Part 2

Wolves

I sheathed the tetsusaiga knowing that defeating this one was impossible with it at the time. I ran up the mountain and stopped at the sight of a pack of brown wolves, so I knew I was no longer in Kerena's tribe's territory. A boy appeared beside them, "What are you doing? This is wolf demon territory!"

"Koga, look! It's a gokrakuchou!"

Koga looked up and noticed the overgrown harpy, "What in the hell? It's huge!" I noticed all of his companions and knew they would be killed if I didn't do something fast. I pulled the Shikon Jewel from around my neck and held it in my hands. The gokrakuchou noticed the jewel and came right at me. Right as it got to me it hit a barrier generated by the jewel.

"Move! Get in the cave, now!" I exclaimed.

All of the wolf demons and wolves ran into the cave except Koga, "Come on, you'll be killed!"

Right then I noticed a wolf pup on the outside of my barrier. It whined and the gokrakuchou turned around to attack it. I instantly dropped the barrier and ran over to the pup, using my body as a shield from the gokrakuchou's powerful claws. "AH!" I screamed as the bird sliced my back open with its claws. The pup peered up at me and whimpered, knowing I was injured. "Go, run to the cave, I'll be fine....." I said as the sun began to set. The pup hesitated and then ran for the cave. The gokrakuchou turned to go after it but stopped when it noticed I had stood up.

My eyes shot open as the full moon's light beamed down onto me. My whole body began to glow as my ears moved to the top of my head, my fingernails lengthened into razor sharp claws, my teeth sharpened, and my senses enhanced. Sight, hearing, smell, every sense improved dramatically. I stood there as my eyes changed from brown to gold and my hair from black to white. The gokrakuchou glared at me, recognizing what I had become. I glared up at the bird, "YOU JUST MESSED WITH THE WRONG DOG DEMON!"

Koga held the pup in his arms as he stared at me, "She's a half-blood, human and dog demon.....could she be related to Inuyasha?" Finally he noticed the Shikon no Tama which hung around my neck. "That's the Jewel of Four Souls, but does that make her Kagome's daughter as well?"

"This is it, I'm tired of being used as your stupid sharpening post!" I unsheathed the tetsusaiga and pulled the Shikon Jewel from around my neck again. I wrapped the jewel's chain around the hilt of the sword and the held the handle with both hands as it expanded to its full size.

"It's Tetsusaiga, she is their daughter!"

"Shikon Jewel, combine your powers with Tetsusaiga's to create a new power, the Hikage1 Tetsusaiga and the Shikon no Kouseki2, my new power!" The tetsusaiga's energy erupted from it as its features changed as did the Shikon Jewel's. My life energy also pumped through the tetsusaiga making it even more powerful. I glared up at the gokrakuchou and spotted the windscar. "Alright, you're mine!" I exclaimed hitting the windscar with Tetsusaiga. The gokrakuchou screeched and howled in pain as it was finally completely destroyed.

I watched as a few feathers fell to the ground before I fell as well. Koga ran over to me and helped me stand. He sheathed the tetsusaiga for me and then helped me inside the cave. All of his fellow pack members along with the wolves gathered around us as Koga laid me down on my stomach on his bed of hay. The wolf pup that I had saved jumped from his arm and cuddled next to my face. "Get me something to treat her wounds with!" A few of his friends ran off and returned a few minutes later with water, herbal medicine, and bandages. They handed the supplies to Koga and then everyone left the cave, leaving him to tend to my wounds. He ripped open rest of my torn shirt and inspected the cuts on my back. Koga cleaned the wounds to the best of his ability and then applied the medicine. After awhile he wrapped the bandages around my waist and then covered me with his animal furs. "I'll be back, watch over her," Koga said rising. The small pup nodded and rested his head by mine.

Only fifteen minutes later did I awake from my blackout. A wolf and the wolf pup greeted me. The wolf threw down an animal fur shirt. I put it on and walked out of the cave. "Hey, the girl's awake!" a wolf demon exclaimed. All of his friends turned their attention to me and watched my every move. I snorted and ran to the top of the mountain to survey the damage my attack had done on the surrounding forest. There was about two acres of damage, which wasn't bad for the amount of energy I had released. I unwrapped the crystal from the hilt of Tetsusaiga and placed it around my neck. I sighed as the small wolf pup came up beside me and started to yelp.

I knelt down and scratched his head, "Don't worry, I'm alright. I'm just glad that you're safe."

