She smelled cinnamon, salt, and blood. "Mom?" Looking up at her mother's tearstained face, Kagome felt different, slightly not herself. Suddenly realization dawned on her. She was alive. Tears began to fall from the corners of her eyes. "You saved me didn't you?" Her mother nodded. "Why? Why did you save me? Why couldn't you let me die?" Kagome demanded unreasonably, her voice escalating to a pitch that made her inwardly wince. "I don't want to live!"
"Kagome!" her mother cried, silencing her daughter's protests. She was deeply saddened by Kagome's words. Grabbing Kagome into a hug, she questioned gently, "How could I let you leave me? Especially like that." Kagome felt her mother inhale a deep, shaky breath. "Kagome, you had me so scared. Your brother and grandfather, too. Souta is the one who found you," she whispered, though Kagome heard her easily.
"S—Souta did?" Guilt descended upon her. How could she have let her little brother discover her in such a state? How could she have frightened her family as she had? "I—I'm sorry, Mom!" Kagome bawled, giving in to the warmth and security her mother offered her.
"Just… promise me you won't do it again," Mrs. Higurashi said softly.
Kagome knew she could say nothing other than, "I promise."
Her mother sighed in relief. "Good. Now," she said, brushing hair out of her daughter' face, "Why don't you get cleaned up, and then we'll talk."
"I don't know if I feel like talking…"
"I'll respect your wishes on that, for now. But you'll change your mind, I think," her mother replied with a sad smile.
Somewhat worried and confused, Kagome rose to shower. Shouldn't I be more tired with such a loss of blood? she wondered vaguely. Kagome turned on the water and grimaced at her bloody clothes and arms. She stripped her crusty clothes off and stepped under the hot cascade. As she washed her hair, she saw the water that gathered at her feet turn a diluted red.
As the last of the blood was rinsed from her arms, her eyes widened. Her wounds were already scabbing surprised her, but the green stripes on her pale skin shocked her. Checking the rest of her body, she found two additional slim, vertical stripes of a paler green on each of her sides that ran from just above her hip to just below her breasts, as well as three small horizontal stripes on the back of each knee the same color as those on her arms. Examining her nails, she found them to be deadly in appearance.
She hurriedly stepped out of the shower and into the steam-filled room. As she looked to the mirror, her jaw dropped in a silent gasp of disbelief at the marks on her face and deep purple eyes to reveal two sharp fangs. Hesitantly, she pushed aside her sopping midnight hair to find the tips of her ears slightly pointed.
Now Kagome understood why her mother thought they would need to talk.
Kagome grabbed a towel, ran to her room, hastily dressed, and then raced downstairs to find her mother. She heard small noises coming from the kitchen and recognized the scent of cinnamon, along with a lingering aroma of blood.
"Mom!" she exclaimed, exasperated, as she entered the kitchen. "What happened to me?"
Her mother turned to regard her. "Sit down, Kagome."
Kagome sat, knowing she would not get any answers until she obeyed her mother's order. Mrs. Higurashi sat next to her.
Her mother looked almost as sad and lost as Kagome felt. Kagome felt her temper cool at seeing her mother so distraught. Mrs. Higurashi did not seem to know where to begin. When she continued to remain silent, Kagome prompted, "Mom? Please, tell my why I'm like this."
Her mother nodded and met her eyes. "When I found you, you were so close to death," she began, stifled tears in her voice. "To save you, I had to awaken your demon blood."
"Does that mean," Kagome asked slowly, "That I've had demon blood all this time?"
Her mother nodded. "Lying dormant in you, yes. When you were born, your miko powers restrained your demon blood. Your father came from a long line of powerful demons. My mother, your grandfather's wife, was a demon also."
"So… you're a hanyou?" Kagome asked, surprised.
"Only in the same sense that you were a demon before I awakened your blood. My demon blood is still basically inactive. But it allowed me to stimulate yours."
"But if you're only half demon, why am I a full demon?" Kagome inquired, confused.
"I don't know. I expected you to be half, or three-quarters at best, though that sounds strange. My only guess is that the strength of your father's blood completely engulfed your human blood. Perhaps you have more of him in you than I thought," she said with a smile.
"Why didn't you tell me any of this before?"
"I thought living a human life would be best for you. I thought that was what you would want, too, since you and Kikyo have always been so close."
Kagome was silent a moment, thinking on her mother's words. So, Kikyo was completely human. "What about my miko powers?"
"I'm afraid I don't have an answer to that either. You're going to have to discover that for yourself."
Kagome sighed. "All right." She stood to leave, but stopped when she felt her mother's hand on her arm.
"Are you going to be okay?" Mrs. Higurashi asked anxiously. Kagome nodded and hugged her mother. "Get some rest, Kagome." Kagome nodded and pulled away. Before she had left the kitchen, her mother said just loud enough for her new hearing abilities to perceive, "I love you."
