"I can't believe that bastard! What can be going on in his stupid head," ranted an extremely upset Inuyasha. He had practically paced a rut in the floor of Kaede's hut.
"Calm ye down Inuyasha, the old woman scoffed, the demon dog will surely take his leave shortly," she hoped that her words carried more conviction than she felt. Her eyes fell on the young miko at her side. "It seems he has taken an interest in our Kagome. Mayhap he is simply curious."
"Come on old woman, Inuyasha shrieked, you know as well as I do there's more to it than that! He never enters a village, unless it's to destroy it." Inuyasha's gaze fell on Kagome as well.
Miroku sat quietly absorbing the scene before him. It was true that Sesshomaru was acting out of character.. out of Sesshomaru's character, that is. A smile curved across the monk's handsome features. Sesshomaru was acting more like his own lecherous character to be exact. A man as well rounded in the world as himself, could easily spot a kin spirit. Oh yes, he was sure that the demon was here for more than an opportunity to ease his curiosity. That thought turned his smile into a deep frown.
Kagome was more than a little uneasy at the thought that the taiyoukai was so near. Inuyasha had always been the one who protected them from him, but now... how could they hope to be safe when Inuyasha could not even wield the Tesseiga? She knew Sesshomaru was there because of her. He would have otherwise moved on, preferring to steer clear of humans. She felt a huge weight of guilt upon her shoulders. Every man, woman, and child in this village was now in danger... because of her.
"So... The Great Lord Sesshomaru has taken an interest in the miko. Hmm... I believe this can be worked to my advantage," Nuraku sat back and laughed at his good fortune. "Kagura!... Kagura!"
"I am here," replied the wind sorceress.
"I want you to pay a visit to Inuyasha. It's time they give credit where credit is due. Let him know of your brother," the evil hanyou sat back and glared at his incarnation. "Do not kill him... yet."
Morning Came. Not that Kagome slept. It seemed that with her new youkai self, she didn't require her usual eight hours. She spent the night thinking about her dilemma while watching over her friends. A few hours were dedicated to reading her science book. She had a report due next week, so she felt inclined to give it a whirl. Not that she had figured out how to show up at school with her new look. 'Maybe I could tell my friends I went punk? Hmmm..... Oh well, plenty of time to stress over that later.
The sleepy shard hunters began to stir at the smell of ramen filling the air. Shippo was the first to jump up. His sensitive nose sniffed the aroma out from a dead sleep. He leapt into Kagome's lap and hugged her good morning. She gave him a little pat and sat his bowl down for the soup to cool a little.
As soon as it was ready Shippo began to attack it.
"Hey kid, your gonna wake the dead with all that slurping," Inuyasha mumbled as he scooted up to grab a bowl.
"Jeez Inuyasha, did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed!" Kagome scoffed at him as she gave him the ramen.
"Well excuse me. I'm just not used to all these aches and shit in the mornings! OK?" He practically yelled at Kagome.
Miroku, the ever vigilant peacekeeper, immediately broke up the ensuing fight by changing the subject. "Kagome, I am very interested to see what kind of power your new body holds. Maybe you can spend some time today testing your strengths?" The monk, as well as the entire village, witnessed Kagome's glow when Sesshomaru angered her the day before. He sensed no evil aura from his friend, which was strange for a youkai. Every youkai he'd ever encountered carried at least a hint of tainted aura. Ones' like Nuraku, were dripping with the rotten stuff. Kagome's seemed to be pure white. Like drifts of a fog flowing smoothly around her. It was actually pleasing to the eye. 'Hmm... come to think of it, the whole package is pleasing to the eye.' Sango, as if she knew what he was thinking sent him a stern look, which knocked his current thoughts awry.
Miroku cleared his throat and averted his eyes to the bowl in his hands. "Maybe Inuyasha could help you try out your new talents."
"Well.. I guess that would be a good idea...er... that is, if Inuyasha wants to," Kagome looked to Inuyasha. He was in such a grumpy mood, she wasn't really sure she wanted to practice with him.
"Sure. We'll go to the clearing after we eat. By the way... can I have some more?" He held his cup out to Kagome. She just chuckled at her friend. She just couldn't seem to stay mad at him long.
Suddenly a little head poked through the door flap. "Mmm something smells really yummy in here," said a sweet little voice.
"Good morning Rin, Kagome said with a smile, come in and join us," The cute little girl scurried in and wiggled down next to Shippo and Kagome. Kagome passed her a bowl of the ramen and Rin said her thank you's before digging in. Kagome guessed that her meals weren't always tasty, since she traveled with full demons.
