Authoress: Hey everyone, I'm back again with my 3rd chapter! o I didn't expect myself to write such a long ficcy, but here goes, hope you guys enjoy it! And thanks for all the reviews, that's the only thing that keeps me going on writing. I'll try and update soon… nn

Chapter 3

Kagome…

"Ouch!" Kagome cried as she tripped over yet another log in the darkened forest. "Damn! Those stupid logs should watch where they are lying, someone might get hurt…in particular me." She muttered, as she tried to get back on her feet. 'I hope I get out of this soon…or at least find some shelter for the night…' Just then, she noticed something bright in the distance. 'Light? Ah…I'm saved; I bet there are people there that would take me in for the night. Yeah!' with that thought in mind, she stumbled toward the light with renewed vigor and determination.

"Made it!" Kagome exclaimed, as she approached the hut. 'Hmm…this place looks kind of old and run-down…definitely in need of repairs. I wonder who lives here? Oh well heck, I'll just knock and find out…' Raising her fist, she knocked tentatively on the door. Surprisingly, the door creaked open on contact. 'Huh? It's not locked? Such a careless owner…' She peeked around the door.

"Is anyone home?" she called. 'No answer? Strange, there's a nice fire going in the fireplace, but no one was here?'

"Hello… anyone here? I would like to spend the night here if it's not too much trouble…" Kagome said.

"Come in little one…"

"Who…" Kagome whipped around and saw a lady dressed in an exquisite pale green kimono with elaborate embroidery of creeping vines on the sleeves. She had long light blue hair that cascaded down to the floor in waves and her porcelain complexion and large deep sea blue eyes glowed under the flickering of the fire in the fireplace, giving her an unworldly look.

"Wow…" Kagome breathed out, awed by her beauty.

"Hello there, I'm Ritsumi." The lady said, smiling gently.

"I…I'm Kag." Kagome replied meekly.

"May I know why you are wandering around in the dark?"

"Uh…ummm…"

"Ah…I see you have your reasons, I shan't force you to answer if you are unwilling…"

"Um yeah, I have my reasons…" Kagome said, and added under her breath "Really good ones too."

"Did you say something?" Ritsumi questioned kindly.

"No, no…just muttering to myself." Kagome replied slightly flustered.

"Well, I believe you wanted to spend the night here?"

"Yes please, if it's okay with you that is…"

"Sure, I'm sorry that the place is not very tidy right now. But if you don't mind, I'll be glad if you stayed…" Ritsumi said silkily, a small smirk tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Thank you very much." Kagome said, bowing to the lady.

"No, thank you…" Ritsumi said, as she returned the bow with one of her own.

"You may take this room." Ritsumi said, gesturing to the empty room on her right.

"Ok, Thanks again." Kagome said cheerfully, as she entered the room.

'A bed! I'm so tired…thank goodness I found this place, Ritsumi is so kind…' With that last thought in her mind, she drifted off to sleep.

"Stupid girl walked herself right into the tigers' lair. I guess it saves me from hunting for breakfast in the morning… I bet she'll taste a lot better than that old crone I had for supper." Ritsumi said, her sea blue eyes glinting maliciously.

Somewhere in the middle of the night, Kagome awoke to tend to her bladder problems. 'I need to pee…wonder where the bathroom is.' Kagome thought, as she dragged herself out of the warm comforts of the bed. Feeling her way around in the dark, she somehow manage to locate the bathroom.

"Ah…I feel much better now." Kagome said, as she stifled another yawn. 'Guess I'll better catch up on my sleep, I have a long journey ahead…'

"Ouch…" Kagome groaned as she rubbed her sore butt. 'Not another log.' Turning around, she got the biggest shock of her life. The 'log' she had supposedly tripped over was actually the body of an old lady, the old lady is obviously dead, as her skin is deathly pale, and the worst part is that her hands and legs were missing, seemingly to have been viciously ripped off by some savage beast.

"Ahhh!" Kagome shrieked, her shrill screams echoing through the dark forest night.

"So, I see you found out…that old hag wasn't much of a treat, I believe that you'll taste a whole lot better than her…" Ritsumi said slyly, licking her chops.

"You…you monster…" Kagome said shakily.

