Viva Kagome

Kaede kneeled in her garden, tending to her neat rows of precious herbs. In a basket next to her was a pile of neatly stacked leaves. Although it was still early and the sun had yet to bake the earth, sweat began to form at her brow as she wrapped the leaves in a clean cloth and pause to tug at some leaves before moving to the next row.

Looking up she saw Sango and Miroku return from an early morning expedition to patrol the village. Smiling she watched as the young monk's hand trail to her backside and the young youkai slayer knock him on the head with her large hiraikotsu. The old miko waved and as they approached she greeting them standing up, "I take it everything was clear."

"Yeah, the only cursed thing I found was Miroku's hand," Sango muttered. Kaede smiled, somehow suspecting that the young woman enjoyed the attention of her male suitor. She surmised it would only be a matter of time before Miroku would not longer be a monk. "Sango, I've got the herbs you wanted to make more of that repellent,"

"Thanks," Sango replied as the sound of rippling cloth caused all three to turn their heads towards the clearing to find Inuyasha effortlessly leap towards them in graceful strides. He truly was a beautiful creature Kaede construed and could see what her sister saw in him.

"Any more youkai attacks?" Inuyasha inquired as he approached them and sat on the railing, noticing that Miroku and Sango did not show any signs of fatigue. A very good sign, the hanyou surmised.

"Not since we started patrolling and setting bait far from the village," Sango explained.

"How is your youkai problem?" Miroku asked.

"Not much has been happening since I fought him. We went looking for clues but Kagome only found a strange pendant with a strong aura." Sango looked at Miroku then Inuyasha, "What youkai problem?"

"Oh some weird guy keeps following Kagome around," Inuyasha explained examining his claws. "But since I fought him, he hasn't shown his face around." He looked up at everyone and smirked, "I guess I scared him off!"

"Be careful Inuyasha," Miroku warned. "This doesn't sound like any other youkai we have fought in the past." Inuyasha glared at him, then looked down at the neat rows of small herb plants to which Kaede had resumed tending to, "he fought unlike anything I've seen before without the use of any weapons."

"And ye didn't use ye sword," Kaede inquired pulling at the large weed that seemed so intent on outgrowing her small shrub. Inuyasha crossed his arms and breathed in the crisp morning air looking up at the sky, "I can't use the tetsusaiga like I want to otherwise I will destroy hundreds of humans. Many people live so closely together in Kagome's world and the buildings are so tall."

"So that explains all the small scorch marks in the clearing near the well?" Miroku pondered aloud stroking his chin.

"And what is that supposed to mean monk?" Inuyasha growled, fearful that anyone discover his secret that he trained for battle. That he was practicing small-scaled attacks with his sword. Amongst youkai, that was a sign of weakness. His father had left him the tetsusaiga, but he still had work to unlock its secrets.

"Nothing," Miroku said smiling with his eyes closed. Inuyasha turned his face away and muttered, "Yeah, just as I thought." Kaede and Sango looked at each other and smiled, a silent understanding of the females into the bizarre intricacies of male behavior. The wise miko stood up with her small basket of precious herb trimmings and wiped her brow with a sleeve; "We are going to have a meeting two weeks from now on what to do with the jewel. Kagome needs to be here."

"Keh," Inuyasha replied leaping into the air, his voluminous clothing rippling behind him.

"Hey where are you going?" Miroku called. "We could use your help!"

"Back to the shrine," Inuyasha paused looking back. "Mrs. Higurashi's got some things for me to do."

"Mrs. Higurashi," Miroku stated.

"Kagome's mother," Sango stated. "Apparently she really likes Inuyasha." Miroku looked at Sango as though she were mad, "What is there to like, he's rude, inconsiderate…"

"I heard that!" Inuyasha called from the distance. He resisted the urge to return to the village and pummel Miroku for that comment. But as he leapt through the well, to modern day Tokyo and breathed in the heavy humid air he felt calmer.

