ok, i'm sort of back... after a really really long hiatus so, i'm finishing up changing the chapter numbers so that everything makes sense, and then hopefully i'll have a new chapter to you soon. again, i'm very, very sorry for the incredibly long wait . i just... had no inspiration .;;;

Disclaimer: I still don't own it, sorry.

Chapter 10: Tetsusaiga Transformed

Kagome glared at the back of the hanyou who was stalking a few feet in front of her. It had been two days since he had "rescued" her from Sesshomaru, and even though he was happy to have the first two Shikon no Kakera (found within some minor demons) he was still sulking over his inability to use the Tetsusaiga at will. She had been trying to teach him some sword skills, but all he wanted to do was get the sword to transform and hack at whatever was available. It was truly frustrating. She was beginning to understand why Sesshomaru had gotten annoyed enough to want to kill his younger brother.

"Look Inuyasha, I'll teach you how to get the Tetsusaiga to transform, but first I want you to learn the exercises I've been teaching you." Kagome sighed.

Inuyasha glared in her direction. "Why didn't you tell me that you knew how to get Tetsusaiga to transform? Show me!" He demanded.

"Not until you master some of the basic sword techniques I've been showing you!" Kagome yelled at him.

Inuyasha's ears flattened at the volume of her voice. "Feh. I'll master your dumb techniques, but then you have to show me how to get this stupid sword to transform." He stalked to the center of the clearing, obviously waiting for her to join him.

Kagome walked into the clearing beside Inuyasha and fell in to the first form of the exercises that she had been trying to teach the Inu-hanyou. She watched from the corner of her eye as Inuyasha assumed a parody of the same position. "Move your right foot a little further back." She suggested, and watched as he reluctantly complied.

For the next three hours they practised the different forms of the exercise until Inuyasha could assume all of them without her direction. It was nearing mid-afternoon when Kagome called a stop to their practise.

Inuyasha turned to her. "So now that I've mastered your stupid techniques, can you tell me how to get this sword to work?"

Kagome sighed in frustration. "You've hardly 'mastered' these techniques, and that is only one of many exercises. When you have fully mastered an exercise it will look like this."

Kagome redrew her sword and whipped through the exercise so fast that Inuyasha could barely follow her movements. She ended with her sword bare inches from his chest, poised over his heart. Without his fire-rat haori, which Kagome had forgotten at Sesshomaru's house, this was a potentially deadly situation.

Kagome withdrew her sword from her "killing" position and sheathed it. "But since you will need to continue practice with the heavier version of your sword, I will tell you it's secret." She paused, enjoying the moment as she made Inuyasha wait for the revelation. "Tetsusaiga transforms when it is used in the defense of a human."

Inuyasha went from shocked to angry in seconds. "You made me practice for THREE HOURS just to tell me that?!? You've got to be joking!"

Kagome waited for Inuyasha to calm down. "Listen Inuyasha, your father created Tetsusaiga to protect your mortal mother. That is why it reacts to the wish to protect humans. Even if you aren't protecting humans at that moment, as long as your heart longs to protect humans it will work." Kagome didn't tell Inuyasha that concentrating on his own mortal blood would cause the transformation as well. She really didn't want to create a selfish monster when she knew he could be so much more.

Inuyasha stared at the blade in his hands. "All right, let's see if you're right." Inuyasha closed his eyes and concentrated on the thought of Kagome being in trouble and nearly smiled. He opened his eyes to look at the unchanged shape of his sword. "It didn't work." He growled.

"Did you want to save a human?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha frowned. In his imagination he had seen Kagome being stalked by a youkai, but he hadn't exactly wanted to save her. "…no…"

Kagome sighed in frustration. "Then try again, and this time try wanting to save the person you're envisioning.

This time when Inuyasha closed his eyes a vision of his mother came to mind. He saw, through the eyes of the child he had been, the Youkai that had threatened his mother, and had ended up killing her. Those youkai had not liked the fact that Lord Inutaisho had taken a human mate. They thought that it weakened him, so they decided to kill the thing that was destroying their ruler. Inuyasha felt the rage build up inside of him as he saw the youkai advance on his mother. He shouted and swung his sword, hearing a distant yelp of surprise. But when he swung at the youkai, his sword passed right through them. No matter how many times he tried to kill them, he just couldn't hit them. Tears streamed down his face as he watched the leader draw a knife and strike at his defenseless mother. Then the youkai got up, glanced in his direction, growled, then walked away. He ran to his mother's side, his present self superimposed on his past self. As he cried he remembered hearing movement from the trees and fearing that the youkai had returned to kill him too. When he looked up he saw his older brother standing there with an emotionless mask covering his features.

