A.N. And so my lovely readers, I once again update (thankfully with not nearly as long a gap as between the two previous chapters), and I am once again sorry I did not update. I had all the opportunity in the world to update, but I have the misfortune of being a procrastinating, lazy bum, with ADHD. But what really got me into writing this chapter was I was reading this really good fic, and then when it was at a very climactic part, the author declared that he was discontinuing it. I just want to say, that I will NEVER do that. It pisses me off so much when other people do it, and half the time the stories are good too, and so the most I will ever do is put the fic on hiatus. I don't care how long it takes, I will always finish the story. So for my faithful readers, you do not have to worry.

Disclaimer: (author is reading "hacking into other people's stuff and making it so you own all their assets for dummies") Me: GAH! I don't get it, where do the 1's and 0's go, what the hell does PIE have to do with anything?! Lawyer: PIE! It has EVERYTHING to do with it! Me: … where the hell did you come from? Lawyer: …I've been here the whole time. Me: …seriously? Lawyer: …yes Me: …o-kay… I don't own Inuyasha? Lawyer: (starts laughing maniacally) Me: (backs away slowly, then breaks out into a full blown run)

Chapter 8: Blood of Fire

Sesshomaru stopped dead in his tracks. The entire Ono mansion had just…disintegrated. And Kagura was standing in the middle of the wreckage, looking up at the sky, in a dazed way. The scent of rusted iron hit Sesshomaru's nose like a bullet train: blood, and lots of it.

Kagura didn't have the faintest idea what had happened. She felt like she had awoken after a very long sleep, but in a way she still felt like she was still dreaming. The power now surging through her veins, it was almost…intoxicating, but at the same time venomous, and yet, that's how she felt it was always meant to be. Her fan was still clutched tightly in her hand. It's a wonder it didn't break from how hard she was grasping it.

She felt a slight tug at the end of her jeans, and glanced downwards. Kagura's eyes widened in horror. It was her mother, or rather, what was left at least. Her legs were gone, and bone was sticking out through her arms; her face wet with blood. But she was smiling; Kagura noted, the most beautiful smile in the world. Unlike the other times, it did not seem fake, or plastered on, or even dangerously cynical. It was one of pure joy.

Though blood was gushing out of her mouth as she opened it, she began to speak, "Kagura…you've…f-finally…a…a-awakened. … I-I'm so…p-proud…of you." Kagura's face contorted in pain. It was the first compliment her mother had ever given her, it was the first time she had ever seen her smile like that, ever. She never even gave that kind of smile to the others. Water began to cloud her vision. Why now? Why did her mother have to go and be all nice to her, as she was dying? Why? Why?

The truth, though it stung, was that Kagura never really could bring herself to hate her family. They had abused her her whole life, but all she had really wanted, was for them to accept her.

"K-Kagura…" Her red eyes snapped back towards her mother. Her mother smiled weakly. "I…had always…hoped,…that this would…h-happen." "M-mom!" was all Kagura could choke out. "I-I'm…s-sorry…about how w-we…treated you…I guess…we were…ashamed, of…ourselves…a p-pr-proud demon family…l-like us, g-giving birth…to a h-human…it was…unacceptable." Her cerulean eyes looked down at the ground. "That was our curse." "What?" Icy eyes met fiery ones. "B-before you were…even b-born, we-we're…in a war…to make humans…our subjects…we failed…and for our p-pride…you…were cursed. Mrs. Ono coughed and blood spattered across Kagura's shoes.

"Mom, stop, you're killing yourself!" "It's fine!" More blood. Kagura bit her lip. It looked painful, and looking at the amount of blood already on the ground, Kagura knew that her mother's chances for survival were slim to none. "…I'm…glad…" "Mom, stop! We'll call 911, they'll come, just hang on!"

Her eyes looked at Kagura, no, straight through her. "No. This…is part…of t-the…curse." She took a deep breath before continuing. "I…and your father…must…die." She let out a hoarse laugh, then looked to her left. "Judging by the looks of it…your father's…already f-fulfilled his…part." Kagura turned her head, and saw Mr. Ono's severed head. Her knees felt weak, and she was short of breath. There was another tug at her pant hem.