"Not quite right little one, I'm a demoness. More precisely, one who possesses the powers of water and plants." Ritsumi said, smiling evilly at Kagome, before continuing "and you my dear have the honor of being my breakfast."

With that said, Ritsumi started to transform. Her once porcelain smooth skin started bubbling beneath the surface, finally rupturing to form ugly welts on her now dirt brown skin. Her fingernails lengthen and sharpened at the ends forming claws, and her limbs lengthened at the joints, making her look disturbingly out of proportion. She hunched over, as fangs protruded from her mouth. Gone is the beautiful maiden, replaced by a hideous creature… Kagome stared rooted to the ground in wide-eyed horror, her mind too numbed by fear to think of an escape plan. The creature (a.k.a Ritsumi) stared at Kagome with its now blood red eyes, as it ambers over to the frightened girl. The creature let out a low growl, and proceeded to take a swipe at Kagome.

"Eeek! Gahh!" Kagome cried, ducking the deadly claws at the last second. 'Hell! I need to get out of here fast; else I'm dead meat…' With that, Kagome took off towards the forest. Seeing that its prey is escaping, the creature instinctively gave chase. Kagome kept on running, turning around once in a while to check the creature's progress. 'Oh no…it's gaining on me' Kagome thought in a panic. Suddenly, Kagome felt herself falling; the gap between the ground and her is drawing closer by the seconds. 'Stupid logs!' Kagome squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable impact with the cold forest floor, and possibly the painful slash of the creature's claws against her throat. However, the pain did not come; as a strong arm was slipped behind her back, effectively stopping her descend to the ground. Sapphire met dark violet. 'Unique eyes…' Kagome mused. Before her savior raised his staff to par the creature's deadly claws. Upon seeing the creature, Kagome immediately steadied herself, so as not to burden the guy with her weight while he took the creature head on.

Kagome stood off to the sides, as her mystery hero sparred with the creature. 'Amazing, he must be quite skilled since he managed to hit it a few times, considering that he is just human…well, at least he looks human enough to me…but looks can be deceiving…but he must be human, it doesn't make much sense for him to fight his own kind right.'

"You think you can win against me you weak human! Stop dreaming! I was just testing you, now you shall bear witness to my great powers…" the creature rasped out sarcastically.

"Heh! You talk big for one who had been at the receiving end of my staff." The guy retorted.

Suddenly, the creature called forth a torrent of water, and it is heading straight towards the guy. The guy made no move to dodge the onslaught.

"Get out of there!" Kagome cried.

The guy merely smirked, as he yelled "Kazaana!" in a flash, a black hole of some sort appeared in the palm of his hand, and all the water was sucked into it, after which the hole disappeared leaving no trace of its existence.

"I see you have a few tricks up your sleeves human…well then, try this!" in an instant, a huge stream of water shot out from its hand.

"Kazanna!" the guy cried again, and every last drop of water was gone. However, in the time while he is distracted by the water, the creature had called forth millions of vines, and it wound round the guy, stopping his movements instantaneously.

"Not so corky now are we?" the creature taunted, as he held the guy up by his throat.

"Let him go!" Kagome cried, as she ran towards the pair, a stick in hand.

"You are in no position to make demands, and you cannot possibly dream of harming me with that useless twig!" The creature said in its raspy voice.

"Take that!" Kagome cried as she attempted to thrust the stick into the creature's side. The creature reach out and grab the stick, snapping it in half easily before discarding the useless thing. Kagome sweat dropped. 'Uh oh…'

"Eh…heheh…you know I was just kidding right…" Kagome began awkwardly.

The creature stared unblinkingly at her through its red eyes, and started to raise its claws. Just then, it doubled over with pain, as a sharp dagger pierced its sides. The guy had somehow managed to cut himself free with the dagger while the creature was distracted by Kagome. In its anger, the creature swiped out at the guy without any warning; however, being in such close proximity when the attack was executed, the guy could not get away fast enough, and took the full blow to his chest, sending him flying towards a near-by tree; his skull connected with the trunk of the tree with a sickening thud, and he lost consciousness thereafter.

"Nooo…" Kagome cried, as she helplessly watches the guy hit the tree.