"Come Inuyasha, there is nothing more you can do for her. One of the servants will bring her body home." Sesshomaru turned and started walking away. But just before he did, Inuyasha saw a flash in the moonlight. A tear?

"Osuwari!"

CRASH

Inuyasha picked himself up off the ground. "What was that for?" He demanded of the girl who stood on the other side of the clearing.

Kagome looked at him. "You were running around swinging the Tetsusaiga and yelling, then you just crumpled crying, then you got up looking like you were going to kill something and your eyes started to turn red. I had to bring you out of it somehow, and you weren't responding when I called your name. The good news is that you got the Tetsusaiga to transform though."

Inuyasha looked at the large sword in his hand. It looked like a huge fang now, instead of a battered katana. He just stared at it for a moment, tears filling his eyes at the memory of his mother's death. If only I'd had this sword then. Why didn't Sesshomaru come more quickly? He could have saved her! It was the same thoughts he had every time he remembered her death. Why he wasn't stronger, why his brother hadn't cared. But what about that tear? Inuyasha shook his head. It must have been the lighting.

Kagome watched the changes in Inuyasha's face. She knew something had happened here, but she didn't know what. That must have been some vision he conjured for himself... she thought.

"Well, let's go." Inuyasha said, gruffly. Kagome opened her mouth to protest. "Yeah, yeah, I'll practice some more when we make camp. Happy?" Kagome closed her mouth and nodded.

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Three days later, and two shards richer, Kagome and Inuyasha stopped for the night. "Okay, it's time for more practice!" Kagome said.

Inuyasha grumbled, but got into his starting position. They went through the forms of three different exercises, then Kagome stopped and had Inuyasha go faster and faster until he was nearly up to speed. Wow! He really learned this stuff fast! Kagome was faced with a dilemma now. She only had a few more exercises to teach Inuyasha that hadn't been taught to her by Sesshomaru. She knew that the Inu-youkai would not be pleased if she taught those forms to his brother, especially since he had asked her not to. Inuyasha finished his exercises with an extra flourish and a move that she had not taught him. In fact, it was one that she had never seen before.

"Inuyasha, what was that?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha grinned at her. "That's a move that I saw my father use all the time. I thought I would try it out. It seems to have worked."

Kagome just stared at him. It had been a very complex move that Inuyasha had just done, and she was amazed that he was able to perform it with his limited knowledge of the sword. Then again, he did teach himself to use it last time. "Could you show that move to me again Inuyasha?" She asked.

Inuyasha's smile widened. I guess I did something right. He thought. Inuyasha performed the move again, this time more slowly. Kagome watched intently as he went through each motion, memorizing the movements like Sesshomaru had taught her the last time. When he finished, Kagome brought her sword out and slowly went through the unfamiliar movements. When she thought that she had it all straight in her mind, she went through the entire move, then brought it up to speed.

Kagome smiled at Inuyasha. "Thanks." She said. Inuyasha just looked at her, then turned away muttering under his breath. She caught one word though. "Show-off."

When they had both put away their swords and cleaned off their sweat, Kagome boiled water for instant ramen. "Inuyasha." She said, getting her hanyou-companion's attention. "I know where we can get some more Shikon no Kakera." Inuyasha's head turned toward her at that.

"Where?" He asked, suddenly more alert than he had been a few seconds ago. "Let's go get them!"

Kagome just stared at him for a moment, then noticed that the water was boiling. She turned to her pack and drew out a packet of ramen. She dumped the noodles in the water, added the flavouring and started stirring. Then she looked back at Inuyasha. "We need to rest here tonight, then start heading toward the mountains. We will have to face two demons called Hiten and Manten for them. These two are also called the Thunder Brothers. Last time they had five of the Shikon no Kakera, I don't know how many they will have this time, but they will definitely have a few. Plus, one of my friends will be in trouble with them soon, and I would like to help him."

Inuyasha vaguely remembered Kagome talking about the Thunder Brothers and the Kitsune kit, Shippo, that had become part of their group afterward. He had never liked Kitsunes, but if they were able to help the kit sooner, then maybe he wouldn't have to deal with the little annoyance after that. "All right, we'll leave first thing in the morning."

