A/N: Hey ya'll, I decided to put the 'lil note before the story instead today. Why? I don't really know, but hey, whatever. Cha, n e wayz, I warn you, despite the kewliobeens title this chapter is uber boring. I would probably skip over it, and I wouldn't have written it at all, but it is rather necessary to the story. And I'm sorry it took so long to post, but I was having a major case of writer's block. So I had to chop one chapter into two in order to keep both me and you from getting bored to death. …then again, you have to deal with this boring, short chapter. Ah well, you can just skip it if you want, I won't die. I'm going to the fair tomorrow. My little sister wants to hear the lelaine chicky-poo from lizzie mcguire sing…  So jaman, ho hum. Have fun.

Age of the White Dawn

Chapter 9: Kung-Fu Kagome

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Most would answer, "to get to the other side," but Kagome knew better. Oh yes, she knew why that idiotic chicken attempted to cross that damn road. It wasn't merely to take a leisurely stroll, but, in fact, to put as much distance between itself and the horde of neaks and norifs hotly pursuing it. Very much like what Kagome was doing now, only there were no roads she could possibly place between her and the youkai chasing after her. And what good would a road in the middle of the desert do her, any way? Couldn't they just fly or walk over it even? She mentally laughed at the insane turn her thoughts were taking; she would have laughed a loud but that would require breathing, an action she was finding rather difficult.

It had ended up that the "something" Inu Yasha had sensed earlier was a small militia consisting of up to two dozen angry-looking neaks and norifs. They had exploded over a sand dune just minutes ago and, already, the area resembled a demented blood bath or war zone.

Inu Yasha had briefly ordered her to take the water canteen and seek refuge over the next sand dune before he "gallantly" went off to decapitate a few neaks. Unfortunately, as Kagome obediently ran towards the next dune, a small pack of neaks and a norif or two decided to suddenly take interest in and pursuer her. So there she was, running psychotically away from a handful of youkai, out of breath and think delusional thoughts. Her legs were beginning to feel heavy, arms numb, throat dry, and the sound of her arrow knocking against each other was grating her nerves.

'…I have arrows,' she thought, jerking to a stop, 'God! I'm so stupid! Why didn't I think of this earlier?' She clumsily fished one out of her quiver, and let her eyes quickly sweep over the area, evaluating her situation (basically deciding whether Inu Yasha would be able to hear her if she called for help) before her pursuers caught up to her.

The first of the youkai that attacked her was a neak, spitting black, acidic poison. It had the torso of a very deranged looking woman while the rest of its body was that of a snake. Emitting a high-pitched shriek, similar to the groan of a dieing woman, it whipped its tail around and tripped the unprepared kagome off her feet. Fortunately for her, neaks are incredibly dumb creatures, and this one was no different. Flinging its stringy black hair over its shoulder, it threw its head back and made a strange gurgling noise. It was only when she looked back on the battle later that day that she realized that the gurgling sound was actually laughter.

Anyway, at that time she didn't know the neak was laughing at her, nor did she really care; she was too busy racking her brain for a plan to herself out of this situation. And, to complicate the situation further, the rest of the youkai pack that had been chasing after her had almost caught up. How was she going to deal with them?

'Okay, whew. Just breathe. One step at a time, Kagome, one step at a time.' She chanted, tightening her grip on the arrow she still clutched.

'Okay, okay. First, deal with the one in front of you, then you can deal with the rest.'

Tensing her muscles, she grabbed a handful of sand and flung it into the neaks face, distracting it so it wouldn't see her quickly jump up and blindly ram the end of her arrow into its chest. It died with a small wail and a burst of black poison that narrowly missed Kagome's face. She would have been stunned if she had the time, but she didn't. Instead, she scrambled over to the still body and pulled the arrow out, relieved to find that the acidic poison didn't affect it. Her relief was short lived; the rest of the cavalry had arrived, and there was six of them and only one of her. Kami, she loved her life.

