Kagome was nearly overwhelmed with the attention. She was astonished at how Sesshoumaru dealt with it seemingly on a daily basis. She had barely had time to eat during lunch because someone wanting to compliment her or hoping to gain her favor continually interrupted her.
Kikyo's standing seemed to have dropped severely in favor of Kagome, but several followers remained. Miroku suggested only the wealth of Kikyo's parents kept her from becoming an outcast.
The announcement of Kagome's suicide attempt seemed to have been completely forgotten in lieu of the more exciting and recent event of her performance, and Kagome was not about to remind them.
Once school finished, Kagome invited Sango over to work on a new song. Both Sango and Miroku had apologized for missing her performance. They told her they had not bothered to go to the assembly. Only a second passed before she had puzzled through the sparse information, and Kagome grinned. When she asked if they had taken the opportunity to occupy the janitor's closest, Sango had sputtered and blushed while Miroku grinned. Neither had denied her insinuation.
Kagome also approached Kagura and asked if she would join them. Kagura made a show of reluctance, but she was more than decent company once they arrived at Kagome's house.
The three actually lost track of time as they spent time conversing about more than just music. Kagome extended the offer of sleeping over, but only Sango could accept. Kagura explained that her parents expected her home for dinner that night before her father left on a business trip.
Kagome put the finishing touches on the melody before school the next morning.
As the two approached the school, Kikyo's voice caused them to stop and turn. Kagome's cousin was flanked by several male demons that surly did not attend their school. A few of them appeared old enough to have finished college, and they were all a far stretch from small or scrawny.
"This is the girl?" one of them, a hawk demon, asked skeptically.
Kagome had expected retaliation from Kikyo in some form. She truly had. But she had never expected Kikyo to take revenge to such an extreme.
Knowing the demons would be able to sense her fear, Kagome worked hard to smother the feeling and appear confident. "Your 'friends' do not attend our school, Kikyo. They are not permitted on campus."
"Dear cousin," Kikyo replied sardonically, "they are not on campus."
Kagome's eyes quickly examined the surrounding area, and she noticed that Kikyo and her group did were indeed a few feet outside the legal boundary of the school grounds. Before Kagome could think of a response, Sango brazenly spoke up in Kagome's defense.
"Why don't you just leave her alone, Kikyo? Get over it. You lost, and no form of vengeance is going to change that. Quit being such a bitch." She snorted. "How much did you have to pay those guys, anyway?"
Kikyo's eyes sparked with raw fury. Neither Sango nor Kagome heard or saw it, but Kikyo must have given some sort of signal, because suddenly the youkai were descending upon them.
Kagome started to form a barrier around Sango and herself, but was interrupted by Miroku's fearful shout, and Sango's order for him to stay away. The fist of one youkai contacted solidly with Miroku's cheek, and in the next instant Kagome found herself separated from Sango. She could barely discern her friends amidst the large bodies of the attacking demons, and her miko training was not advanced enough for her to create an individual barrier for each of them.
Worry and anger began to turn to panic and rage as three demons advanced on her. As the intensity her emotions escalated, Kagome felt her concealment spell slip the minutest of a fraction, for the merest of moments. In the short amount of time, her heightened senses alerted her to the fear emanating from her friends, the bloodlust of their offenders, and the coppery scent of blood. Blood she immediately identified as that of her two friends.
As the realization set in, Kagome heard Sango call out to her, telling Kagome to run. Sango had always watched over Kagome. In her mind, Kagome relived Sango's encouragement for her to join Inuyasha's band, she saw Sango waving her over to sit together at lunch on their first day of high school, and she saw Sango's distraught reaction to Kagome's suicide endeavor. Miroku, too, guarded over Kagome in his own way.
"Kagome, watch out!" Sango's frightened voice returned Kagome to her current surroundings, and the fist progressing forcefully towards her face.
Kagome instinctively reached out and captured the wrist in her hand. A growl reverberated from her clenched jaw, and Kagome realized that she had unconsciously released the enchantment.
Kagome's grip tightened to a painful point as her miko powers burned the skin. The youkai cried out in pain and had to try several times before he was able to yank his wrist from her grasp. Her claws sliced his skin as he pulled away.