"You can understand my wolves?"

I stood and faced Koga, "Yes, I am a dog demon after all; besides, we're both canines so it's easy to understand him."

"So, what's your name?"

"Jesse."

"Nice to meet you Jesse. But I can't help but wonder, that jewel and sword you possess, aren't they the Shikon Jewel and Tetsusaiga?"

"Not any more, they're the Hikage Tetsusaiga and Shikon Crystal now--" my eyes widened, "--but wait, how do you know about them?"

"That sword belongs to Inuyasha, and the jewel, Kagome."

"You know my parents?!"

Koga nodded, "Yeah, I'm friends with them, but it's been awhile since I last saw them......about 24 years, I believe."

"Wait a minute, your name's Koga, right?" He nodded again. "My parents have mentioned you a few times, you used to be obsessed with my mom and was constantly fighting my father for her heart."

He twitched, "I wouldn't call it being obsessed, and he always started the fights!"

I turned around, "Yeah, right, I'm not going to fall for that one."

Koga stood there quietly and then walked over to me, "Why are you here? Why are you in this era?"

"I had to come here, that gokrakuchou came to my home in my time era with others smaller than it. I stole my mom's jewel and called the tetsusaiga to me for protection. My father used the jewel to become full human but the jewel remained instead of disappearing like it should have. I'm almost positive it stayed because of me, it knew there was going to be another girl born that could use its power."

"How long have you been in Feudal Japan?"

I shrugged, "A few weeks, more or less."

"How have you survived this long on your own?"

"I've been living with a bunch of demons. They took me in the last time that gokrakuchou used me as a scratching post and they took care of me. They also taught me how to hunt for myself and how to live on my own."

"That was nice of them."

"Yeah, it was. Well, Koga, thanks for the hospitality, but I'm going back to the other tribe to say my good-byes."

Koga's eyes widened, "Why, are you going home?"

I nodded, "I should, after all, the gokrakuchou has been destroyed, so it should be safe to return there." He just nodded so I turned and began back down the mountain.

The pup waited until I was out of hearing range and scratched at Koga's leg. "What is it?" Koga asked him.

The pup started to whimper, "I like her a lot, I don't want her to leave, Koga."

He knelt down, "Neither do I; I wish she could stay longer. I want to get to know her better."

The puppy began growling at him, "DUH, STUPID! THEN ASK HER TO STAY HERE WITH US!"

"She won't, she's going home. Besides, why would she like someone like me? She's probably got a mate in her own time era." The puppy snapped at Koga's leg and then ran down the hill after me. I heard the yelps coming from him though the forest. I stopped and he caught up to me in no time.

"What is it little one?"

He sat down and whimpered, "Koga's a dumbass."

"No, he's not, you know that."

"Fine, then he's stubborn and ignorant about his own feelings!" he snarled.

"What do you mean by that? Sure, I admit from the stories I've heard he is stubborn, but what do you mean ignorant about his own feelings? What feelings?"

"He and I both want you to stay here with us, we don't want you to leave yet. Please, will you consider staying with us for awhile?" I peered deeply into his sad eyes and could tell he was telling the truth.

I picked him up, "For how long?"

"I don't know, a few days, maybe a week?"

I brooded for a few seconds and then nodded, "Okay, I'll stay with you all for awhile, but when I choose to leave, I am going to leave no matter what, okay?"

"Alright with me!" he yelped. I smiled and scratched his head as I started back towards Koga's tribe's cave.

When I arrived there were two wolf demons on watch and the rest were sleeping. "Ya came back, I see!" Ginta exclaimed.

I nodded, "Fushichou3, here, convinced me to."

"Fushichou? Why'd you call him that?" Hakkaku questioned.

"I have my reasons," I stated plainly as I continued on to the cave. I walked inside and carefully made my to the back of the cave and placed Fushichou on Koga's bed. I laid down as well and placed furs on us. I smiled at Fushichou, "Good night."

"Good night."

A few hours later, Koga walked into the cave and sensed my smell. He continued to the back to find me and Fushichou asleep on his bed. He grinned, "You're good, little one, real good." With that he sat down against the wall and closed his eyes. I waited until he was in a light sleep and sat up. I moved carefully as not to wake Fushichou and went over to where Koga slept. I covered him with his fur blankets and then went back over and laid down next to Fushichou. Fushichou awoke and noticed what I had done so he curled up close to me, in an attempt to keep me warm. I smiled and welcomed him into my arms. Koga woke up and looked at the furs covering him and then over at me. He smiled and went to get up and return them to me.