They attacked her as one unit, but with little organization or strategy. This was a good thing since she didn't have much of a strategy either, just a simple pattern of thrust, dodge, thrust, dodge…

Any time a neak died it released a fountain of poison and, despite her efforts to avoid the hazardous substance, flecks of it managed to land on her hands, causing them to ache and turn red; still she continued her pattern of dodging and thrusting until her enemy was reducted to the two norifs who accompanied the five, now dead, neaks. All of them sported some kind of injury: one norif had gash on its flank, the other a scratch across its nose, and Kagome had a shiny burn mark running from her elbow down to her index finger. Yes, painful. But not half as painful as just watching the two norifs slowly circle her, licking their lips hungrily.

Kagome eyed the two creatures warily as they circled her for the fifth time. They were smart. Unlike their slithery friends, they probably had some plan brewing in their minds, and they knew she dare not attack under such circumstances. They reminded Kagome of huntresses, closing gracefully in on their prey. Which made absolute sense considering norifs were like lions except their manes and tails weren't fure, but fiery flames and, instead of eating food raw, they cooked it with their, literally, burning breath.

"Tonight we will be serving roasted Kagome," she mumbled to herself, trying to lighten the mood of her impending death, "Would you like her rare or well done? Beverages? Why not some of Kagome's blood, finest stuff you'll find. Pure, if you know what I mean," she mumbled on, not really paying attention to herself any more; she had just noticed something. Every time the norifs circled her, they would always meet right in front of her. If she could throw her arrow just right, maybe she could pierce the both of them through, the next time they passed.

Yeah, it was a dumb idea. The likelihood of the arrow hitting any thing but sand was slim, plus, it would take brute strength to throw that arrow and expect it to go thought two bodies, and she didn't have any regular strength, let alone brute strength. But a plan was a plan, and having a lame plan was better then no plan, right?

"Why did the chicken cross the road?" she asked no one in particular, re-positioning her grip on the arrow. As the norifs got closer she responded, "To get to the other side of course," and with a tired chuckle she mustered her remaining strength and threw the arrow…

The first norif evaded the arrow with feline poise, while the other one easily batted it away, making it difficult for Kagome not to cry. Her lame, but original, plan had failed miserably, her semi-witty death comment seemed pathetic now, her quiver of arrows had been knocked out of reach, and Inu Yasha wasn't there to save her. She was going to die.

With identical, lion-like roars, they lunged for her on either side, and all she could do was scrunch her eyes closed and scream,

"Inu Yasha!"

And then it rushed into her again. Pure, raw energy that raced throughout her body, struggling for release. Not in the animalistic sense, though. It was more like bottled up euphoria, an unopened two-liter bottle of sprite after its been shaken. Unable and unwilling to contain it any longer, she released in a silent explosion of white light, this time with an almost pale pink hue.

When she opened her eyes again she was alone. Not even the bodies of the norifs and neaks she killed were left. Laughing in relief, she furtively looked around before performing a small victory dance consisting of much booty-shaking and hip swaying.

Victory dance out of her system, she proceeded to calmly collect her scattered arrows and quiver while debating whether to return and help Inu Yasha or not. She could still vaguely hear the sound of ripping flesh, signifying that Inu Yasha was still alive and probably didn't need her help. In her current batter state, she would be more of a hindrance then a help. But, then again, if she could barely walk after six youkai, how would Inu Yasha fare facing dozens of them? Kagome frowned; okay, that settled it. She was going back to help him.

Determination now in her step, she began trudging back towards him, aware that the sun was hanging lower in the sky. She shielded her eyes and squinted over in Inu Yasha's direction again, making out a red figure moving swiftly among the dark blue and brown figures surrounding it. Wow! She hadn't realized she'd run so far away from him.

A cloud suddenly drifted over the sun, much to Kagome's relief. It was starting to get pretty hot…wait. Clouds? She hadn't seen a cloud for miles the last time she looked up at the sun, which was a couple of minutes ago. Looking up again she saw, not a cloud, but what appeared to be a feather…a feather from a really big bird.

Standing regally a top it was a fancily clad woman, accompanied by a crouched figure in a pure white cloak. They both appeared to be intently watching the battle.

As Kagome's eyes rested on the cloaked figure something sinister seemed to whip up her spine, causing her to gasp aloud. She didn't like this…

At the sound of her gasp, the woman slightly inclined her head towards Kagome while a deep, slick, amused voice chortled, "Well, well. What have we here?"

She shivered. No, she didn't like this at all.