Ok, I already posted one today, and now I'm posting another one. *sigh* once I start, I just don't stop! ^_^

I don't usually post individual responses to reviews, but I want you to know that I love them and read them over and over and over and….alright, I usually quit after that but still! I love them ^_^

Sesshomaru13- Don't Cry! *hands tissue* here's the next one!

Emerald Dragon Hanyou and Sesshoumaru6- here's the next one ^_~

Kagome98- Your welcome! lol

Ok, an extra special thank you to Crystal Sapphire who reviewed not once, not twice, but after every single chapter….21-all in one day! I think I may very well love you! lol thanks!

And, guess what? I still don't own Inu Yasha…but maybe soon…*sigh*

Shadows

Chapter 22: The Youkai Miko's

Quick Recap:

Kagome stopped in her tracks. The woman…was looking for her? Did she want the shards or what? "Um…" She looked at the others.

Of course, this was a dead giveaway to the fact that she was Kagome. The woman took another step towards her, "Higurashi, Kagome, I challenge you!"

"What?" Kagome looked at the other woman, stunned, 'Why would this woman be after me? What did I do to her?'

"What the hell do you want with Kagome, wench?" Inu Yasha yelled at her and drew Tetsuiga.

Narrowing her ice blue eyes, she gave a side glance to Inu Yasha and Miroku, who were still standing ready to attack if needed. "Stay out of this!" She opened her outstretched hand towards them and a blue field surrounded them. Then, before she could do anything, she threw another one towards Sango. "You too, stay still!"

Kagome gasped at what the woman was doing. 'This is…miko power? But how can this woman?' She looked again from her cat-like ears to her miko garb. She was both youkai and miko? Even though it wasn't too surprising (after all, she was a miko, and a quarter youkai) she was still shocked. What did she want here?

"You! Prepare yourself or die!" The woman pointed at her again, and took a stance to attack.

Kagome looked around helplessly. Her bow and arrows were in Kaede's hut, which was definitely out of the reach at the moment. They were in the field right outside the village, so there were no weapons lying around or sticks or…anything!

Kagome broke herself out of her reverie long enough to notice that the woman was no longer standing in front of her, but had jumped and was soaring through the air towards her. With a cry, she quickly jumped out of the way just in time for the woman to land where she had just been.

Whirling around, her white and black hair spun wildly around her. "What are you doing? Prepare and arm yourself, or you will die!"

"Just how am I supposed to do that, huh? Do you see any weapons around here?" Kagome shouted back, getting annoyed.

Instead of getting angry like she almost expected, the woman smirked at her, "You really are a lot denser than we thought." Before Kagome had a chance to contemplate the meaning of that, the woman was flying at her again. Ducking, she narrowly missed the attack. She felt the woman's claws graze her arm, but really only managed to rip a cut into her sweater.

The woman barely landed before she launched again, again Kagome was able to roll out of the way of the attack in time.

"You are making this quite annoying, little miko," The woman growled at her, her ears twitching slightly. She held her arm outstretched to the side and a light grew in her hand, growing longer until it was the length of her arm. All Kagome could do is watch as the light transformed into silver, and the woman held a sword in the hand. "Defend yourself already!"

"I already told you! How am I supposed to do that?" Kagome yelled back, getting frustrated by this woman's taunting.

"Don't think, just do it?" The woman yelled back, having completely lost her temper.

"Kagome! Just run! Don't fight her!" Inu Yasha called from where he was trying to break through the barrier. He had learned how to break through barriers with the Tetsuiga, but those were demon barriers. Miko barriers had a different sort of magic involved, and he was having problems breaking through this one especially. He was scared for Kagome; the woman that she was currently fighting against seemed to have a large amount of power, and seemed to be only after her. She wasn't ready to fight someone like that all by herself.

The woman charged her again, this time she had her weapon drawn. As Kagome dodged to the left, the blade met her upper arm and tore a long gash in to it. Crying out in pain, she grabbed her arm and steadied herself in a crouching pose. How could she fight against this woman if she couldn't defend herself from attacks?

She looked up at the woman, her own blue eyes meeting the others ice-like ones. 'Think! Maybe you can still do some of the things Akemi taught you!' Her brain reasoned, urging her body to do something, anything to keep the woman from hurting her anymore.

Raising herself up, she glanced quickly around to make sure her friends were still ok. Closing her eyes for a moment, she concentrated on that inner power that surged through her veins. Opening her eyes, she held her arm outstretched at her side, much as her opponent had moments ago, and in appeared a glowing purple light. Much to her own amazement, as to her friends, a bow appeared in it. 'Wow…but, what good is a bow without an arrow?'

Her opponent blinked then grinned, "Well, it's about time you started to defend yourself! Come on!" She charged at her again, bringing her sword over her head in an attack.

Without an arrow, the bow seemed useless, but as the attack neared, she held it over her head to defend herself from the blow that was coming. As if sensing the need, the bow turned to light again, and then took the form of a sword. As metal hit metal, Kagome, who was unused to using such weapons, found herself thrown to the ground at the force of the hit.

"Kagome!" She could hear the yells of her friends, worried for her well-being.

"What, is that all the fight you have in you, girl?" The youkai woman in front of her sneered and pointed her sword at her. "You aren't even worth my time."

"Kagome!" Another voice came, tearing from Kaede's hut. Souta ran towards his sister, until he saw the woman that was attacking her glare at him.

"Perhaps if someone you love was in danger…" She trailed off, then jumped towards Souta, who reared back, stunned at the woman before him. "Hmmm, perhaps now you will have the strength to fight?"

