Unchangeable

By. Seelin

Disclaimer: I do not own Inu & Co. yada yada yada. But I do have possession of characters in which are my own.

Chapter Two:

Tigrans

Inuyasha countered the attack from the tiger demon with his sword. It jumped to the side and a flow of more tiger demons rushed in. The group ran out from the small shed before the demons could reach them and headed toward the hut to get their weapons. Miroku opened the wind tunnel, sucking up any unfortunate demon that happened to draw to near, while running backwards to get to the hut. The tiger demons mainly focused on attacking Inuyasha, who seemed most threatening to them. He seemed to have no trouble in killing them off, but there were so many of them. The others returned with weapons in hand. Sango threw her mighty boomerang into the oncoming tiger demons, Miroku used the wind tunnel and his staff to keep the demons at bay, and Shippo used his Fox Fire, which didn't really do much but make the demons angrier. Kagome stayed towards the back, clumsily picking off demons with her bow and arrow.

It wasn't long before everyone started to tire. The demons just kept appearing and attacking. The demons had surrounded the group when they stopped attacking. The group looked back and forth to each other.

"Why aren't they attacking?" yelled Kagome to the others.

Inuyasha lowered his sword and looked all around, the demons started to move away, allowing something to come through. It was a different kind of tiger demon, a human-like tiger demon, and it was a woman. She gave an evil smile as she stopped in front of Kagome, looking her in the eye. She stroked one of the tiger demons fondly and it purred loudly. She looked down at it and smiled, her smile turning into something evil as she looked back up at Kagome.

"You. You are not from here are you not? Your clothing is strange and your features are vaguely familiar," she said in a sultry voice.

She wore barely anything, just a small red bikini-like top that curved down in the front and a matching red skirt that only had two pieces to it and were connected from front to back by golden circlets. She had flaming dark red hair and reddish brown eyes to match but her pupils were vertical, like that of a cat. Her ears were pointed at the sides of her head like full demons and yet they were jagged at the edges with small stripes on them. She had three brown stripes on both sides of her cheeks and stripes down the sides of her arms, legs, and waist. On top of her head lay a slim, golden crown with a single emerald like jewel adorning its center. She also had a long tiger tail twitching this way and that behind her. Her seductive looks seemed to control the tiger demons in a way.

"Why are you killing my hunters?" she asked in a cold voice.

Inuyasha ran over and stood protectively in front of Kagome, "Who the hell are you?!"

The demon flicked a strand of hair of her face before she answered, "I am Mayhemik, ruler of all Tigrans."

Kagome stepped from behind Inu-Yasha. "Tigrans? I thought you were tiger demons," she added.

Mayhemik laughed, "Tiger demons? Fools, Tigrans are the superior race, even to demons. And it is a crime to even harm one of my hunters. For the crime of killing my hunters you will all die. Go my Shredders!" She turned to face Kagome, "That one, spare her. She will be a nice addition to my growing army." With that she turned and started to walk away, the Hunters watching her as she left, she raised her right arm, snapped her fingers, and disappeared into a fiery fire.

With that, five humanoid Tigrans ran into the circle and confronted the group. They looked more demonic but stood on two legs and carried a throw blade in each hand. The Shredders were covered in brown fur and wore the clothes of an Egyptian, a golden cloth skirt and a golden chest plate that didn't go below the abdominal area. Their short tails twitched madly behind them as they posed in a fighting position, ready to fight to the death.

The Hunters all turned and began to leave as the Shredders prepared to attack. They surrounded the group and began to twirl their throw blades threateningly. Inuyasha was the first to attack with the Tetsusaiga. The shredders easily parried the blow with their blades. They began to throw the blades at Inuyasha and the others as Inuyasha signaled for every body to spread out.

"Everybody fan out, make these creatures follow you," he yelled.

"Are you mad?! We should stay together so they will not be able to pick us off." Miroku yelled back.

"Just do it monk, I have a plan," replied Inuyasha with a grin. "Kagome, take Shippo and get away from here...now!"