After cleaning up, Miroku stayed behind to keep an eye on the children, while Sango honed her weapon. Kagome followed Inuyasha out to the clearing near the well. On the way she reveled at the world around her. Her normal senses were heightened ten fold. The smells of the village were a little harsh, but out here it smelled wonderful. The green leaves and small flowers gently caressed her nose. She could hear tiny mice scurrying about inside of an old log beside the path. The birds songs seemed to speak to her. Colors now had a brilliance that no human could ever imagine. She had never seen such a beautiful blue sky.
Kagome also became aware that her movements were more sure. The clumsy young girl syndrome seemed to have left her. 'And that's a good thing,' she thought with a giggle. Inuyasha, being a few steps ahead, never heard the slight laugh. 'Poor Inuyasha, she thought, he usually would have started pestering me about what I'd been laughing at. We've switched places. This is so scary.' She shivered a little at the thought of being the protector of the group. 'That is a job I never wanted,' she couldn't stop that gloomy thought from raising it's head. Just then, they stepped out of the tree's shade into the sunlight. The old well sat to the right, as if waving to her to come jump in. 'Not for awhile,' Kagome thought.
Inuyasha began to explain, as best he could anyway, about the youkai blood. He went into detail concerning the minds' control over the gift. 'He calls it a gift... and I call it a curse,' Kagome thought as she watched him pointing to his head. Kagome swiftly turned to the left, scanning the tree line for a presence. The feeling of youkai was strong.
She immediately spotted the tall demon lord lounging underneath a nice shady tree. He appeared to have a smirk on his face.
"Continue with your lesson priestess. I doubt, however, that Inuyasha has any true knowledge of what it means to be a demon, since he's never been one." Sesshomaru's normally silken voice was laden with what sounded a lot like sarcasm.
Inuyasha took no time to peak his anger at the obvious jab from his full demon brother. "Shut up Sesshomaru! If we wanted your opinion we'd have asked for it! Why don't you go be useless somewhere else!"
In a streak of white silk, the taiyoukai stood hovering over his brother. If eyes could shoot daggers, both would be dead. "Little brother, you try my patience," Sesshomaru warned.
"Come get you some," Inuyasha growled out through clenched teeth as he pulled Tesseiga from it's sheath. The sword would not transform for his human form, but it didn't bother him none.
Kagome knew Inuyasha wouldn't last a second with Sesshomaru in his current state. That never seemed to phase him though. 'He's so stupid,' Kagome thought with frustration. Silently wondering at the usefulness of male testosterone. "Will you to break it up? I'm trying to do something here!"
The two siblings stopped facing off at the sound of her obvious frustration. Sesshomaru backed to the side only after Inuyasha unruffled his feathers and stepped back.
Inuyasha began again, only now his instructions had a sharp edge as he spoke. Every once in awhile his eyes would dart to the akuma standing quietly a few feet away. No emotion written on his features. He only stared at them with his usual stoic mask. Occasionally Kagome thought she caught a glimpse of humor in his eyes, but she wasn't quite sure.
Inuyasha was sure though, his temper rose with the feeling that he was being mocked. His frustration doubled when the two demons swiftly turned to the left and took battle poses. 'Damn, I can't stand being human!'
"Jewel shards... closing in fast!" Kagome shouted. Before she could get the words out Sesshomaru grabbed the hilt of Tokijin.
A whirlwind of dust and leaves tore through the tree line and stopped a few meters from the group. "What's up dog boy? Where's my girl?" The wolf demon stood straight with a cocky look of superiority written on his face.
"Kouga, what the hell do you want?" Inuyasha spat at the wolf as he turned to Kagome. "What the hell did I do to deserve this shit today?" He asked his friend angrily.
"Inuyasha, calm down," Kagome said soothingly. She turned to Kouga and said, "I am not your woman for the hundredth time!"
Kouga was obviously floored with Kagome's transformation. He almost fell to the ground when she spoke. "Kagome? That's you?" He sniffed the air a couple of times. "I can smell a little of you, but your scent... is ....different... now," A couple more sniffs during his realization. "Damn, I thought you were hot before, but your just sexy as hell now!"
In a brown flash Kouga took up space just inches from Kagome. He was now holding both of her hands to his nose and inhaling deeply. He planted a kiss on the back of said hands just before Inuyasha shoved him down.