"Heh! The pest is finally out of action…" the creature bit out. "Guess I'll better finish him off before he wakes up…" The creature then approached the prone form at the base of the tree, its claws poised for the kill.

"No! I won't let you!" Kagome whispered firmly. 'I'm not going to let that thing kill another…' Kagome felt anger boiling within her, and her aura flared up dangerously around her. Just as the creature was about to strike, Kagome felt an immense hatred and need to destroy the creature. All of a sudden, something seem to break loose within her, and she raised her hand and fired a beam of energy at the creature, dissipating it on the spot. After the smoke cleared somewhat, Kagome looked on the scene in disbelief.

"D-did I do that?" she gasped, her eyes wide and her mouth agape.

Just then, she notice the guy lying under the tree, and she hurried over to him, worry etched clearly on her face, her shock over her tremendous powers tossed aside for now.

"Hey, are you ok?" She asked, tapping the guy's cheeks lightly.

"Uh…hmmm…" the guy mumbled slightly disorientated.

After determining that the guy did not suffer from any serious injuries, Kagome breathed a sigh of relief, and sat down cross-legged across from him, waiting for him to regain his bearings.

"I'm Kag, what's your name?"

"Miroku. By the way, what happened? I distinctively remember fighting some ugly demon."

"Oh…erm…" Kagome began nervously, 'how am I going to explain this to him…'

"Well…you see…I kind of killed it. I don't really know how, but I guess I just blasted it with some energy, I can't control it, and it just shot out of my hand…" she finished lamely.

"Hmm…are you trained in magic?" Miroku asked, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"A little I guess."

"Ah…so you come from a family line of magical beings? Then you must be a sorcerer."

"Yeah…guess you can say that. What about you, from what I see of your battle, you are quite skilled."

"Ha-ha…I'm a priest, and am currently serving the powerful Western Kingdom. A man as talented as you would be a great help in the war against the Northern kingdom, so care to join the ranks?" Miroku asked sincerely.

"Eh? Me? I'm not sure; I mean I still don't have a good command over my powers…"

"Not to worry, I can train you if you like, and there are great sorcerers in the kingdom that will help you gain control over your powers."

"Uhm…"

"Hesitate no more, you are coming with me. You stand to gain a lot my man; you get to train and become more powerful, plus you get free food and lodging.

"But…"

"No more buts. All you have to do is go out once in awhile to fight, but fear not, you will only be sent out to the battlefield if the Lord finds you capable enough. He won't jeopardize any of his men's life." Miroku stated, smiling at her.

Seeing that Miroku is adamant about her joining the ranks plus the thought of a shelter over her head, Kagome agreed. 'Besides, Miroku seems really nice, not to mention cute.' Kagome thought to herself, blushing slightly. With that, they started out on their journey to the Western kingdom together after their breakfast.

Western kingdom

"Damn that Miroku, he should be here by now! That lecherous monk must have been too busy chatting up ladies again…He'll get a taste of my fist later…" Inuyasha muttered darkly, while he thought of new ways to torture the monk.

'Stupid Miroku, I'm not going to wait any longer. I'll just train by myself, he's totally unreliable…' with that, Inuyasha stood and headed in the general direction of the training room.

"Here we are Kag, this is the castle." Miroku said, signaling the guards to open the gates.

"Don't just stand there come on in, I'll bring you to see Lord Taisho." Miroku said, slinging an arm around Kagome's shoulders.

Kagome back off instinctively, her cheeks burning up. (You couldn't blame her considering that she hasn't had much contact with males, other than Souta…but that's because he's her brother.)

"Hey, what's wrong Kag? Are you blushing?"

Kagome turned her head away, and replied somewhat hotly, "What! Me blushing? No way, I…I was just feeling hot that's all after being in the sun so long and all."

"Oh! You okay there?" Miroku asked concerned.

"I'm fine. It's nothing."

"Well then, let's go see the Lord." Miroku said jovially, slapping her on the back.

"Come in." Lord Taisho stated.

"My lord, this is Kag, he's a really powerful sorcerer, and he just needs a little training to help him control his powers. I'm sure he'll be a great help in the battle against the Northern Lord." Miroku said, bowing deeply.

"Kag is it?" Lord Taisho said, turning around to address Kagome.

"Y-yes my lord." Kagome said.