What's happening to me, he thought. Why do I feel more…complete?

"Mrs. Higurashi," Inuyasha tentatively spoke as he approached her in the storage shed. She was leaning down removing several cans and large brushes from the neat but crowded bottom shelf. She stood up and turned, "Oh hi Inuyasha. Just the person I was looking for."

"You, you were," Inuyasha gulped, feeling the sweat form at his forehead. Mrs. Higurashi looked at Inuyasha and smiled, wondering what had made him so nervous.

"Um, I need to ask you something?" he slowly choked out.

"Sure," Mrs. Higurashi said, rolling up her sleeves. Inuyasha looked down at his toes then looked up and let out a breath he had been holding. "I just wanted to ask you if I could, um, court your daughter."

The nervous hanyou's ears twitched with anticipation then confusion as the woman before him giggled softly. Mrs. Higurashi covered her mouth with her hand attempting to stifle her laughter, "Oh Inuyasha you don't need my permission if you want to date Kagome."

"Huh?" Inuyasha was confused. It was only proper to ask the parents of a maiden for her hand. That is what he often witnessed in the villages. That was what he was supposed to do, wasn't it?

"Relax," Mrs. Higurashi softly said placing a hand on his shoulder. "I trust my daughter to have excellent taste in her suitors."

"Oh," Inuyasha replied staring at the floor. He felt embarrassed. How he hated feeling clueless about these things. "I'm sorry. It's just what I thought was proper…"

"Inuyasha," Mrs. Higurashi firmly said. "As I said, I trust my daughter and in this era you don't usually need to ask the parents of the girl you like permission to date her. I would be pleased for you to," she paused smiling, "court my daughter. In fact I'm glad you did for it shows me you respect my wishes as well as Kagome's"

Mrs. Higurashi smiled fondly as she watched a large smile spread across Inuyasha's face and his eyes become alive. "Now that we have that settled Inuyasha, we've got a lot of work to do today."

"Keh," Inuyasha smirked, thinking how proud Kagome would be if she found out he had spoken to her mother, but he would never tell her this. Smiling he followed Mrs. Higurashi into the shed.

Kagome stood before her locker untying her indoor shoes and replacing them with her brown loafers. Although classes had gone well for her, she could not help feeling anxious as if something bizarre was going to happen. Kagome only could hope that it would not involve Inuyasha, specifically Inuyasha being the cause of the drama. As much as she loved him, he did have a talent for attracting attention in this era.

She strapped her black leather book bag onto her back and stepped out of the school, surprised to find her three girlfriends chatting with Hojo. Kagome hid behind a large tree and bit her lip as she listened in on the conversation.

"Do you guys know anything about the strange boy Kagome is with?" Hojo asked.

"What boy?" Eri inquired, looking a bit nervous as she exchanged glances with Yuka and Ayume.

Hojo scratched the back of his head,"He's really weird with bleached blonde hair, tan skin, and light colored eyes."

"You've just described half of Tokyo," Eri stated.

"Well he was dressed in old fashioned clothing and I've never seen hair so long it almost fell to his knees."

"Oh you mean Inuyasha," Ayume proclaimed eliciting glares from Eri and Yuka, "He's Kagome's…" Kagome watched as Yuka nudged her and quickly explain, "He works at the shrine and is a good friend of Kagome's."

"Yeah," added Eri. "He's a little eccentric but really nice once you get to know him." Hojo looked at the three girls and unconvincingly replied, "Yeah, you're right."

Kagome waited for her friends to leave before leaving school. She frowned to herself as she made her way home, the same thoughts echoing through her head. Was it wrong to lead him long for this long?

But just blocks from the shrine Kagome stopped, feeling the aura of a youkai nearby. She balled her fists feeling determined wondering if that youkai had been the cause of her anxiety. She could only hope Inuyasha was nearby.

"I know you're there," Kagome spoke aloud. "Come down and face me."

