Salutations, how have you all been? I'm alright, and here is the newest Kagome Chapter! I know Inu is up to 7 chapters with "Brotherly Love" but the Kagome side to this story isn't as much fun to write. Keep those reviews coming and I'll keep writing it. Later!

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Time Trip: Magic Lessons

"Did you sleep well?" Jonathan asked as Kagome walked into the dining hall the next morning. She had on a black and hunter green gathered bodice dress with the family crest in miniature embossed onto the black leather belt's buckle. The sweeping green and silver cape made Kagome feel like a real princess, which was good being that she was one now. It was a little darker then the clothes she would have normally worn, but she decided to close her eyes and randomly pick out of the wardrobe full of gorgeous clothes.

"Yes, Papa I'm ready for the training to start."

"Well, and here I thought you liked pink. That dress is the last thing I thought I'd find you in, but it did belong to your aunt when she was young. She used it specifically for casting strong spells, so it should help you today."

"Actually I couldn't decide what to wear so I just closed my eyes and picked one."

"Well it makes me think twice about you. I've been wondering what your colors are... your feathers I mean. I'm red, green, and gold. Your aunt was black, green, and silver, both very bold color groups. There is little pastel in the family tree, but I've been peaking in and you seem to gravitate toward pink. Just because I couldn't go through the portal doesn't mean I couldn't look in at you." He said the last sentence quickly to answer the question in Kagome's look. "For the past few months I've dropped that off in favor of building up a strong portal instead of a one-way peak, so I'm not current with your comings and goings. You've apparently gotten yourself into quite a lot in the interim."

"You know about that?" Kagome asked as she sipped her tea.

"A father can tell certain things about his own daughter. You have a particular way about yourself that says it all to me. So how long have you known this Inuyasha?"

"Well it's been... 4 months." Kagome answered, counting the times Inuyasha had turned human.

"And how is he?"

"He's a very good fighter, and rather overly protective. He gets jealous so easily."

"The good ones tend to. Does he have reasons to get jealous?"

"Not really. He hates Kouga-kun for no reason at all, and gets angry when Miroku starts joking around with me. Miroku doesn't pick on me so much now that Inuyasha threatened him though."

"I didn't know you were interested in a punk sort of boyfriend."

"Papa!" Kagome blushed as red as the apples on the table. "It's not like that."

"I think it is. It looks like it is. You certainly act like it is. Perhaps when I bring you home I'll ask him if it is."

"No papa, please. He's a friend of mine and we're working together to collect the shards of the Shikon no Tama."

"Alright I won't, but I don't believe you, and what are these shards you are talking about?"

One explanation later, we find the pair moved to Lord Jonathan's study. The clock tower has chimed three times since Kagome began, leaving us at:

"Ten o'clock already! How time does fly. I think it's amazing that you've had some experience with spirits, demons, and magic. I wish you the best of luck, and I won't keep you a moment longer then is necessary. That poor boy is probably gone half insane by now, if your explanation of his personality is even close to right. He'll get over it, might even help your situation to have an abrupt absence. It will bring out those who normally wouldn't be bold enough to make a move, but you won't be gone long enough for them to form a coherent plan. If your friends play this right, it will be to your extreme advantage."

"I hope so, Papa. What is that?" Kagome pointed to the box Lord Jonathan was opening.

"Magic learning supplies." He answered, producing a solar power unit, a CD player, speakers, and a library of disks. "I got this from your world, and it comes in handy. These gadgets from your world make the traditional instructive choir obsolete. You see, magic can be very easily directed through song and emotion. To perform magic, I think of a song. If I can own the song, that is, if I can put meaning to it and bring the song into my heart, then I can own the magic associated with those feelings and emotions. I can do all this because, first and foremost, I am not human, and neither are you. However, wile demons use a form of energy you would call youki, you and I do not. Youki is not necessarily dark or evil, but more of a natural energy. It can be evil, and it can be dark, but your friend Inuyasha is proof that it is not always so. Demons have a bit of a superiority complex, and act much like animals when it comes to challenges. My heritage is... well take a look at the family crest and make a guess."

"A peacock?"

"Ha! No, but close enough I suppose. I am a phoenix. You are also a phoenix, but your brother is not a phoenix. It was chance that dictated if you would inherit the magic or not."

"I'm not a hanyou?"

"Heavens no! Hanyou are by definition creatures with youki powers. They have mixed spirits; you could even say they have two complete spirits struggling for dominance. They may or may not have human-like bodies. Phoenixes are creatures with the power of flame, the spirit of a bird, and the body of a human. Spirit form, you might call it 'true form,' can not be achieved by someone with a spirit in turmoil. The results would be disastrous and unpredictable. Your friend's transformations are evidence of that. There is no such thing as being half phoenix, it's an all or nothing deal."

"What do you mean by 'the power of flame'? I've never set anything on fire."

"Do you know what a crucible is?

"No."