"Well, I trust Miroku, and since he thinks so highly of you, you may stay and train here. However, I shall test your strength in a month's time to see how good you really are in the annual Fighters' Cup."

"Thank you my lord." Kagome and Miroku said, before leaving the library.

"Now, let's get you settled down." Miroku said, "You can stay in the room next to mine."

Miroku was just showing Kagome around the castle after dropping her things in the room, when their little tour was interrupted by a certain angry looking hanyou.

"Oi Miroku! You stupid monk, do you know how long I waited the other day for you to show up for training!" Inuyasha shouted.

"Oops…" Miroku said, as he held up both his hands in mock defense.

"I can explain…" Miroku began.

"Explain my ass!" Inuyasha yelled, as he swung his fist at Miroku, who barely managed to dodge it.

"Stop!" Kagome bellowed, putting herself between the two.

"Mind your own business! And what the hell are you doing in my castle!" Inuyasha demanded.

"Your-your castle!" Kagome gasped out.

"Keh! That's right! So why are you here?" Inuyasha asked rudely.

"He's a new addition to the troops. He's name's Kag." Miroku answered for Kagome.

"New fighter? Looks like a weakling to me." Inuyasha scoffed.

"Why you…" Kagome started, miffed by the guy's rudeness. 'I don't like him much!' Kagome decided resolutely.

"Heh! If you aren't a weakling then let's have a spar. I bet I could beat you up easily." Inuyasha challenged arrogantly.

Kagome gritted her teeth; she's literally seething with anger by now. "Fine, let's spar!" Kagome retorted.

"Heh! Meet me in the training room tomorrow morning." Inuyasha said smugly before sauntering away.

"What an arrogant jerk!" Kagome bit out.

"Inuyasha isn't that bad he's just rough on the outside, but deep down he's really a nice guy." Miroku said, "And did you realize that you just agreed to a spar with him? He's a really good fighter, so…good luck!"

"Eh? I did? Ahh…and he's good? I'm going to die…" Kagome said dismayed.

"Hey, cheer up. Don't underestimate yourself; after all you did manage to defeat the demon that even I couldn't right?"

"Well…that's different. Besides I couldn't remember how I did it anyway…"

"Why don't you get a good night's sleep, everything will work out." Miroku said, as he guided Kagome back to her room.

The next morning…

Kagome yawned widely, as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. 'Where am I? Nice bed though, real comfy…' Just then realization hit her, as the events from yesterday came crashing down on her.

"Oh my God! I'm late!" Kagome cried, as she kicked off the blankets, and leapt out of bed. She hurriedly ran a comb through her now short hair and after checking her reflection a few times (to ensure that she still look like a guy.) she threw open the doors and dashed out; only to collide into something solid.

"Ouch!" Kagome yelped as she landed on her butt.

"Damn! You should watch where you are going!" someone cursed.

"Sor…sorry…" Kagome apologized hurriedly, as she picked herself off the floor.

"Hey Kag, we came to pick you up. Training has already started." Miroku said cheerfully, peeking over Inuyasha's shoulders.

"Keh! I bet he didn't come sooner because he's too scared to get his ass whipped be yours truly." Inuyasha said, pointing to himself.

"I just overslept that's all! I wasn't going to chicken out you moron!" Kagome gritted out, emphasizing each of her words with a jab to Inuyasha's chest.

"Hey! Quit poking me you shorty! Let's go already." Inuyasha said, brushing Kagome aside, as he strode towards the training room.

"He really knows how to get on people's nerves!" Kagome huffed, as she and Miroku hurried after Inuyasha.

In the training room…

"Hey inu, where are you going? It's supposed to be here..." Miroku said.

"It's crowded in here; I want more room for my spar with shorty."

"Oh, you'll definitely need more room to run and hide." Kagome said snidely.

"Keh! I'm gonna wipe the training floor with your face shorty!" Inuyasha retorted, as he threw open the double set doors leading from the main training room.

"Sess…Sesshoumaru! What are you doing here?" Inuyasha asked, upon seeing Sesshoumaru in the training room.

"…"

"Oi, I'm talking to you! Father said you are to stay in bed!"

"I don't have to answer to you hanyou." Sesshoumaru said coldly.