No one stepped down to face her, though the aura grew stronger. She could feel a strange aura course through her body, as if something was being awakened. As she neared the park, she called out again, "I said come down here!"

A calm breeze blew through her hair, tousling it around her face. As she brushed the errant strands out of her face, she noticed a figure moving amongst the trees out of the corner of her eye. Seconds later that figure was standing before her and one thought reverberated through her skull:

Where are you Inuyasha?

Inuyasha had finished painting the torii, the red gate that marked the entrance to the sacred grounds of the Higurashi Shrine. His sleeves were tied back and a leather cord restrained his hair with his ears neatly tucked underneath the thick mass. Small beads of sweat glistened on his forehead. He stepped back admiring his work, "not bad at all. It's actually really good!"

"Well done Inuyasha," Jii-chan said coming down the steps. But Inuyasha wasn't paying attention. Something crackled in the air as if something was not right and both Jii-chan and Inuyasha felt it. Growling Inuyasha muttered, "Kagome is in trouble."

Jii-chan felt cold as he watched Inuyasha leap off into the air as a blur and quickly scaled the steps.

Inuyasha arrived just outside the park to see Kagome face a completely different youkai, a young woman barely an adolescent. Feeling the powerful aura emanating off Kagome, Inuyasha could feel goose bumps form on his skin. Something rooted him to the high tree and he watched.

"Why do you follow me?" Kagome firmly spoke, her body rigid not with fear but with strength. The adolescent swallowed and merely glared at her, "You will do my father's will."

"Your father's will?" Kagome inquired characteristically placing her hands at her hips, ready for a fight. The girl dramatically flicked her long dark hair over her shoulder and threw a curse at her opponent. Kagome gritted her teeth and focused, a small barrier encapsulating her form. She reached into her pocket and threw a sutra at the young youkai, "I bow to nobody's will, cat!"

"A cat youkai?" Inuyasha hissed ready to leap down and help Kagome as he watched the young woman leap into the air to avoid the attack, the toes of her left foot singing as they brushed against the sutra.

"Impudent fool!" she hissed as she unsheathed a long thin sword that was not visible only moments before. Kagome frowned, why hadn't I seen that before.

Kagome froze, suddenly frightened at the prospect of facing a sword. She could battle curses and spells with barriers and sutras. But hand to hand combat frightened her and she was unarmed.

If only Inuyasha was here, she frantically thought as the girl charged towards her with the sword shouting, "Know your place miko!"

"Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted, eliciting different reactions in the battling youkai and miko. Startled the girl turned her head to look at the source of the sound, missing her target. Kagome had found her bearings, her strength, in Inuyasha's voice and swerved to the right avoiding the blade. Raising her hands before her she released her spiritual energy.

The young cat youkai gasped, surprised at the amount of spiritual energy that poured forth from the young miko. Feeling her skin scorch she stumbled backwards, her hand firmly gripping her sword. Kagome stepped forward noticing for the first time how young the woman was. She was small in stature and appeared to have just entered adolescence. "You're just a child."

"Humph, at least I'm not human," she choked out, her throat coarse as if in pain, as she carefully stood up. Summoning her last bit of strength she leapt into the air and onto a tall building where she disappeared. From his tree, Inuyasha wanted to go after the child, but his heart was urging him to look after Kagome.

"Are you okay?" he asked landing before her and hugging her tight against him. Kagome smiled and loosened herself in his grip and looked up into Inuyasha's eyes, "I think I'm okay. Actually I'm more than okay."

"That was amazing!" Inuyasha proclaimed releasing her from his arms and placing his hands on her shoulders. "I've never seen you fight like that before! Where did that come from?"

"I…I don't know," Kagome side with wide-eyed wonder, unable to find the words to describe what had happened. It was as if her spiritual powers had been lying dormant in her for so long had finally fully blossomed. And as Inuyasha took her into his arms once again she felt more secure in her place in the world.

Well another chapter done! Sorry for the slow pace, but it will slowly build up to more action.