Change

Hello to Our supporters and new readers. We ask that you continue to bear with us as we slowly update. Also, if you haven't read this story in a while then feel free to read it from the beginning in This is Only The Beginning, and let us know how it is flowing together.

We left off with Kagome meeting up with Inuyasha and his mate. If it wasn't clear in the last chapter, her Beast has shifted to the front and the changes are starting.

Enjoy!

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Kagome shifted on the futon trying to push the sounds around her into a small box so that she could sleep longer. The shuffling of tiny feet on a tree yards from the hut, a louder shift of wind through leaves ever changing from a harsh lullaby to a gentle persuasion of breath. It had been a week since Inuyasha had took her in and the change to her hearing had only increased. With a sigh she turned over and thought about how she could get up and deal with the day or stay in bed and listen to every little shift in the three mile radius her hearing covered. Deciding to move over to the fire, she gathered the kimono shirt she had received in covering from Sesshomaru and had ran off with in her haste to escape his parents. She held on to every night until she could imagine him right there holding her at night as she lay under it.

She had only the kimono on when she came back to her own mind and had to ask Inuyasha to find her some kimonos to wear as well as to impose upon them until her state of being was more stable. Her stripes barely visible against her skin, a mere illusion of color against a tanned check. Her eye had finally settled on a singularly stunning Foxfire-Sapphire ocean of various blues, all swimming and swirling into a vast spectrum of colors, from Icy Sea and Frozen Teal to Summers Sky and Bluest Forget-me-nots with hints of Midnight Rose swirling underneath. When her beast resided to the back almost as if abandoning her, her eyes deepened to almost black giving them a hint of brown, mischief sparking from deep behind a veil of swirling and welling happiness. Inuyasha saw the sadness on her face, but could see her ever-present happiness for her family and friends shining through it all.

She hadn't felt Mizaki come forward in her mind since their last encounter. Kagome was certain that she was not her beast, but a guide through the courts and how they worked, rather that she was helping her acclimate to her new strengths and 'enhancements'. She felt the pull against her soul as the soul collectors flew by, sadness for a lost soul and friend pulling even harder. It seemed that after Kikyo's true death that the collectors would summon Inuyasha to her side very so often and that she would give him information from beyond the living realm. In short, she was a spy for Sesshomaru's newest Generals, Inuyasha and his mate. She clutched Sesshomaru's kimono close to her chest as she began to think of all that was happening to her and her pack.

Sango and Miroku were building her hometown again, it seems that Kohaku had found a male Fire-neko while he was roaming around the small village where Naraku's 'pets' had been housed while given simple tasks to reintegrate them into the lives they once had. Kagura and Kana moved on to an Ookami's territory before finding a home with Koga and his two followers. Ginta and Ayame took in the youngest reincarnation and happened to be raising him as their son, Koga and Kagura began to talk about a mating, while Kana and Hakkaku started to play the good uncle and girlfriend game while trying to get to know each other. Inuyasha and his mate already had positions as Sesshomaru's pack and war leaders.

Kirara had mated the male neko Kohaku brought to the village with him hence the newest members to her mothering. Yumie and Dashi where the only two living with Inuyasha and Suski, the runts in a litter of twelve. Yumie was a sweetie while Dashi liked to make her chase him around, so between the two of them they kept her from welling in self-pity. Looking for the little kittens she began brushing her hair, yet another thing that had changed, reaching just below her knee when she let it down from her messy buns. The kittens often curled up with her when sleeping yet glancing around her room, they were gone. Thinking that maybe they were outside playing with Inuyasha she set to rights her bedding before grabbing a simple white under kimono and obi. Changing into the under kimono she turned to gather another one of her new kimonos only to grab Sesshomaru's and pull it over her and tie the obi around it. The kimono settled around her in perfect fit, falling in graceful lines ending just above her feet, despite how much taller and built Sesshomaru was compared to her. When she asked Inuyasha about it, he told her that it was probably made by a Silks Youkai, they often made clothes for Youkai nobility and that the clothes were infused with magicks that allowed the clothes to fit the chosen Youkai or their intended/mate. Kagome took it at face value never catching the point that Sesshomaru chose her.

Finished changing she took one last look around her room before grabbing her newest project from her futon and held it to her chest as she left the room. Slipping through the halls of Inuyasha's small mansion, she headed towards the gardens. She found out about Suski and how she was once an assassin for Sesshomaru, before she lost her left eye to Inuyasha during her violation of orders. It seems she thought that the hanyou was a nuisance to her lord and attempted to remove him from the family line. Only she never thought that her lord was keeping him alive for a reason or that he wouldn't be as easy as everyone said. Her fight ended with her pinned and Inuyasha at her neck and her eye blind from his claws. Both told her that it turned them on so hard that one thing lead to another, hence the mating. Suski truly loved him but wished their meeting had gone better or not been her trying to kill him. Kagome laughed and told her that if it had then the InuBaka would have never looked her way. Afterwards, she gave her a room off the main area yet close to the gardens.

