I want to take the time to thank everyone for your reviews. They meant a lot to me, and I am glad to be reminded that I have so many readers. Thank you so much. For those of you who read Changed Body, Changed Heart, I have some bad news. I am going to be taking a break from it. I have been struggling with writing that story and I have officially hit a roadblock. I will finish it and will still be working on it. I am just not going to post it at the moment. I would rather take the time to work through this roadblock and give you quality chapters than force it and give you crap. I hope you all understand. I will still post the other three, and if you would like, I can post a new Sesshomaru and Kagome story in its place. Let me know if that is something you would be interested in. I hope you enjoy and stay safe and healthy.

Chapter 17

The group sat around a fire, talking and just enjoying the company with one another. The girls had formed a train, Kagome in the front grooming the feathers and fur of Arkan who sat in her lap. Hisa was in the middle, braiding Kagome's long hair. Over the years it had grown and now fell to her hips. Jun was behind Hisa, braiding the elder Miko's hair. Hers fell to her ankles and was a daunting task.

The males sat nearby, discussing whatever came to mind as the woman relaxed. They did this every so often, just taking a night to spend time with one another. The six of them had become friends, or pack as Sesshomaru called it. Yua would sometimes join them, and now they had arkan. Their pack was continuing to grow, and soon Jun would be adding another.

"You should have seen Sesshomaru when he realized I was starting to show." Jun chuckled, ignoring the growl of her mate. "He was so happy, though he tried not to show it. We need more babies. Hisa, why don't you have one."

"Don't put that pain on me." Hisa shook her head, accidentally pulling Kagomes hair a bit roughly. "Kids aren't for everyone. Im not mother material, so don't ever expect me to babysit. I'll probably forget the baby somewhere."

"I'll babysit!" Kagome raised her hand excitedly. "Anytime. I don't care what I am doing, you bring that baby by and I will take care of it." She would too. They all knew how much she loved children, and Sesshomaru could admit she was the only one he would trust his pup with.

"Nope. Babies get in the way of sex. I like that too much." Hisa shivered at the thought of no longer be able to enjoy her husband's body.

"Not true. Or there wouldn't be multiple families with lots of siblings. I have a brother, Sesshomaru has a brother. Kids don't ruin your sex life." Kagome didn't notice the look Miroku was giving her, but if she had she would be squirming.

"I have fifteen brothers and twelve sisters." Everyone aside from Sesshomaru looked at Jun with shock as she just smiled and finished of Hisa's hair. She shrugged her shoulders and chuckled. "My mother and father couldn't keep their hands off each other."

"There is another who will be the same. This Sesshomaru tires of smelling constant arousal." Sesshomaru cut his eyes at Miroku. The Monk just grinned, looking at Kagome as Hiroki laughed outright.

"I am not ashamed to be attracted to my female. I am sure, if any of us had your noses, we would smell you as well. After all, only one woman is pregnant." Miroku had him there, and Sesshinaru grunted looking away. He refused to admit defeat.

"Another thing I find funny is the fact that Sesshomaru is now surrounded by humans." Kagome looked to the narrow-eyed lord. "When we first met, you spouted off so many insults about me and the human race, and now look at you."

"I should have killed you that day." They all knew he was lying. He even shifted as he said it, uncomfortable with the thought of killing the little woman.

"When will you two marry?" Hisa placed Kagomes now braided hair over the blushing Miko's shoulder. She saw the look the two shared and knew the marriage wasn't far off for them. But that was a conversation they had yet to have.

"It's only been a few weeks since we started courting." Kagome distracted herself with Arkan's feathers, making sure they were cleaned. The lowl had fallen asleep in her lap. He had healed fully the day before and now stayed out of the desire to be by Kagome and Miroku's side, though he chose Kagome more often than not.

"Does that matter? You two have been in love forever. We could all see it. At Christmas, Miroku admitted it to himself. Sesshomaru and I heard it." Jun cared not if Miroku had wanted to keep that a secret. She wanted to see her friends happily married and starting their lives together.

"Soon." That was all Miroku said, but they understood his tone. They were making Kagome uncomfortable and it was time to change the topic of discussion. "Hiroki. Perhaps we can do some training with Arkan. He showed us his bigger form once the bandage was moved, and both Kagome and I will be able to ride along his back."

Arkan could change his size just like Kirara could. He was bigger than the firecat in both forms, meaning Kagome and Miroku could use him in battle and to get from one place to the other quickly. He was a benefit to have around.

"Attacking from the air, yes, I am sure we can figure out some sort of training for that. You two have nearly mastered the rest of your training after all." He chuckled, then looked to his wife. "Hisa is beside herself knowing that there are only a few weeks left of your training. She won't have anyone to torture anymore. "

"In all seriousness though, you two have been some of my best students. You progressed faster than any I have ever trained before. Even if you were pathetic at the beginning." Hisa gave a proud look towards her students.

Kagome stood, waking Arkan enough for him to curl into a ball next to the fire. The moment she did, everyone was blown back by an unseen energy force. They were left panting, the wind knocked out of them even as they tried to stand.