Kagome smiled, then hugged him on impulse. Inuyasha blushed and tentatively hugged her back. Then he pushed her away, trying to maintain the attitude that he didn't like her and only kept her around because of the Shikon. The truth was, he saw her as a powerful ally, and a good friend. He remembered what she had said after freeing him from the tree. She had said that he was her best friend and that she loved him. Could she have meant that? He wasn't sure, and he didn't know what he was feeling for her. For now, keeping his distance was best.

After they ate they settled in to sleep the rest of the night, so that they would be fresh the next day. They both knew that there was a fight waiting for them the next day.

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Kagome and Inuyasha started travelling again at first light the next morning, moving quickly until just after the sun reached its zenith.

They heard a sound and looked toward the horizon. Lightening struck from the

middles of the clear blue sky and Kagome heard the most horrible scream from that direction, followed by a worse one from the throat of her kit.

"Shippo!" She yelled, taking off in the direction of the screams.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Inuyasha called, easily catching up to her.

Kagome glanced at him. "The Thunder Brothers, and their shards, are this way!" She cried. Actually, there were a lot of shards there.

"Why didn't you say so?" Inuyasha asked, scooping her up and speeding off again.

More lightening flashed. As they got closer they could hear snorts and sounds of fighting. Then Kagome saw them. Hiten and Manten. The Thunder Brohters.

The first thing to catch Kagome's attention was Manten standing over the body of a fox with nine tails, removing one of the Shikon no Kakera from its back. Immediately the tails were reduced to six.

"Hiten, won't this pelt make a good wrap? I'll just have to remove a few of the excess tails!" Manten bellowed, his voice easily carrying to Kagome.

"Yes Manten, my brother, an excellent decision. But perhaps you would prefer the vixen, although she seems to prefer her humanoid form." This drew Kagome's attention away from the male kitsune and his murderer.

Hiten was engaged in a battle with a beautiful female kitsune with seven tails. She was fighting as best as she could, but she wasn't taking on her stronger, true form. Then one of Hiten's attacks caused her to turn and Kagome understood. The female kitsune, Shippo's mother, was pregnant. If she transformed now, her kit would die.

"Inuyasha, we have to help her!" Kagome cried, pointing at the vixen.

In answer he quickly put her down and drew Tetsusaiga. Something flashed in his eyes and the Tetsusaiga transformed. He leaped for the fight as Hiten brought his glaive down on the kitsune. He couldn't make it, but he tried, stopping the glaive just short of the woman's belly.

Kagome cried out, reaching for healing, knowing as she did that it was too late. She watched as an orange blur flew from the trees toward the fallen woman, the keening cries coming from it confirming what she already knew. It was Shippo.

The fight between Inuyasha and the Thunder Brothers went unnoticed by Kagome as she watched her kit cling to his mother's body. As she watched, the dead kitsune's body convulsed, and then again, blood pouring out beneath her body. Kagome ran to the horrid scene in time to watch a tiny kitsune kit struggle from its mother's womb.

Kagome grabbed the kit as it began to wail, and also grabbed Shippo, though it hurt her to separate him from his mother. She could feel a strange tension in the air, a feeling of foreboding. Finally, she grabbed the shard from around the vixen's neck with the hand holding Shippo. This shard was probably the reason that the tiny kit was in her arms now. A mother's final wish. Then she ran for the trees, just before Manten's attack caught them.

Kagome put down the distraught Shippo, and handed the kit to him. "Hold onto your sister Shippo, I promise I will take care of you both." He didn't even look at her.

Kagome drew her blade and looked at the battle in the clearing. Hiten was losing ground to Inuyasha, but Manten was about to join the fray. Kagome put her sword away and knocked an arrow to her bowstring. She aimed straight at Manten's heart and put all of her purifying energy into it. It struck home just as Inuyasha sliced through Hiten.

Well, that's it for this chapter. No cliffie, cause I'm feeling nice! And please review!! I need some ideas for Shippo's sister's name (all suggestions will be considered.) if the name has a meaning, please include that in your review as well!

Review Response:

Inu-fanforever: things are getting a little crazy. You'll have to wait to see what's happening to Kagome's memories. Sesshomaru didn't exactly "know" how Tetsusaiga worked, he just figured it out. Look at the common denominators. Sesshy is full youkai, so the shield keeps him out completely. Kagome is a full human so the shield lets her through. Inuyasha is half and half so the shield lets him through, but his youkai blood activates enough of the shield to keep him from drawing the blade. Sesshy is quite bright, so he would be able to figure this out pretty easily. Thank you for reviewing last chapter!! You were my only one!!  Hopefully there will be more after this chapter! Hope you enjoyed it!

As always, please review as it encourages me to write faster! Ja!