When Kagome had reached the top the stairs, she braced herself in time for the force that slammed into her side. Small arms circled her waste in a tight hug, and Kagome could hear quiet sniffles in addition to smelling dew laced with the scent of salt water.
"Souta," Kagome said softly, comfortingly, as she returned the embrace. "I'm so sorry, Souta."
"I'm just glad you're okay, Kagome."
Her grandfather gently detached the boy and looked at his granddaughter with eyes overflowing with concern. Kagome hugged the older man. "I'll be all right, Gramps," she assured him.
He seemed to accept her words, and led Souta to bed. Then she finally noticed that neither of them had reacted to her new appearance.
Kagome entered her room and was not surprised to find a rug covering what was undoubtedly a large bloodstain. She laid on her bed for an indeterminate amount of time before she rose and did her homework for the next day, partially to distract herself from the constant barrage of thoughts in her head and the overflow of information her new, keener senses brought her.
She also worked on several songs. She wrote the one Kikyo had promised to have finished for the next practice, which was tomorrow after school, and made a recording. Kagome managed to complete another song she had been working on for countless days, though she would have to go over it a few more times before she was satisfied enough to ask the group to play it. She then began writing two new pieces.
Finally, Kagome had tired herself enough that she could sleep without being plagued by thoughts and worries. She reset her alarm to wake her up earlier than normal. She had a feeling that she would need the extra time to get ready. But she did not want to think of that at that moment.
Her head rested on her pillow, and she nestled into her bed sheets. With a large, and unladylike, gaping yawn that made her pearly fangs gleam in the moonlight, Kagome drifted into a peacefully dreamless sleep.
- - - - - -
Kagome woke to her alarm sounding louder than she ever remembered it. She recalled why when she saw the marks on her arms as she stretched to turn the persistent sound off. She had resigned herself to accepting that she was going to be a demon for the rest of her life, however long that was now. But as she stood before her mirror, she feared what her schoolmates would say and do if they saw her change. She could not go to school as she now was.
Kagome showered quickly and returned to her room to decide what to wear. As she stood before her closet, she glanced out the window to see the beginning of another bright and sunny day. For the first time since she could remember, Kagome cursed the warm weather with a passion.
Of her customary plain shirts, she chose a solid purple. But instead of shorts for the balmy weather, she was forced to find something that would cover her leg markings. She smiled slightly when she found a long, lightweight black skirt hidden near the back of her wardrobe. Slipping it on, she found it fell to mid-shin.
Looking at her arms, Kagome knew that both the marred skin and the bright green markings would bring unwanted attention. Digging through a drawer with clothes for colder weather, she found a pair of worn, thin navy blue arm warmers that came to her elbow. Kagome could only pray that she would not become overheated.
She trimmed and filed her nails to look simply healthier, and a bit longer and sharper, rather than demonic. She used powder to try to naturally cover the half-sun, but it was so dark was still slightly visible. To solve the problem, Kagome left her hair loose, allowing her bangs to cover the mark on her forehead. The tips of her ears were also hidden beneath the dark masses. Hopefully no one would notice the slight color change in her hair. She lightly sprayed some perfume to hopefully cover the change in her scent that had likely occurred.
Kagome looked at herself in the mirror. She looked her human self, almost. She had one dilemma and she did not know how to fix it. If she had her miko powers, she could probably find a spell, but she was a demon now…
Yet, her mother had said she might still have her miko powers. Kagome concentrated on her eyes. She watched them change slowly back to the brown they had been before. Kagome sighed in relief, but as her focus completely left that of her eye color, she saw them begin to change back to violet. Hurriedly, she willed them back to brown, but she now realized she would have to keep part of her power concentrated on her eyes for the entire day, at least until she found a better way to disguise herself. Until then, she dared not rely on her powers to hide her other demonic features.
Kagome grabbed her school supplies and materials for band practice. "Bye, Mom, Souta, Grandpa!" Kagome yelled as she slipped on her sandals and left the house.
"Have a nice day, honey!" her mother called after her.
Kagome was almost halfway to school when she sensed someone approaching her. The woman smelled of perfume, with the underlying natural scent of smoldering wood. Kagome forced herself to refrain from wrinkling her nose in disgust. She hoped she did not smell so horrible. They were related, after all.
"Good morning, little cousin," Kikyo greeted. "I thought I'd walk you to school today."
DarkCh3rry: Thanks! I am glad you liked it and I hope you continue to enjoy the story.
cuttie-blossom: I will try!
Ami Onuki: Thank you!
Tiney: I am glad you like it thus far and I hope the story continues to meet with your expectations. I do plan on continuing. Thank you for reviewing!
Hell Chaos Angel: Thank you very much! I am flattered that you like my story so much after only the first chapter. I hope the story continues to please you. I will update when I can.