Kagome scooped up Shippo and started to back away but stopped and turned around, "No, I'm staying. You need my help."

"Wench! It's too dangerous. Leave now!" he yelled.

Kagome took one last look. Shippo tugged at her shirt, "Kagome, we should go."

Kagome and looked at the little fox cub and nodded. She began running towards one of the huts. When she reached it she sat Shippo down and watched the ongoing battle from inside. Shippo yipped and ran out of the hut but it was too late for Kagome, a hunter was in the hut and pounced on Kagome taking a scratch at her chest. She screamed loud for the others to hear but the hunter swiped her on the side of the head, rendering her unconscious. It was loud enough for Inuyasha to hear, he turned to find Kagome and was struck with one of the throw blades in the side. He winced a little but ran to find Kagome. She was about to be carried away by the lone Hunter when Inuyasha killed it with one swing from his mighty sword. He grabbed the unconscious Kagome and began shaking her. Emotion filled his eyes as he tried to bring Kagome back into consciousness.

"Kagome!" he yelled.

There was no reply so he kept shaking her and calling her name, Shippo ran over to Kagome and started calling her name, too. Kagome slowly opened her eyes and groaned a little. She grabbed at her chest that was bleeding heavily and seared with pain.

"Kagome are you ok?" asked Shippo.

She slowly nodded and sat up, still holding her chest. She looked up into Inuyasha's concerned eyes that filled over with anger, "Inu-Yasha, I'm fine. It's just a scratch."

Miroku had managed to suck a Shredder up into the wind tunnel, and Sango also took one out. Kirara was on top of one, ripping its head from its living body, thus killing it. Inuyasha, in a rage, ran over to the remaining two Shredders. He snarled as he took them both out with a swift swing. He lowered his sword, which transformed back into its normal size and slide it into its sheath. The others also lowered their weapons and looked over to Kagome. They ran over and tried to comfort her, she was silently crying with tears of pain. Inuyasha jumped back over to Kagome, sitting next to her. Sango gently lifted her head onto her lap and checked the wounds; they were dark with red blood with some dark green liquid mixed into it.

"Her wounds appear to be poisoned, we must hurry and get her to Kaede," Sango said worriedly.

Shippo looked on as Miroku and Inuyasha lifted Kagome onto Kirara's back. "Be ok, be ok," he chanted silently.

They rushed Kagome to Lady Kaede's as quickly as possible. Inuyasha laid Kagome gently onto a sleeping mat when Lady Kaede walked in and looked at Kagome. She signaled for one of her assistants to bring her something, a vial. She scooped some of the blood, poison mix into the vial and gave it to the assistant who rushed away. She walked over to a small cabinet, opened it and pulled forth a small leaf. She placed it on Kagome's wound and sat back wiping sweat from her forehead.

"It's a good thing that you brought her here in time. If the poison were allowed to enter her system anymore, there would have been dire consequences. This leaf, a bryearwood leaf, should suck the remaining poison from her body. But some poison has already made it into the body; hopefully it is not enough to do any damage," Kaede stated as she got up to leave. "Let her rest for now."

"What will the poison do to her Lady Kaede?" Sango asked.

Kaede looked to one of her nearby assistants who brought her an old scroll. She waved the assistant away and began to eye the scroll. She pointed her finger to some text on the ancient scroll. "This scroll is the complete history of the Tigrans. They, like the dragons, are even older than our present day demons. But unlike the demons they no longer exist."

"I don't really think that's true. Especially since one of them took a swing at Kagome," Inuyasha said smugly.

Kaede glared at the half-demon and continued her story, "The Tigrans reproduction system is slow. It takes them two years to produce a single cub and only the hunters of the Tigrans can reproduce. So in order to raise their numbers, they strike people with their poisoned fangs and claws to turn them into one of their own."

Shippo ran to Kagome's side, "No! Not Kagome."

"But Lady Kaede, I don't understand. If they no longer exist, then why are they here now?" questioned Sango.