"Don't even think about it wolf boy."

Fushichou snickered at my comment, "You just got told, Koga!"

"Watch it, little one, otherwise I might be tempted to have a midnight snack!"

"Y-you wouldn't....w-would y-you?" he stuttered. I giggled as Koga got up and walked over to me.

"Don't you dare," I whispered. He grinned and covered me back up with the furs. I rolled over, "I'm not going to take your furs, you use them."

"No, you go ahead, I'll be alright, as long as you're comfortable, that's all I need."

"Well, I'm not," I stated, "Because you're being a stubborn jerk!"

"You really want to see my bad side?" he growled into my ear.

"Bring it on, I could take you in no more than five minutes, tops."

Koga snorted, "I'd like to see it."

Fushichou yawned, "Will you two shut up?! I'm trying to sleep!" I gave him a soft jab with one of my claws on his side and he stopped.

Koga laughed, "Finally, someone can actually keep the little one quiet."

"It's not little one anymore, Koga, it's Fushichou."

"Phoenix?"

"You'll see later on why I named him that."

"Anyway," he said changing the subject back, "Go to sleep, I'll be fine."

"No!" I argued again, "I refuse."

"Fine, then I'll also sleep here." My heart skipped a beat as he laid down behind me and covered himself with the furs as well. I held Fushichou close and he knew what I felt. He nudged me backwards so I accidentally leaned up against Koga. Koga and I blushed horribly.

"Sorry," I said leaning forward but was nudged backwards again, "Stop it!"

Fushichou snorted, "No!" All of a sudden I got chills all the way up and down my spine. Koga noticed I was shivering and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me close to him.

He rested his head right behind mine, "Good night, Jesse."

I blushed horribly, "Good night, Koga." Fushichou grinned at himself and his job well done.

Early the next morning I awoke still in Koga's hold. Fushichou and the other wolves and wolf demons were all gone from the cave. I yawned quietly and closed my eyes. "Did you sleep well?"

I jumped, "Don't do that!" I elbowed Koga's stomach.

"Ouch, what was that for?! I just asked if you had a nice sleep!"

"I did," I said standing up and heading towards the waterfall which served as a doorway to the cave. About halfway to the entrance I stopped as my body began to glow brightly. I turned to Koga who had risen and he watched as I became my human form again. I dropped to the ground, holding my head.

"Are you alright?!" he asked running over and kneeling beside me.

I nodded, "Yes, I'm fine, I just hurt from the transformation."

"Why does it hurt? It never hurt your father."

"He was almost always in his demon form though, he had more power than I do."

"I don't know about that, after your attack on that gokrakuchou yesterday, I'd say you're way stronger than he ever was."

"Thanks, but it's not true. I've always been like this, I usually can't even control my demon form, but for some reason last night I was able to. I don't know why, or how, but I felt as if someone or something was keeping me level, keeping my mind from going crazy like it usually does. In my own era, every full moon I run amuck throughout Tokyo and cause major destruction. In the morning I wake up back at the shrine right next to the Bone Eater's well, the well which allows travel between our two eras."

"Why next to the well?"

I shrugged, "I dunno, but it's better than being somewhere out in the city."

"True," he said as Ginta ran in.

"Something's happening, the wolves are all going berserk!" Koga and I jumped up and followed him out of the cave.

Once outside we saw what he meant. All the wolves were attacking the air as if something was there that we couldn't see. I squinted my eyes to see if I could force some of my demon powers out and allow me to see what it was they saw, but it failed. "Fine then, I'll pull off a trick my cousin, Yuukei, taught me." My eyes shot wide open as stripes appeared on my face. Using the powers of the jewel I made the transformation into a large dog demon similar to the ones Sesshomaru and Yuukei could become. I glared down and saw what the wolves were all frantic about. There was wandering spirits circling around them, teasing them by coming close and then moving away. I snarled loudly and the sound waves that came from my vocal chords bounced off the spirits, allowing the wolf demons to see what the wolves and I saw. All of a sudden I heard a loud, familiar yelp. "Fushichou!" I transformed back into my human form and my eyes darted here and there trying to locate him. I noticed something wasn't right and I glanced up. There, in the arms of a spirit that reminded me of Kerena, was Fushichou. I nodded and ran off into the woods, leaving my newfound friends behind.

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1 Shadow

2 Crystal

3 Phoenix