"K-Kagura…I…I…l-love…y-" and silence. Kagura stared down at the woman who for most of her life had caused so much pain and suffering. Who at the very last moment, had a deathbed conversion, and, and-

Kagura howled in pain. Why? Why? Is this some cruel joke?! Why did she have to go and-and make me love her…like that…why couldn't she have just-just hated me, till the very end, WHY?!

Almost instantly, she felt strong arms around her. She breathed in the scent. 'Sesshomaru…" "Kagura." His breath felt warm against her neck. "Let's go. It would be unwise to linger." Kagura broke out into fresh tears and buried her face in his shoulder.

Sesshomaru was confused as to why he was doing this. Did he really pity Kagura that much? Or was it…something more? He shrugged the question off and carried her away. It was best to leave this scene behind, and come back at a less trying time.

It was half an hour later that someone reported the destruction.

3 days later…

Kagura was still dazed from what had happened. She was back at Sesshomaru's house, but she was in her room the whole time. She never bothered to watch TV, the incident was all over the news. Something like, "The cause of the explosion has been undetermined as of now, but authorities believe it to have been a bomb. Both Mr. and Mrs. Ono were found dead on the scene, however, the children Juroromaru, Kageromaru, Kagura, and Kanna have still yet to have been found…"

That part bothered Kagura. She knew that everyone was present and accounted for when there was that sudden burst of power. So it was down to two theories: one, the blast had been so powerful that they had disintegrated, which would explain why there was nothing left, or number 2, that they had been able to walk away from that, without a single scratch. But whatever had happened was still gnawing away at Kagura's mind and her sanity. If they were alive, what would they do? Would they pursue her, and avenge their parent's deaths? Or were they afraid of their punching bag now, and decided to quietly slip away so they wouldn't be in harm's way? Nothing made sense at all anymore.

She glanced over at the fan. When she had been brought back, she had to force her hand to let go of it. She hadn't touched it since. That day when she danced with it had been exhilarating, but now she was scared, because now she knew that her fan had caused for her powers, which according to her mother, had never been "awakened" before. She fell back onto the bed and her thoughts drifted towards the conversation that she had had with of all people, …Mr. Myouga.

Kagura had a blanket around her and a mug of hot chocolate in her hand, not that she noticed. All she could really think about was, 'What the fuck just happened?' In fact, Mr. Myouga had waltzed right in and plopped down in the chair in front of her, and had been babbling on for five minutes before she even registered that he was there at all.

Kagura let out a loud shriek and fell out of her chair. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Mr. Myouga sighed. "Kagura, you know I don't approve of profanity, and I must say, I've been here for a few minutes already." He leaned in a bit closer. "Maybe if you would pay attention more that would help." Kagura was still in her position on the floor, with a somewhat dazed expression on her face. "By the way, that's a very lovely shade of red if I do say so myself." He looked up thoughtfully. "Almost like…rubies, I'd say." "What?"

He paused for a moment. "I mean your eyes." "What?" He frowned. "Kagura…do you even have the slightest idea of what's happened to you?" "Well…no, not really." "Kagura, surely you're aware that the Ono family is an old and powerful demon family, do you not?" Kagura slowly got off of her position on the floor. There was that word again: demon.

"My parents, never said anything about that." "Really?" he said, sliding back in his chair. "I have no idea why. I figured that part of the mental abuse you sustained was that you were 'unclean' of human blood, instead of that of a demon's." Kagura glared. "And what the hell's wrong with being a human?" "Kagura, surely you've realized it now, you're NOT a human at all." "What are you babbling on about? Of course I'm a human, and you're blind, old man, MY eyes are brown not red." He sighed once more before turning to Izayoi. "A mirror, if you please?" She hesitated for a moment. "Are you sure now's the best time? Wouldn't it be better to wait-" "She's better off knowing now then being left in the dark any longer."