'Whoa…that guy's hot…so he's Inuyasha's brother…'

"You know it's rude to stare…" Sesshoumaru began, as he turned around to face Kagome, "who are you…'

"I…I'm Kag, I'm a new recruit." Kagome answered respectfully.

"Yup! And he and Inuyasha are going to have a spar." Miroku quipped.

"Interesting…" Sesshoumaru said.

"Keh! So move aside so we can battle!" Inuyasha said rudely.

"Fine, I shall be the judge of the battle's outcome." Sesshoumaru stated.

"What! Who made you the judge!" Inuyasha shouted, annoyed.

"Why are you so worked up over it, unless of course you are afraid of losing to this Kag, little brother…?" Sesshoumaru said calmly.

"No way! Fine, you can stay here and judge." Inuyasha agreed resignedly.

"All right…the fight for the title of strongest warrior is about to commence…on my right we have one of Western kingdom's best fight Inuyasha, a half-demon. And on my right we have Kag, the powerful new recruit, and he's a human…and might I add that Kag here managed to defeat a really powerful demon that even I couldn't…" Miroku was cut off rudely by a "Keh! You talk too much, begin the match already." Inuyasha shouted.

"Okay, Begin!" Miroku shouted.

"Come on shorty, I'll be fair and let you have the first move."

"Eh?" Kagome squeaked, suddenly feeling nervous when she realized that she really had to fight Inuyasha. 'What do I do now? Do I punch him? Ah heck, here goes…' Kagome thought, as she attempted to punch Inuyasha, who dodged the attack easily.

"Is that all you've got? You truly are weak! Guess I'll finish you off quickly now! Iron-Reaver soul stealer!"

"Gah!" Kagome barely missed it, her shirt's right sleeves however weren't that lucky, and was torn off at the ends. 'This guy's serious. I'll better do something fast before I get pulverized.' Thinking fast, Kagome immediately began chanting the spell for invisibility.

"Hey! Where the hell did he go?" Inuyasha asked surprised, as Kagome disappeared into thin air.

'Hmm…a socerer…this should be fun to watch…' Sesshoumaru thought.

"Feh! Cheap tricks. I'll sniff you out Kag. Don't forget I have demon abilities."

'Shoot, over looked that point. Now what?' Kagome thought frantically.

Inuyasha smirked, as he caught hold of Kagome's scent. 'His scent is interesting, smells like the sea…quite refreshing. But, he can't hide anymore; I know where he is…'

"Damn! Miss again!" Inuyasha cursed.

'Whew! That was close…Amazingly, my invisibility actually lasted this long. Maybe, I really am getting stronger…now, I can't keep hiding. I need to attack. But how? I need to figure out how I did it the last time…but of course I don't want too much power least it kills Inuyasha…this is so vexing! Damn! I can't stay in one place too long, got to keep moving, or else inu will find me…'

"Stupid shorty! Damn he keeps moving away just when I detected him." Inuyasha said frustrated.

'That hanyou seems a little distraught…and that Kag, why didn't he attack him? Could it be that he didn't know any attcks? This is more amusing than I thought…such good entertainment is hard to find these days…' Sesshoumaru thought, a small smile gracing his lips.

"Stop hiding you chicken, come out and fight me face to face shorty!" Inuyasha challenged.

"Fine. Take that!" Kagome yelled, as she conjured up a stream of bubbles directly at Inuyasha.

"Feh! You think some stupid bubbles are going to hurt me? Why, I can even pop it with my fingers." Inuyasha scoffed, and to proof his point he reached out and pops one of the bubbles.

"Gah!" Inuyasha leapt away in pain after suffering an electric shock from the bubble he just popped. "What the hell is this?"

"Yes it worked! Hey inu you shouldn't underestimate my bubbles, each one contains a pretty good shock once it burst, as you'll probably remember from popping one just now." Kagome said smugly.

'This is truly interesting…did he just create that attack on the spot? He proof to be quite a surprise. I will challenge him once I regain my strength, and rid myself of the dizzy spells.'

"Yo Kag! Those bubbles are great!" Miroku shouted.

"Oi shut up Miroku!" Inuyasha yelled, giving Miroku the evil eye.