Kagome saw what the woman had in mind and, using all her strength possible, she found her way to her feet again, and charged towards the woman. "NO!" She screamed, gaining more and more speed as she ran at her, her newly formed sword hung loosely in one hand. 'He is all I have left! I will NOT let her hurt him! Not if I can help it!'

As she reached the woman, she swung the sword at her, which she easily dodged, jumping away. "Finally you have some fighting spirit, ne?"

Kagome growled at her, her demon part slightly emerging, "You will NOT harm him, you bitch!"

"Tai, cease your attack." Another woman's voice called before she landed between the woman and Kagome.

"But, sister…" Tai looked at the other woman who had just arrived.

Turning her head towards her sister, she snapped, "Do as I say now. You were not to threaten her kin!"

With a sigh, she raised a hand and the barriers around Sango, Miroku, and Inu Yasha disappeared. With the barrier gone, the three quickly rushed over to where Kagome and Souta were standing.

"Kagome-chan, are you alright?" Sango asked quickly, removing hirakotsu from her back.

"Yes…we are…" Kagome answered, her senses coming back. The sword she had somehow created disappeared and she knelt down, holding her brother to her protectively. Was this how it was going to be if they brought him with to face Naraku? She didn't like that thought…was this how Inu Yasha felt when she was around during his fights? Like he couldn't concentrate on the two at the same time?

Inu Yasha stood protectively in front of them all, Tetsuiga already drawn and pointing at the two unknown women. "Explain yourselves now!"

The one who had just arrived sighed and held her hands up in peace. She, like her sister, had white hair with black streaks running all through it. However, while her sister's ears were black, hers were white. She also had the same ice blue eyes, and streaks running along her cheekbones, but she had a second strip running below that one, only half as long as the one above it. She wore miko robes as well, except over the white shirt and dark blue pants; she had a lighter blue robe that was tied shut around the waist with a dark blue sash.

"I am sorry for my younger sisters…tenacity." She began, with an apologetic smile on her face. She bowed to them slowly, "I am Chii, of the Tora clan of the Southern Lands. This is Tai, also of my clan."

Tai gave a short bow, but deepened it with a well placed elbow from her sister. As she stood straight up again, she continued. "I am sorry for this attack. We had heard that there was another who was of miko and youkai blood, and came to test her powers."

Tai stepped forward, "I am sorry for going…over board. I kind of get carried away sometimes."

"I call it reckless." Chii chided, and then turned back to the others.

"Well, would you mind explaining exactly why you decided to test Kagome here?" Inu Yasha growled, never putting his sword down.

"We received a vision a few days back, and we're told to travel this direction, where we would meet up with others of our kind." Chii continued, looking around the group.

"Ah, so you received the vision as well?" Kaede questioned as she walked from her hut. Everyone glanced at her as she made her way over to the new visitors. "My, we've had a lot of company these last few days, have we not?"

"You said you had received this vision a few days ago?" She continued, and seeing the elder of the two sister's nod, she went on, "We received that vision only yesterday."

Inu Yasha growled, about to step forward when a hand on his arm stopped him. "Kagome?"

Looking up at him, she said, "Inu Yasha, I don't think they're lying….they are miko's too. Remember who the vision appeared to?"

Inu Yasha looked at her for a second, and then nodded. Turning back to the women, "So, what did this vision of yours say?"

"Perhaps this is something we can discuss over lunch," Kaede suggested and was answered by nods.

*~*~*

As they spoke over lunch about the vision that they had received, Inu Yasha kept a wary eye on them. Hell if he'd trust them after they just tried to hurt his Kagome!

"All that was in the vision is a woman, who told us to come this way. That we would meet up with a group trying to vanquish the same evil we were." Chii informed them, her sister Tai nodding in agreement.

"So, why is it that you two are after Naraku as well?" Miroku asked, wondering their reasons.

Tai's eyes clouded over momentarily. "Our father was the leader of our clan, and very powerful. About five months ago, a dark cloud of evil fell over our village, and sucked in the most powerful of our clansmen, our father included. That evil is the same as what the vision told us about. We did not know its name."

"Why is it that you were not sucked in as well?" Sango wondered. Surely, they must be strong enough to be desirable to Naraku as well.

Chii smiled sadly, "Our mother was a human miko. We ourselves are hanyou's, with the holy blood of a miko running through it. An evil being like that would not be able to absorb us and live."

Everyone thought over that for a minute. Naraku had caused so much pain in everyone's life. He had to be stopped- no matter what.

Kagome looked at the two new hanyou's in the hut. "I think that we should travel together."

Inu Yasha's head flew from where he had been staring at the wall, towards her, "What?"

Kagome sighed and looked at him, "Well, they are obviously strong. And they are going after Naraku with or without us as it is. Besides," She smiled at the women, "Maybe they can teach me some more things."

Inu Yasha looked at her uneasily. True, they were both demon and miko, something that Kagome was as well. And maybe they could teach her some things that would her protect herself and the others. Finally, he nodded.

Kagome smiled at him, taking his hand lightly in hers, causing a small blush to form across his cheeks.

Getting up from her spot on the floor, Chii looked at Kagome, then Tai, "Alright, if we have to leave when the sunsets, maybe we should spend some time training?"

Kagome jumped up, excited to learn some new magic. She was about to reach for her bow and arrows when a hand stopped her. Looking up, she saw Chii smiling and shook her head at her. "You won't be in need of those anymore."

Remembering what had happened earlier with her fight with Tai, she nodded and turned to follow the sisters out of the hut to begin her training as a youkai miko.

And that's it for now….wow, I've been typing a LOT lately…anyways, review please! It would make me ever so happy!! ^_^

Oh, by the way, tora = tiger in Japanese, if anyone was wondering.