Walking out she blinked the light out of her eyes before shifting over to the bench the kittens would sit when they felt her moving to the gardens. She made it three steps before seeing one she thought never to see so close ever again. Sesshomaru sat with Dashi on his lap while Rin sat at his feet petting Yumie, both people she couldn't look at without longing to be near them, nor regret for her actions. She turned to leave and change so she could give his Kimono back catching a glimpse of the young Inu sitting off to the side and sharing the same longing gaze as herself. The choice between changing and comforting the pup, she walked over to her, and picked her up. Holding the pup against her heart she walked over to the door planning on having alone time with her in order to learn why she was sad, her mothering instincts overturning her pride.

They made it as far as the steps before she was airborne and settled in a desperate hug. Sesshomaru held her as close as he could not even deterred by her startled gasp and surge of power as he tried to soothe his beast and their shared desperation for their mate's presence. His nose finding her shoulder and neck as he began to nuzzle and purr against her.

Kagome's nerves beginning to settle as she ran her hands against the shaking pup's back and sides. Her eyes glanced over the big puppy holding her and she softened, she had really missed him. When Sesshomaru felt that he had humiliated himself enough he set them on the ground, before taking off to burn some of his impatience on some innocent trees. Watching him leave she felt as if he was telling her to take care of their young and that he would be back. A soft sigh brushed her lips as she smiled at his back, her insecurities brushed away without a word or real evidence of affection other than his embarrassing display earlier. A hand pulling her from her mind she smiled down at Rin, pulling her close she hugged the girl against her legs.

"Now then, Rin how 'bout we have some girl time?" The answering smile melted her heart all over again. Turning again she took the girls to her room, and set the pup on her futon before settling down with Rin in her lap next to her.

"So lets start with what's your name. I wondered about it while I was sitting with you but ended up running before I found out anything about you."

"Chiyu. My name is Chiyu Kori and it is a pleasure to meet you. I am the South star clan. May I ask you your clan?"

"Well Chiyu, I am Kagome and I don't really have a clan. However my family is the Shikon if that helps." The widening of Chiyu's eyes had Kagome wondering about her family, but she was more worried about the pup. "Chiyu, why were you siting by yourself in the gardens earlier? I'm sure that Sesshomaru would have let you sit with him, and Rin loves to play with others." Kagome told her as she brushed her fingers through the pup's hair, slowly messaging her head much like Youkai mothers would to calm their young. This confused the pup as she knew that this girl was but a human and humans didn't comfort the young of others. Chiyu felt soothing waves of energy settle around them and soon felt her tears build, only to dash them away as tears were a sign of much weakness, something no demon is allowed to show even to their parents. However, Kagome pulled her hands away and pressed a kiss on each lid before wiping the tears with her thumbs.

"Shhh… its ok baby, just get all the tears out. I'm here, I'll still be here when your done, then we can go and sit outside and enjoy the gardens while you tell me about what my packs been up to. Huh?"

The tears fell with abandon now, Chiyu clutching the kimono at Kagome's back as she let her grief go and took comfort from the Miko. Her loss pulling at her until she could no longer form words and still this woman held her as though if she let go Chiyu would blow away in a moment. Her tears slowly abated before she just settled in and fell asleep in the Miko's arms.

Kagome rocked her back and forth while whispering to this lonely pup. When the cries stopped Kagome settled them on her futon as Rin ran her hands though her new friends hair. Curled together they all got a little sleepy before the pups fell into peace filled slumber. Kagome was starting to drift when a stinging started at her cheeks and forehead, causing her to bite back a groan. As softly as she could set the pups down she shifted away from them, before dashing to the woods past the gardens and walls. When she was a good distance she began to let the pained sounds go and curled into herself as the pain became much more then she had thought it would reach. The pain so much in fact, she couldn't feel the presence of the other person in the clearing just a arms reach from her. The pain kept getting worse and she had no idea how much more she could take. Hands pulled her out of her position setting her on a lap before gliding against her face, relief left in their wake. The hands traced her markings and seemed to know the very shape they would be. One last burst of pain then she felt nothing, only the aura of strength.

Gintoki cradled her against his chest as he relived her birth and how she had stolen his heart that day. He regretted leaving his mate and love but knew that this Miko was so much more than the Western Lords could handle until her beast was settled.

"Baby girl, oh how you've grown. Your grandmother will be so proud of you, however, I must fininsh this cursed plan of mine before anything. I seal your reikai to protect you until you are finished with your transformation, my little phoenix."

DG

Done! I bow I apology