November 11

This evening, Inuyasha and I were sitting on the couch, under a blanket, drinking tea. The fire was on and the house was nice and cozy. We'd been spending a lot of our night's like this lately. It was cold outside now which greatly reduced any desire to go for an evening walk, sit in a tree, or go to the hot spring. But it was just as fun to be in the warm house relaxing with my husband.

What we weren't expecting was a knock on the door. Inuyasha put down his tea and went to get it and it turned out to be Kina's husband Jiro.

"Is Lady Kagome here?" he asked.

I heard my name and went over to the door and found that he looked extremely distressed. "Hi, Jiro. Is everything okay?"

"It's Kina, something is wrong with her. She's been off for the past few days. At first, I thought she was sick but it seems to be something more than that. I've caught her wandering around like she's possessed. She's been saying weird things. Her eyes look completely blank. She went to sleep this evening and she hasn't woken up. I think a demon has possessed her. Please Kagome, can you come use your spiritual powers to help her?"

All of this was pretty alarming. "Of course, I'll see what I can do." I looked at Inuyasha. "Do you want to come with me?"

"You should come too, Inuyasha," Jiro said. "Whatever it is, we might need you to kill it afterward."

I went to grab a coat and shoes and then we followed Jiro to his house. When we got there, their baby was fast asleep and Kina was laying on the bed. She looked pale and her face looked pained as if she was struggling. Inuyasha and I sat on one side of her while Jiro sat on her other side holding her hand.

"I definitely sense a demonic presence here," I said.

At that, Jiro looked even more alarmed. "So I was right!"

"It's very strong. No wonder she's so weak."

"Can you get rid of it, honey?" Inuyasha asked.

"I think so." I didn't have much experience with trying to remove a demon so strong from someone but they were counting on me so I had to try.

I recalled the incantation I used to remove the demon from Miroku and Inuyasha a few months ago. I figured this couldn't be much different and gave it a try. I felt whatever was in her stir but nothing was expelled. It seemed that whatever this is wasn't a demon but an evil spirit.

I had to try something different. My hand hovered over Kina's chest where the core of the dark spirit was located. I concentrated on trying to remove it. A bright glow emanated from her, shadowed with the dark energy. It was getting to be so strong but I couldn't let go or it wasn't going to work. The glow became brighter and brighter and it became harder for me to continue.

In an overwhelming burst of energy, the light changed from a shadowy red to bright pink. A cloud of black smoke rose from Kina's mouth and dissolved into the air. She jerked as if an electric jolt had been sent through her and she gasped. I collapsed into Inuyasha's arms feeling like the energy had been taken out of me.

"Kagome…" Inuyasha said, full of worry.

I opened my eyes wearily. "I'm okay."

Meanwhile, Kina was trying to sit up.

"Kina? Are you okay?" Jiro said.

"I feel fine," Kina said, sounding kind of dazed from what had happened. She turned to me. "Kagome, thank you so much for saving me. I thought I was going to die."

"You're welcome, Kina," I said.

"Let's get you home, love," Inuyasha said to me. "It looks like all of this has worn you out."

I nodded in agreement. I felt very drained.

Jiro and Kina thanked us profusely and we then headed home. We didn't get very far when it became apparent that I could hardly walk.

"Damn, woman," Inuyasha said as he picked me up. "Whatever that was really took a lot out of you."

"It did," I said, resting my head on his shoulder. "It was the strangest thing. It wasn't a demon but some really strong dark spirit. It was like it had almost taken over me."

"I'm just glad you're okay. Let's get you home so you can rest."

When we got home, Inuyasha and I resumed our place cuddling on the couch. He also reheated our now cold tea. The longer we sat there relaxing and talking the more I began to regain my strength. So much so that I wanted to take some time to write.

What had happened had been quite scary but I'm glad it's over now. I guess as a priestess I should expect that people will ask me to do things like this. I'm sure I'll get better at it with time.