truth. If her friends were still battling the demon, her arrival would tip the scales in their favor. When the echoing ruckus of battle reached her, Kagome's mount shied away so she leapt down from the saddle and took off on foot. She didn't have time to wrestle with a skittish horse, not when her friends were in danger.
As she plunged through the forest, she shoved her fears and doubts aside. She didn't care anymore about proving that she was as useful as Sango or better than Kikyo. All that mattered was saving her friends and annihilating whatever monster dared to threaten them.
Just then, she broke out of the forest and into a clearing that had become a war zone. The bodies of several demons similar in appearance were strewn about the battlefield, but, thankfully, they were the only casualties she saw. The last of them was making a final stand and doing an extraordinary job of it. Miroku was struggling to get back into the fight as was Sango. Kirara and Shippo were tending to them, while InuYasha was on the defensive against the demon.
Empowered by Shikon Jewel fragment, this monster looked like some bizarre hellhound. It was at least four times the size of a transformed Kirara and had a pair of horns that curved backwards jutting out from its skull. Its leathery skin was black and its talons were the longest any of them had ever seen on a demon. With its lipless maw and exaggerated fangs openly overlapping one another, it was one of the most horrifying creatures Kagome had ever seen.
The demon must've been lurking near a human settlement lying in wait for a hapless victim when InuYasha and company had come across it. The hanyou was struggling to evade the attacks of the advancing demon and couldn't get a chance to land a blow of his own.
Shippo was the first to catch sight of Kagome and he cried, "Kagome is here!"
InuYasha sought her out with his eyes and that momentary distraction cost him. The demon pounced and pinned InuYasha to the ground, baring its fangs in a leer of triumph. The beast's claws sank into his chest and it reared its massive head back, preparing for the final strike.
In an instant, Kagome's rage flared to life, hot and strong.
"You bastard!" she screamed. "Come on and fight me if you think you're such a badass!" she challenged in blind rage.
Kagome's spiritual energy swirled around her in a crackling vortex and the demon paused to consider the new arrival on the battlefield. Devouring a hanyou and absorbing its demonic strength was one thing, but the strange woman seemed stronger than he. The beast could tell she was mortal, that in and of itself was nothing remarkable, but her aura was decidedly miko. Calculating the more beneficial of the two potential kills, the beast glanced at the hanyou in its clutches and flung him away in disgust.
InuYasha went flying and was so dazed from pain that he couldn't catch himself from falling. He landed with sickening thud and bounced once before skidding sideways in the gravelly dirt. The demon made a beeline for Kagome, swatting an airborne Sango and Kirara out of the way. Kirara just barely managed flip herself so that she took the brunt of the blow and the pair of them went spinning out of control. Sango barely managed to hang on to Kirara and the two of them hit the ground rolling, stopping not far from InuYasha. With a cry of rage on behalf of his woman, Miroku swung his staff, but the demon expected the blow. It plucked him from the ground before he could strike and tossed him aside, Shippo clinging to his shoulder for dear life. The little kitsune had sense enough to transform and cushion the monk from a landing that would've broken his neck.
With the dispatching of Miroku and Shippo, Kagome's final line of defense rested on herself. The Onikamasu Miko. The demon grinned at her with long fangs dripping with bloodlust. Now it was down to the wire, the barracuda versus the demon.
Kagome sent the demon a cocky smirk and yelled, "Oi! Are you just gonna stand there all day or what?"
With a gleeful roar, the monster barreled towards her and she heard her friends scream at her to run for it. They were down for the count in this battle and frantic on the sidelines. Kagome stood her ground, her body tensed like a tightly coiled spring. Her friends' desperate cries and the demon's premature howl of triumph simultaneously built to a crescendo. The miko funneled her powers and concentrated them into her feet, trusting her secret weapon to do its job.
Suddenly, Kagome leapt through the air and planted a booted heel straight into the snarling demon's face. The monster howled in agony as the spiked heel sank into its flesh and a pink light erupted from the puncture. Kagome pushed off from the demon in a backward leap and landed with catlike grace on her feet. Before she could inwardly gloat in the fluidity of her acrobatic move, the demon charged and she shifted into warrior gear. The demon's face was half melted around a distinctive boot print and its blundering attack was completely blind. She scrambled to avoid the demon's wild charge and knew she had precious few seconds before the beast began to regenerate itself with the jewel shard. Kagome's hand dropped to her hip and she snatched her katana from its sheath.
"Come and get me asshole," she snarled, readying herself to strike.
Even blinded and nearly faceless, the demon could still sense the angry pulse of her spiritual energy and it whirled around to charge once more.
"KAGOME!" InuYasha roared as he struggled to gain his feet, but it was too late.
The demon was upon her and there was no room for her to escape its snarling maw and dripping fangs. At the last possible second, Kagome ducked and sidestepped the demon. She grabbed hold of a horn with her free hand and then swung herself up on its back. The demon bucked and roared, but Kagome had clamped her knees in a death grip around it. She dug her spiked heels deep into its sides to hold her steady as the demon struggled to throw her. She raised her katana for the deathblow and summoned every ounce of her miko powers.
"You picked on the wrong girl, bastard," she growled.
With all her strength, Kagome shoved her sword downward and impaled the demon's head. From her sword, a pink light glowed as she channeled her spiritual power through the blade and purified both demon and jewel shard. The beast rent the air with one final roar of agony and rage then collapsed.
Scowling, Kagome stood and stepped over the lifeless body of the demon. She plucked the now pure jewel shard from its forehead and placed it in the tiny jar that hung around her neck. Instantly, she sought out InuYasha and left her katana imbedded in the dissolving demon's skull. The residual waves of anger that had fueled her powers were slowly ebbing, though twin clouds of pink smoke still rose from her boot heels and trailed after her.
While she'd been training with Joss, Kagome frequently daydreamed about this day. The moment she'd reveal her secret training in a glorious battle with a demon and her friends would look on in awe. Now that the time was upon her, she realized that her daydreams never included any of her friends getting hurt.
"Are you guys okay?" she inquired.
Her friends stared at her with mouths hanging open and their eyes round with astonishment. Not a single one of them were able to speak and they were all immobilized by shock. Kagome shifted uncomfortably, unaware that her hips swayed enticingly under the black leather.
Unable to help himself, InuYasha whistled.
"Damn," he drawled with a fanged grin.
With that, the awkward moment was shattered and Kagome dissolved into hysterical laughter.
Well, at least that part went according to her fantasy. Sorta.
For those of you who think this is it for Miko Fatale, stay tuned! I've still got several ideas stewing!