"I do not know. The answer is hidden somewhere in this scroll I suppose."

"Can you tell us how they came to be extinct?" asked Miroku.

"It says that there was a great war between the dragons and the Tigrans for dominance. The dragons vanquished the Tigrans and after their victory they slaughtered all remaining Tigrans to ensure that they would never rise up against them." Kaede finished.

Inuyasha sighed, "But that still doesn't explain why they're here now."

"Here," Kaede said pointing to the scroll, "a poem?"

Vanquished into the darkness

Only to be brought out again by the light

Follow the fiery blur into the dusty stronghold

There the battle of ages takes place

Take side with the serpentine power

Lest the world burns with maddened power

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Sango.

"It's a Tigran prophecy," answered Kaede. "I'm not so sure though. You'll have to take it to an expert on the ancients. But for now, let's just concentrate on what we have in front of us."

For the remainder of the night the group studied the scroll and looking for answers, struggling to solve the puzzle, which was missing many pieces.

Shippo fell asleep next to Kagome and curled up into a ball. Miroku and Sango had fallen asleep against a wall, Sango's head resting on Miroku's shoulder, and Miroku's head on Sango's head. Inuyasha stayed awake and watched over Kagome. She stirred and groaned in her sleep. He scooted over to Kagome and took a closer look, her eyes shot open, and they were blank eyes. Her pupils had become vertical, like a cats eyes. She slowly closed her eyes again and began to settle down. The small amount of poison that had been allowed to enter the body had started to take its course.

Kaede caught sight of this and hurried over to Kagome's side. "The poison, as we thought, is deeper in her system than we had hoped for. I fear the worst Inuyasha."

Inuyasha glared at the old woman, "Well, hag, what's the cure?"

Lady Kaede simply smiled at Inuyasha before she answered, "You are the cure Inuyasha. As I studied the poison more closely I found that it wasn't very strong, at least not strong enough to change a demon or a half-demon, in these case. The only way to cure her is for you to give her a drop of your demon blood. It will strengthen her immunities and kill off the poison, not to mention heal the wound quicker. Go, hurry, time is running out."

Inuyasha was a little skeptical at first but looked back at Kagome who had started moving in her sleep again. He took his claw and sliced open his right hand. He moved his claw, which carried a single drop of blood over to Kagome's wound. The drop of blood fell into the wound and was quickly absorbed. Lady Kaede watched as the wound slowly began to mend itself.

Inuyasha looked at his cut hand, which instantly closed and turned to Lady Kaede, "Are you sure this is gonna work?"

The old woman glanced away before replying, "I am not certain. But you have saved her from an unbearable fate."

The next morning Kagome was up and about packing her things. Inuyasha had fallen asleep a little after he had "cured" Kagome. The others were also sleeping calmly. Shippo stirred and rose from his sleeping spot, he looked over to where Kagome was supposed to have been and jumped up.

"Kagome!" shouted the little Kitsune.

Kagome peered from around a corner. "I'm right here Shippo," she replied.

The others were all startled by the noise and woke up. Miroku jumped up and ran over to Kagome, "Kagome, you should be resting, your wounds have not healed yet..."

Kagome pulled away the bandage that had been replaced after last night; the wound had neatly healed itself, leaving only a pink scar. Sango looked over in bewilderment. "How...how has it been healed so quickly, and what about the poison?" she asked.

Lady Kaede came into the room carrying two large scrolls. She sat them down in the middle of the room and spread them out for everyone to see.

"After you all fell asleep I took it upon myself to find out more about these Tigrans. They are an ancient race of great hunters that employ the powers of great cats. They once ruled over demons and humans alike. Their leader, the one you know as Mayhemik, created them so that she may rule all. She is the very embodiment of fire and has taken on the form of one of her Tigrans. The Tigrans look to her as a goddess since it was she who created them, and because of her voluptuous beauty they will obey her every command." Kaede read.

"Your point is? It's nothing I can't handle," said Inu-Yasha with a cocky tone.