Izayoi then hurried off into the other room, and came back holding a medium sized mirror. Her hands were shaking. "Hold it up." Mr. Myouga commanded. Obediently she did so. Kagura looked and saw pale white skin with a little dirt and some bruises on it, surrounded by black hair that was in a bun. It was her face she knew, but her ears, were pointed, but what really caught her attention was the molten, ruby-red eyes set into her face. She sucked in some air quite loudly, like a drowning man gasping for air.

The mirror disappeared as quickly as it had come, and Mr. Myouga continued on. "The entire demon community knew that this was bound to happen. They knew what had happened with the curse-" "Curse?" "Yes, you probably wouldn't-" "Kikyo's curse?" "You know?" She hesitated for a moment. "I thought you said your family didn't mention any of that to you." "They didn't, well, at least, not till today." Seeing his confused expression, she continued. "My…mom, she said that…she knew she was going to die…that it had been part of the punishment, the curse, for their foolish pride." "I see. Very interesting…" There was an awkward silence for a few moments.

"Um, so, if that's the case…" Kagura faltered, "Why didn't this happen before?" Mr. Myouga smiled. "Simply because, it was not yet time, my dear. I had sensed that your blood was beginning to awaken though, but so did several of the people you've been in contact with. In fact, most of them are either demons or are in league with demons, including myself and Ms. Kaede." "Ms. Kaede?" "Yes," he smiled to himself a bit, "She's actually Kikyo's aunt, and a former shrine maiden herself. She took it upon herself to see the fulfillment of Kikyo's prophecy." Kagura's head was spinning, and for a second she felt like she was going to faint.

"So then…how did I-" "Do that?" "Y-yeah." He chuckled for a minute. "It would seem, Kagura, that you are a youkai no kaze, or a demon of wind, if you prefer." "But that doesn't really-" "Wind is a very destructive part of nature. It can shape rocks, and tear trees up at their roots. So simply put, if you will excuse the pun, blew them away." Kagura was using up all her energy just trying to stay conscious and retain all that she had learned. And then it hit her.

"What about…Naraku?" Mr. Myouga looked grim. "He is a demon, from one of the most powerful demon families ever. But also, from one of the most evil demon families ever too." He sighed. "I'm…afraid to tell you this, but," he readied himself. "Your family and his arranged for you to be married." "What?! That's ridiculous, what makes them think that I'd ever-!" "Kagura, really you mustn't be so naïve, of course it's a marriage of convenience. It's only been a recent development that the demon families marry for love, and not social standing, and it's not exactly practiced by all of them." He closed his eyes for a moment. "Naraku himself has no objections, but he's fairly determined to keep you in line, which is why he hired the Band of Seven-" "The Band of Seven?" "Oh dear, I, I'm sorry, I keep forgetting you're not informed of these things." He cleared his throat before continuing. "The Band of Seven is a group of mercenaries, or hit-men." "Hit-men?!" "Don't worry, Naraku didn't hire them to kill you, just to keep tabs on you, and carry out his dirty work."

She immediately felt sick to her stomach as she realized something else. "They-He, that bastard! He's the one who tried to kill Lily, isn't he?!" There was silence. She crashed her fists on the table. "ISN'T HE?!" Mr. Myouga nodded uncomfortably. Kagura was livid. "I'll kill him, I'll kill that son-of-a-bitch and send him straight back to hell!" "It's not that easy." "I don't care! I'm tired of being bossed around by him, and now he's gone and done THIS, that- that-" "That's not the point, Kagura. You think you're the only one who has it in for Naraku? Think again. And several HAVE tried, but so far none have prevailed. Naraku has ambitions, ambitions that if ever carried out could spell destruction for us all, humans and demons alike! You're just one small part of the plan, and even though he'd rather not waste time on finding someone else, you ARE replaceable! So don't think that for one second that just because you're his 'intended' that you're invincible!"

There was a shocked silence in between them for a while, before Mr. Myouga continued. "No doubt, he's already aware of the current situation. Kagura," she looked up at him. "You have great potential, and you definitely have a lot of power, but Naraku's been trained for far longer than you. If you want to defeat him, you will need help-" "I DON'T WANT HELP!" she shrieked. "Calm down, Kagura. I know you don't like the idea, you are a wind demon after all, they don't usually like to be tied down-" "GET TO THE POINT!" "But you are vulnerable. Perhaps more so than someone who has been training with their power for just a day. But even now, it's far too early to be thinking about that. You will need protection-" "I'll do it." Kagura looked up at the new voice. It was Sesshomaru.