"Let's see how you get out of my bubble bath Inuyasha!"

"Keh! I'll just dash through it!" With that, Inuyasha dove into the bubbles, and got quite the shock of his life, as all the bubbles that he came into contact with pops and let lose a huge amount of electricity, causing him to retreat back to his original position. Frustrated, Inuyasha let out a string of colorful words.

"Tsk, tsk…such foul language…" Kagome said, wagging her finger at him.

"Sesshoumaru! Are you ok?" Miroku shouted in worry, as he hurried over to the fallen form.

"Huh?" Kagome turned around, only to see Sesshoumaru lying on the ground, clutching his head in pain. Without a moment's hesitation, she cleared all the bubbles with a wave of her hand, and hurried over to Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha hot on her heels.

"Are you ok?" Kagome asked worriedly, as she knelt down beside him.

Her only reply was more moans from Sesshoumaru.

"He needs help immediately; his breathing is getting shallower by the minute!" Miroku said frantically.

"Oi, don't die on me Sesshoumaru! I've yet to beat you in Fighter's Cup! Are you listening, get your butt up and stop whining like a poor puppy. Don't tell me the great Sesshoumaru's going to die from some stupid illness!"

Somehow, through his pain, Sesshoumaru still managed to glare at Inuyasha, even if it is just for a little while.

"Quick! Call the healers Inu!" Miroku ordered.

"Right! You better still be breathing when I come back Sesshoumaru!" Inuyasha yelled, as he fled the room in search of the healers.

"What's taking Inuyasha so long? He should be back by now…" Miroku muttered worriedly.

"Miroku! All the healers are out for some stupid council meeting!"

"What!" Kagome and Miroku cried in unison.

'Oh my God! Sesshoumaru is dying and all the healers are gone? This is bad…he's going to die…What am I to do…I wish Mother had taught me how to heal…Wait! Hang on a second, I do remember something…'

Playback of Kagome's memory…

When Father passed away, I remember having a small talk with Mother.

"Mother! Why did Father have to die? You are a miko right? Why can't you save him? Why did you let him die…?" Kagome wept.

Kaede shook her head sadly, "It's too late for me to do anything, by the time I reach your Father, he has already passed on…and even if he still breathed, I still might not been able to save him, as such things requires lots of energy and immense focus on the executors part, or it may jeopardize both parties' lives…"

"What do you mean jeopardize both parties' lives?"

"You see Kagome, in order for a miko to heal some one, they have to draw their energy and soul together, and share this equally with the dying party. Should the miko lose her concentration even momentarily, the balance of power would tip, and both will die…" Kaede said solemnly.

"What? I didn't know it would be so dangerous…"

Back to the Present…

"So…I need to merge my energy and soul…I'll do it, I cannot fail, I know how painful it is to lose one's loved ones…like how I lose Father, I won't fail." Kagome muttered determinedly to herself.

"I think I might be able to save Sesshoumaru…but I'll need to concentrate on the task fully, so I need both of you to leave this room…"

The two guys nodded seriously, and they stood to leave the room.

"Sesshoumaru's life is in your hands now. You promise you won't mess it up?" Inuyasha asked.

"I swear I won't, as if I was to fail, I too will die…"

With that, they left.

Kagome took a deep breath, her face serious. Closing her eyes, she searched within herself… 'Powers…I need you…' gradually, Kagome felt herself being surrounded by a blue hue. 'Got to gather it into a sphere…' slowly, she guided all the blue hue into the palm of her hand to form the sphere. 'Now for my soul…the pink glow…is that it?' Her instincts told her that was what she seeks; hence she scooped it up and gently melded it with the blue sphere in her hand. 'Now I'm ready…sharing it equally…' With that she placed the glowing sphere on Sesshoumaru's chest, slowly, the sphere sink into Sesshoumaru's chest. 'Need to maintain it…can't let it slip too far…' Kagome concentrated hard on the sphere to keep it hovering half way outside his chest. However, the task seems to be harder than she thought, as the sphere starts to slip deeper into Sesshoumaru. 'No! I must maintain it…have to keep the balance. Ugh! I can't do it…it's slipping…'

Authoress: Ok everyone, I'll stop here for now, so keep the reviews coming in ok? Love ya all! Bye! nn