Hisa moved in front of Jun, Arkan crawling to Kagome's side as she pushed to her feet. Where the fire once blazed was now a cloaked woman. At her feet was Yua. The witch coughed blood, her breathing rapid and watery as she slowly drowned on her own blood. She was injured and unconscious.

"Keep your pet witch from stalking me, Lord Sesshomaru." The woman's voice was soft but filled with pure hatred. Pale pink hair, almost white fell down her back. Her eyes had two tones, one green, the other red. She wore a purple cloak, and her arms were covered in tattoos. They saw the witch symbol on her wrist, and they knew this was the dark witch they had been following.

"Who are you?" Miroku stepped forward, gaze flicking between Yua and the woman that had just made herself an enemy. He was worried about his mother and wanted to look at her wounds as soon as possible.

"Who I am, doesn't matter. I have plans, ones that you, nor any other will ruin." A swift kick to Yua's ribs and she flew into Miroku, sending him to the ground roughly. The strange witch turned to Kagome, fury in her gaze. "You are the one I desire."

Another energy blast sent everyone flying again. All except Kagome. The blast seemed to go straight through her, leaving her facing off against the woman on her own. The dark witch moved faster than any human and had Kagome's throat in her hand in mere seconds.

"I want you dead." Her hand squeezed on Kagome's neck. Her teeth against Kagome's ear. In this close proximity, Kagome could see the woman had claws and fangs, though she was still very much human. "Your blood will coat my hands, your eyes lifeless as I steal your soul."

"Not likely." Kagome wasn't the weak little Miko that she was when she first got to the West. She was strong now, and she proved it when she bashed her forehead against the witches nose. Her reiki had infused with her bones, making her stronger than a normal human.

The witch went down hard, blood spurting from her nose. Kagome stood over her, grabbing the woman's wrist. She was going to bind the witch, keeping her from escaping. She had questions that needed to be answered.

That never happened before the woman worked herself out of her daze and shoved her claws straight into Kagome's chest. No blood was drawn from the wound and they knew her attack wasn't to kill. Instead, the air around the two women began to whip around violently, an energy that was familiar but growing greater, forming between the two women.

"Your soul is mine." The witch laughed maniacally, watching as the white orb continued to pull from Kagome's inner heart. She hadn't planned to attack yet, but if this was how the encounter was to go she wouldn't complain.

"Kagome!" Miroku yelled, standing to his feet and running towards the blinding light. He couldn't lose Kagome. She was his heart, and without her, he was nothing. He didn't make it two steps before a barrier went up around the women. He recognized it as Kagome's energy and placed a hand against it. She was blocking him.

"You won't take my soul. I need it." Kagome's voice was strained, but her face was calm. She pulled back her soul, calling it to her body like she had done many times before. It was like her soul was a favorite target for anyone evil.

When the light settled, the dark witch let out a scream of rage. The barrier dropped, and Miroku, Sesshomaru, and Hiroki darted towards the woman and a now panting kagome. Before they reached the witch, she disappeared the same way she entered.

Kagome fell to her knees, her hand over her chest as she heaved for breath. Miroku skidded to his knees beside her, his hands trailing over her, making sure she was okay. When he was sure there were no Injuries, he pulled her to his chest, clutching onto her. He had been terrified. For a moment he thought the woman he loved was going to die, and he wouldn't be able to stop it.

"Yua." Kagome tried to stand, but her energy was gone. Fighting a soul-stealing spell had never been easy, and it tended to drain her. Miroku helped her to her feet, still not letting go of her. They would get Yua back to the West, have her, Jun, and Kagome checked over by the healers and then they would discuss what they would do next. They had a new enemy on their hands.

...

An hour later and everyone was sitting in Sesshomaru's study. Yua would heal but it would take a few days. Her magic could help her heal faster, but it could only do so much. Jun and the baby hadn't been hurt. And Kagome was just exhausted. Yua was the only one not present.

"We must be prepared. She caught us with our guard down, and that could have been a fatal mistake." Sesshomaru wasn't happy. He kept gazing at Jun, who hadn't taken her hand off of her stomach. It had been some time since anyone had seen him so angry.

"We couldn't even get close to her. Every time we tried she blew us back. Miroku was the only one who was able to get even remotely near her." Hiroki rubbed his face, looking at his students. Kagome was in Miroku's lap barely able to keep her eyes open. He had his arms wrapped around her, his fingers playing with the strands of her braided hair

"Not close enough." Miroku was just as angry as Sesshomaru. Someone was targeting his heart, the woman he lived. They had a year of peace and now a threat they knew nothing about was targetting Kagome.

Kagome placed her hand on his chest, making him look down and into her sleepy eyes. "I only put up my barrier because I knew I could pull my soul back. I didn't want you to get hurt. I know you would have protected me if we had been more prepared. You won't let anything happen to me." She gave him a reassuring smile, but for once it didn't soothe him. He had done nothing to protect kagome, but that would change. He would train harder in these last few weeks and he would make sure nothing touched Kagome again.

"It's safe to say the West will soon have a battle on its hands." Sesshomaru stood, holding out a hand to his mate who took it. "Prepare yourselves for it. For now rest. We will continue in the morning." They needed more information. Now they just needed to find out how to get the information without the dark witch knowing.