"Get your grimy ass hands off of her you mangy wolf!" Inuyasha's temper got the best of him.
"You just bought yourself an ass whipp'n human!" Kouga snarled as he leapt to his feat.
"Stop you guys!" Kagome had no 'sit' power over the human Inuyasha, since his prayer beads only controlled his youkai side. There was nothing she could do to stop the brawl. She looked to Sesshomaru, hoping that he would intercede, but was shocked to see him smiling. His obvious humor of the two fighting over her was cracking him up....well, half a smile is 'cracking up' when your Sesshomaru. "Sesshomaru, please do something to stop this crap," the urgency in her voice did nothing to persuade him.
"Why? I find this quite amusing," his smug indifference only sent her into a rage.
Inuyasha and Kouga both paused to spare Sesshomaru a surprised glance. A mere second later they continued where they left off. Kouga punched Inuyasha in the jaw as Inuyasha turned his head back from the short glance at his half brother.
"Too slow, flea bag!" Kouga shouted as he nailed his left jaw with a stiff right.
"KOUGA NOOO!" Kagome screamed at the sight of Kouga's fist impacting with Inuyasha's human jaw. Inuyasha flew through the air a good ten feet before hitting the old stump that lay there. She ran to his side and tried to help him sit up, but he groaned out in pain.
"Kagome, I think I dislocated my shoulder," he could hardly talk.
"And your jaw too," Kagome said as she ran her hand over his bruising cheek. She turned to Sesshomaru, who still wore the same stupid smirking grin. "Thank you very much for nothing!"
His humor turned serious in a fraction of a second. It was almost frightening how fast his expression changed. The ever present mask was back firmly in place. His eyes, however were focused on Kagome's lips with an intensity that was making her feel a little flush.
"Consider me at your disposal anytime that you find your in need of my assistance," the demon lord said in his velvety smooth voice. Apparently his amusement was satiated, for he turned indifferently and strolled away toward his camp.
Kagome's mouth fell slackjawed for a minute, 'Did he just hit on me?... no couldn't be... no.' She turned her attention back to Kouga. "This is all your fault, you jackass!" She yelled.
Kouga's tail hit the dirt when the current of angry words rushed in his face, from the furious miko. Her body took on an ivory glow and her eyes began to fade to a lighter violet shine. Kouga's fur stood on end. The power coming from his miko was enormous compared to his own. He turned, ready to take his leave, when he was stopped by an onset of strong winds.
Kagura descended from her feather and dropped gracefully to land between the tree line and the wolf prince.
"You fucking bitch! I've been looking for you everywhere! Thanks for making my day!" Kouga snarled with fury at the sight and smell of Nuraku's incarnation. He had longed to rip the throat out of this filthy scum since she slaughtered his wolf pack and used their dead bodies to attack him. "Your gonna die!"
Kouga pounced on the wind sorceress... but the wind is her plaything. A flick of her fan sent the blades of blood at him, stopping him in his tracks.
Sesshomaru stopped at the arrival of Nuraku's female demon. His curiosity was peaked once more. "The excitement never ends for you, does it Inuyasha."
Inuyasha choked out a sarcastic laugh at his brothers dry humor. "Nope, especially not today." He winced at the jolt of pain that shot through his body.
Kouga had already fell into his well practiced battle maneuvers. His sword caught Kagura on the upper arm, slightly grazing her skin and slicing a neat cut in her Kimono.
"Damn your interference you half wit wolf! This was my favorite Kimono!" Kagura's anger shone deeply in her narrowed eyes as she focused for her next attack. "Dance of the dragon!" The wind blades swirled forth with the force of a tornado, slicing the wolf all over his body. His armor was little protection against the razors. He dropped to his knees in an attempt to regain some strength before sailing on her once more.
With Inuyasha out of the picture, and Kouga down, Kagome feared the worse. Her body began to tingle as her protective instincts ripped through her being.
Kagura could clearly see the power the miko barely held in check. She was Nuraku's slave, but she was not Nuraku's idiot. A flash of her hand brought her feather to full size. She took a seat, ready to put distance between herself and the miko youkai.
"Calm down priestess. I did not come here to fight. Nuraku sends his regards. He wishes to gloat about his latest incarnation, he is called Kyoufu Akuma, horror demon. Nuraku simply calls him his 'pet'. It's a mindless beast really. It serves no purpose, other than for Nuraku's entertainment. You have all given him quite a laugh, especially you Inuyasha." With that said she took her leave.