Chapter Ten:
~Awoken~


In the pit of darkness

The low thumping sound of a heart, barely existing now, yielded a faint glow due to the power of a Shikkon shard. The seemingly petty sliver, no larger than a speck of dust, revealed to be a truly majestic gift.

Dark crimson/ blackish blood ever so slowly seeped through Kagome's bloodstream.. like a snake slithering upon its belly. The instant it breached Kagome's heart, it seized the shard and coiled itself around the luminous purple.

In that instant a battle of powers collided with one another, seeking dominance over the young woman's supple heart. Purple and crimson clashed in a furious war that seemed to last for ages; however, in reality, all of this was occurring within the fraction of a few seconds.

***

InuYasha's hand persistently rested upon Kagome's breast. He stared deep down into her face with hope and eagerness as the seconds rolled by one by one, and continued to roll and continued. and yet still lingered on.

Eventually, the hope he held began to dwindle. It shifted into a state of worry. Then, that worry soon turned into fear; and as the seconds continued still, that fear slowly began to feed a burning emotion of hatred. Hatred for Kagome's absence, hatred for Miyoga and the others, hatred even for himself. His eyes narrowed as the fear ate away at his patience and began to kindle that ever growing, burning flame deep within him.

The hanyou snarled. His eyes brutally changed from their blackish human hue into a deep bright red. The fear and hate within him were slowly providing him with the strength he needed. He abruptly and swiftly stood. The sudden lack in support caused Kagome's body to fall limply onto the ground like a lifeless doll.

At the very sight of this, InuYasha's eyes narrowed into fine slits. His palms tightened, bringing his fingers into a tight ball. His claws dug deeply into his skin. Yes, his claws. For at this particular moment, the hanyou could no longer be called by that title. The previously black locks that adorned him now shed its darker color in exchange for streaks of silver. His blood threatened to boil; wounds and gashes that he had obtained during his previous battle now began to rapidly close. His pearly white fangs thickened and grew longer, sharper as the hatred fed him.-He was becoming a full demon.


"Me Lord!" cried Miyoga at the sight of the hideous transformation.

"Be quiet, fool!" A retorted scream was spat from InuYasha's lips. He half way turned his body to look down at the small flea. His eyes were narrow and his body gave off an ominous red aura. "YOU! You shall be the first one to die." InuYasha then glanced up towards Kaede and Shippou. The old woman stood in front of the kitsune child protectively; they trembled while gazing into his red, hateful eyes of flame. "And then the old woman and child nextâ€|. If Kagome cannot live, then I see no point in keeping the ones that allowed her to die in the first place to live."

His menacing glare returned down to Miyoga, who was quivering now from fear. "And Sesshomaru shall die too. He above all!.And I shall slay him not by the power of my father's sword-" the demon's arm arched up into the air, large claws poised and ready to make that first death blow, "-but by the force of my OWN TWO HANDS!" His hands swung down fiercely, aimed directly for Miyoga and the others. InuYasha let out a wild scream like that of a mountain cat. "AAAARRGGGHHHH!!"

***

~InuYasha!!~ The dead maiden's body suddenly gasped for air.

Somewhere in the back of Kagome's mind, a single thought registered. She drew upon the power of the jewel shard knowing only one thing- that she MUST live! That single act was enough to cause the hanyou's blood to override the jewel's dominance; in that very moment it plunged deeply into the shard.

Almost instantly afterwards, a new form of power began to surge through Kagome's veins. The maiden's heart pumped the same blood as that of a hanyou; the new blood cells that were dispatched attached themselves along Kagome's old cells then eventually took each one over. Her entire body began to glow like an enormous lighthouse. She slowly began to float upwards into the air from all of the power coursing through her veins.

***

The demon stopped abruptly as a small gasping sound emitted from where Kagome's body lay. His bright red eyes widened, and he turned around as quickly as he was able. Just as quickly, InuYasha was forced to lift his arms in front of his face to shield his eyes. He bared a fang and allowed a small hiss to escape him as a blinding white light shot out from Kagome.

Miyoga fell back against the rock on which he had stood. "This light!" he lifted three tiny arms to protect his vision as well. "You see, my Lord InuYasha!! I told you that it would work!"

But InuYasha did not reply. He could only stare in wonder as Kagome's body began to pulse from her renewed heartbeat and to glow from both her priestess and demon power.

***

Her pulsating body began to tilt upright in conjunction to her ascending. She seemed to 'stand' upon the air itself and face InuYasha. Without warning, Kagome's arms extended outwards as if she were a living puppet.

The radiating white light suddenly seemed to grow stronger. Whiteness seemed to swallow the maiden's silhouette, the tips of her soft, black locks abruptly beginning to shed off their dark hue as well as the blood that had been soaked in.

But the main wonder occurred when her human characteristics began to diminish with the shedding of her hair color. Her ears seemed to shrink away, and silvery white dog ears began to form atop her head. Two of Kagome's front teeth began to grow slightly larger and thicker into fangs. Her fingernails performed something of the same action; they grew longer, thicker, and deadly sharp at the ends.

***

InuYasha, demon though he had slowly become, found himself swallowing hard. His mind raced, his heart pounded within his chest, and his entire body shook as the miracle that had been foretold by Miyoga played out before his very eyes.

The purity emitting from Kagome's body was enough to make his demon body shiver in fear; however, his inner soul, his core being felt relentless joy and wonder.

***

"InuYasha," the word spilled from her lips in a firm and healthy voice. Her strength was returning with every new beat of her heart. Kagome opened her eyes and gazed towards her beloved. The world around her seemed somewhat different than what she had been used to, but she barely (if at all) heeded the newness. Because of the light that surrounded her, everything else seemed to be in pitch blackness. She concentrated solely on the format of InuYasha's body.

As she did so, with the intentions of InuYasha's blood fulfilled, the white glow suddenly shot out in a final show of radiance. White sparks emitted from the outlines of her body and sprinkled in a small shower. Her body began to descend towards the ground where the sparks fell.

***

A small whimper/ cry like sound escaped InuYasha's lips. His red eyes diminished from their ominous color, and two round yellow circles could be seen mixed with small salty tears. "Kagome!!"

He ran to her. Like hand to glove did Kagome so perfectly and gently fall into InuYasha's arms. The hanyou went to his knees against the ground and held her tightly to his chest. "Oh Kagome," his voice was chocked. He cradled her soft body gently against his own, holding her with a gentle firmness for fear that she would suddenly disappear. His bangs shielded his eyes, but it was quite obvious that he was crying from the wet droplets that fell onto Kagome's still bloodied clothing.

The maiden he held within his arms slowly lifted her head, placed a hand wearily upon InuYasha's cheek, and looked up into his softly tearing face. "..Iâ€| I'm sorry.. InuYasha." At her words InuYasha immediately looked down at her in shock.

As if in recognition to the confusion upon his face, Kagome smiled. "I'm sorryâ€|. for worrying you." Her thumb gently caressed his cheek, and she continued to gaze endlessly into his eyes.

InuYasha's jaw dropped somewhat. He could not believe her selflessness. "You idiot!" he yelled, holding onto her tighter. His eyes squeezed shut, cutting off a few tears for them to trickle down his cheek. "â€|.you idiot," he said a second time, his voice at a very gentle whisper now. "You almost die.. and youâ€|. You tell me that." Kagome continued to smile; her hand continued to caress his face.

The young couple stayed in each other's embrace for a long time. The fires that had been created slowly began to fade along with all of the other heartbreaks of the past night, making way for the ever approaching dawn.