"A crucible is a container. Metal ore is put inside it, and then the crucible is placed into the hottest part of a roaring fire. The flames purify the metal, burning away contaminates that would make it useless. Therefore fire can purify, but in the process it also melts down whatever it is purifying, breaking it down into its base elements. A rusted sword, melted down into a lump of shining steel, can be made anew, but is essentially useless when it comes out of the fire. More then that, in the hands of a blacksmith armed with a flame filled hearth, that lump of steel can be shaped and sharpened into a shining blade, a sturdy plow, or a decorative ink well with the use of fire. So fire can purify, destroy, and create all in the same swipe."

"I don't know much about Western mythology, but aren't phoenixes supposed to be immortal?"

"When is spirit form, an injured phoenix heals at the same rate as a human until placed into a roaring flame. The heat heals us if the wound isn't too bad; however if I was an inch from death and you threw me into the flames, I would be consumed. If my spirit was still strong and my heart full of purpose, I would be reborn from the ashes with a youthful body to match the strength of my mind and spirit. If I was old, my life's work done, my spirit ready to sleep, I would pass on to the next world in peace. We can call flames and as long as whatever we and laying on is flammable, resigning ourselves to judgment, thus the myth that we never die."

"How can I have all these powers and never notice or accidentally use them?"

"Using them requires that you believe you have them. Because of that property, and the fact that this brand of magic is closely linked to angel magic, it is fairly unlimited. It is a little trickier to create useful protection spells or cast practical interrogation magic though. Angels and Unicorns have that market pegged. Our intangible spells tend to have broad or mildly unpredictable influence, but attack, defense, and healing are very refined areas."

"So how do I start?"

"Relax, that's the key in the beginning. You must clear your mind and purify your emotions, and by that I don't mean get rid of anger or fear. I mean take one emotion and make it absolute. No mixing, no confusion. You have to focus on one feeling, and then turn that feeling into a thought. Once you can do that, you need to blend that thought and feeling with magic. If you can accomplish that, whatever the thought was becomes real and you have performed your first successful spell."

"I don't think I could do that."

"Music is a very good tool for purifying emotions, and words become charged with magic when sung in certain ways. That's why chanting is popular with many forms of magic, it uses sounds and charged words as a tool to obtain the next level. With phoenix powers, you can come to own a spell and never need to go through the individual steps to cast it. Once you know the feeling and can bring those thoughts to your heart, they will be with you forever."

"I'll try, Papa, but I'm not sure."

"You must believe, Kagome. If you don't believe in your own power, then you won't have any. Your spirit arrows shine with a burning light, do they not?"

"Yes, but that's different."

"No it isn't. In fact, let's start with arrows." He tossed some logs into the fireplace.

"Where are they?"

"You don't need to have one. You can fire a spirit arrow without so much as a stick in your hand, but if it makes you more comfortable I do have a bow around here... there it is. Now I'm going to play what I consider 'battle music' and I want you to concentrate on the fireplace as your target. If you need to visualize an enemy standing there go ahead. Think of the rise and fall of the music, and attack when it's at its highest point." Lord Jonathan started playing a string orchestra CD.

The music started rather calm, but built up into angry crescendos marked by crashing symbols. Kagome closed her eyes and imagined the cloud of lesser demon and bees that Naraku often sent out to overwhelm them. She held out the bow as if she had an arrow knocked and listened. She could see the buzzing cloud of death moving and attacking in time with the music. When the violins screamed out in anger, she let go of the string with the single thought 'I can never forgive Naraku for what he has done.' These was a half-second of tense waiting as a deep rumbling chord built, then an explosion of brilliant light and power hit her as the music suddenly turned happy and triumphant.

"Optime! Optime!" Lord Jonathan cried out happily. "You've got me speaking my mother tongue you learn so well!" Kagome opened her eyes to see a roaring fire in the fireplace, soot flung out onto the stone floor and all over the nearest couch.

"I did that?"

"Yes, Kagome, you did. It was quite the impressive show. May I ask who you were fighting in your imagined battle?"

"It was the demon under Naraku's command, some of his army."

"Hm, I suppose that would do it. Now try with your eyes open, and focus on the logs themselves instead of some imagined foe. It will be more difficult, and you may not get it the first time, but it is worth it in the long run. You can own this spell; you've cast it often in the past using tools that can be taken from you. Eventually, you can put down the bow and strike without it. I'll stay with you now, but I have some business over lunch."

It took Kagome seven tries, but she managed to fire a weaker arrow at the logs without thinking of anything except the path of the arrow. After being reassured that the strength of such a spell is proportional to the enemy being attacked, she continued to fire the dimly glowing arrows at the logs until there was nothing but soot left. When her father left, he directed her to a firing range she could use.

"Try to turn them in mid air." Jonathan said as he opened the door. "It is tricky, but just remember: the arrows are made from your spirit, and are an extension of yourself. If you feel adventurous, try putting out the fires you start. The fire is an extension of the spirit the arrow is made of. Since they are a part of you, you can control their movement or stop them cold. The longer you let the fires burn, the more independent they become as they consume the target, becoming less spirit energy and more heat and chemical energy."

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Kagome's learning some real magic now. Here Inuyasha is all worried about what happened to her and wondering if he'll ever see her again, and she's off with Papa Higarashi learning how to be a phoenix. Keep looking for clues to Inuyasha's strange ailment! They are here!