Kaede looked back to the scroll and began reading again, "The poison of a Hunter changes humans into Tigrans, but the type of Tigran the human changes into depends on the amount of poison that has entered the body."

Everyone looked at Kagome who listened while packing her things, not seeming to care. Inuyasha thought to himself, How could she be so uppity after what has happened. Once she had all of her things she began to walk out of the door. Inu-Yasha stopped her before she could leave.

"Where the hell do ya think you're goin?"

"I have to get to home now, I told my mom that I'd be back yesterday and plus if I miss anymore school, I'll fail and get held back a year," Kagome said trying to make Inuyasha move out of the way, but he wouldn't budge.

"Hello, didn't ya hear anything the old hag just said, we're in a real predicament here."

"Inuyasha, please move, I've got to get home now."

"You stupid bitch, listen here..."

"Bitch? Oh now I'm a bitch, after everything that's just happened? I just want to go home. Sit Boy!" Kagome screamed as she ran out of the hut, tears falling down her cheeks.

Inuyasha stood up and watched her run to the well, wondering what had made her explode so suddenly. No one said anything to Inuyasha for a while after that, they had decided to leave him alone for the time being.

It was a day later, in the present time. Kagome was walking to school slowly, thinking about her current situation. She kept picturing in her mind Inuyasha's sad and confused eyes. She felt sorry for blowing up at him, it was his way of showing he cared. Kagome arrived at school a few moments before the bell rang for her to be in class. Her friends came up to greet her.

"Kagome!" they said as they waved to her.

Kagome slowly glanced up and gave a small warm smile, "Hi guys, what's up?"

"Whoa, Kagome, are you sure your feeling better? You look a little out of it," asked one of her friends putting a hand on Kagome's shoulder.

"Yea, I'm fine. Just a little tired," Kagome said trying not to look too depressed.

They all walked to class and took their seats before the tardy bell rang. The substitute teacher Ms. Mika walked into the room. One of Kagome's friends leaned over and told her what's been going on after Kagome left.

"Nothing special's been going on really, but she's interested in why you've been out for three days."

"Weird, I wonder why..."

The teacher gave Kagome a cold stare. Kagome felt a hot searing pain in her chest, but it soon went away. She tried hard to concentrate on her work but her mind kept wondering into Feudal Japan. Kagome jumped a little when the teacher called her name.

"Ms. Higurashi."

"Umm, yes."

"Please stay in your seat after the bell rings, I need to speak with you."

Kagome nodded, class proceeded, and the bell rang, all the students got up and left. Kagome's friends told her that they'd wait but Kagome told them not to. Ms. Mika walked over to Kagome's desk and smiled a cold smile. Kagome grabbed at her chest, the pain had come back and it started to spread throughout her body.

"Well Kagome, I just wanted to make sure you were all right," she said as she cocked her head to the side and gave another cold smile. "You did miss three days of school. I looked through your records and saw that you have missed quite a few school days. I, as your teacher, am just worried about your schoolwork and your well-being. You are alright, yes?"

"Yes, I...I'm fine. Just fine." Kagome turned away and looked out the window hoping that the pain would go away. It didn't, it just got stronger.

"I'm glad your alright, you may leave now." Ms. Mika turned and walked over to the front desk.

Kagome hurriedly grabbed her things and ran out of the room. When she got out of the school she slowed down. Her whole body started to throb with pain so she ran as fast as she could home. All I need is rest, she thought to herself, I just need some rest. But instead of going to her house, she unintentionally ran to the shrine. Still holding her books she sat on the wells edge. She couldn't handle the throbbing pain anymore.

Her unconscious body thudded at the bottom of the well with strewn papers floating quietly down on and around her...

To be continued......................

Oh...I have got to quit doing that. With the cliffhangers and all but it's a proven fact that it's a great way to keep readers coming back. Thanks to everyone who reviewed!!! I feel inspired to write more chapters. Yay! Keep on inspiring me puh puh puh please. Happy reading!