She glared. "I already said I don't need anyone's help, especially from some stuck up prick like yourself!" "Regardless of how you feel, this is not the time to argue." He said, remaining nonchalant. Mr. Myouga looked between the two before breaking the silence. "I think it best that Kagura lies low for a while. At least until we have a game-plan. In the meantime, I will bring your schoolwork and Sesshomaru will help you with it-" "WHAT?! I don't need his help!" "You forget, I am still your tutor." Kagura felt like she was about to boil over. "I don't need you, or your shitty help! I am fine alone!" and with that she stormed off.

And that was how it happened. She was still a little peeved over the whole incident, but she was really tired about all that had happened. 'Sleep would be nice right now,' and she did just that.

At school…

Sesshomaru was sitting in class, but he wasn't paying attention. His mind was focused on a certain someone. 'How can she be so naïve? Thinking she's all-powerful when she's not? She's absolutely pathetic right now, a complete wreck, and she acts just like a child, no, even a child would be more mature than she is.' His lip curled downwards. 'She will get my help though, whether she likes it or not!'

At Naraku's mansion…

It was dark inside the mansion, not that Naraku cared. All he cared about was trying to lure Kagura out of the Taisho's house and into the open. He smirked. It didn't matter if her powers had awakened or not, the Band of Seven was strong enough to take down several stronger demons at once. Taking back Kagura would be like, well taking candy from a day-old baby.

"Naraku," he turned to face Kanna. Her black eyes flicked downwards towards her mirror, which began to glow. An image of Kagura sleeping appeared. Naraku chuckled to himself. 'She's so vulnerable, and yet she leaves herself wide open by sleeping, pathetic,' The image faded, and was replaced by one of Sesshomaru sitting in class with an extremely stern look on his face. 'Even more pathetic.' The image faded away.

"Kanna." Blank eyes looked at him. "Show me Kagura's little friend. I want to see how long I can blackmail her for." An image appeared of Lily, but not in a hospital bed, in a coma. Instead she was at what appeared to be a welcome home party. Naraku frowned. "What?" Kanna looked down at the mirror again. The image scattered and was replaced with one of Lily in the hospital bed, when Sesshomaru burst in. Using his Tensaiga, she was immediately cured, of all injuries, even her scars disappeared. "Damn that Sesshomaru, always butting in." He grimaced then looked at Kanna. "Tell Bankotsu and the others to attack the Taisho residence immediately. Look for the room on the third floor to the left." "Yes, sir." And Kanna disappeared.

Naraku's smirk appeared on his face again. "I'll be seeing you very soon, Kagura. Very soon."

A.N. Okay, so it's only seven pages, I know I'm sorry. :C but hey, I did update a lot sooner this time, plus it's all falling action. I'm probably going to wrap this all up in the next chapter, and I'll include an epilogue as well. You know it's kind of funny, I started this story at the end of my 8th grade year, and here it is I'm finishing it at the end of my Sophomore year. I really hate to admit this, but I've also had the final chapter for Tale of the Red Samurai finished for over a year now, but I still haven't gotten around to uploading it yet. I guess I just didn't like how it turned out, but I haven't edited it yet either, so yeah, I'm sorry about that. Oh and to answer some of you're questions, no I'm not from Hawaii (Though that would be pretty freakin' sweet), but I am from Texas, but the best beaches we have are in Galveston, and we have to keep replacing them. And they smell really bad too. And also, I'm sorry I have to make the Band of Seven evil, though admittedly it is in character for them, but I love them too, but it just works to make them evil in the story. Also, I'm thinking of a sequel, or more rather, a prequel, focusing solely on Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, and Sango, and how that group came to be. And I'm also thinking of another fanfic about a finishing school, basic plot: 3 girls, 1 school, several mysterious murders, and over a thousand years of secrets. So if you can, tell me what you think, and any comments and/or questions would be appreciated, so r&r!