Wind whipped viciously around Kagome, tugging at her clothes and hair, and a glance at nearby trees revealed shuddering leaves. The earth beneath the demons surrounding Sango and Miroku shuddered and began to crack, and the youkai retreated in fear of the unknown happenings around them.
Kagome hardly noticed the gathering crowd. What caught her attention was the raw blast of miko energy sent at her. Kagome barely registered the tingle she felt, and the lack of pain. She instead turned to face the sender of the attempted assault: her cousin.
- - - - - -
Sesshoumaru had arrived at school early that morning in order to prepare for student council meeting. Suddenly, he felt the sudden surge of power, an intermingling of miko and youkai, and he knew only one with such capacity. Immediately, he rushed toward the source. Protectiveness and even worry permeated his mind. Kagome had been hiding her true form for countless days. What reason could she have to reveal herself so publicly now?
Sesshoumaru was not the only one to feel the unexpected flow of power. Indeed, it was strong enough to intrigue even the strongest demons. Teachers and other early arriving youkai students were drawn to the vessel of such energy. Among them, Sesshoumaru noted Kaede, the miko teacher.
The sight that met his eyes caused him pause, as it did for every other spectator. Not exempt from shock, he observed, were Kagome's friends.
Kagome glowed with her blue miko power. But unlike other priestesses, Kagome's power appeared as hot cerulean flames that enveloped her body, but did not burn her. Sesshoumaru had little doubt that he, or any other demon, would escape the flames unscathed. He witnessed Kikyo's failed attack on Kagome, and watched as Kagome turned to finally challenge her cousin directly.
Dark clouds that had been threatening to release their rain did so then. But Kagome's flames were not drenched in the least. Rather, they seemed to feed on the water, growing all the more bright.
Slowly, Kagome advanced to where Kikyo stood seemingly paralyzed with shock.
"You… you're a demon?" Kikyo stuttered. The rain drove into her eyes, blurring her vision.
Kagome ignored her cousin's words. "You can hate me all you want Kikyo, but leave my friends out of this," she said lowly.
Kagome's voice brought Kikyo's attention back to her predicament, and she scowled. "I don't know how you managed this, but no demon can stand up to a miko for long."
Kagome mentally shook her head at Kikyo's stupidity, but made no overt comment. "Just leave me alone, Kikyo." She turned to walk away.
Angered that Kagome appeared to ignore whatever she said, Kikyo stooped down and picked up a rock before hurling it, surrounded by glimmering pink miko power, at Kagome.
Before Sesshoumaru could move, Kagome had dodged, as if expecting the dishonorable attack. Kikyo continued on the offensive, attempting to hit Kagome with a burst of power or touch and burn her.
Sesshoumaru looked on, inwardly confused. Kagome continued to evade her cousin, but otherwise made no move to escape or retaliate. The wind had died down, and the flames that had danced on her skin had dulled to a mere glow. He knew, without her concealment spell in place, at least, that Kagome could easily defeat her cousin. And she would not be in trouble because the two females were still officially not on school grounds.
Eyes widening slightly, he realized that Kagome was subtly leading Kikyo towards the campus boundary. The moment that Kikyo set foot within the school boundary, Sesshoumaru caught the attention of Kaede. "I believe that attacking a student on campus is not allowed," he said calmly and suggestively.
She nodded, appearing to come out of deep thought. "I agree." She placed a barrier between Kikyo and Kagome as she approached the two. "Kikyo, I thought you knew better. Fighting is not allowed at school. And against your own cousin, no less. Go to the principal's office."
"But I'm not even…" Looking around, Kikyo realized that she had unintentionally stepped onto school grounds. She changed her tactics. "But it wasn't my fault! She—"
"Kikyo, do not argue with me," Kaede interrupted. "I never saw Kagome try to harm you. Now, go and see the principal, I will join you shortly." As Kikyo stomped away, Kaede turned to look at Kagome appraisingly. "Kagome, can you break that barrier?"
Kagome eyed the pink barrier that still stood before her. Carefully, she reached out until her hand came into contact with it. Purple sparks flew, and then the barrier wavered and collapsed.
Kaede nodded. "I see. So it was your power I had always felt, and not Kikyo's. Come and see me after school, and I will help you refine those miko powers of yours. Best not to have wild purifying power running untamed through your veins when you have demon blood as well, though you would not have lasted this long if you had not already learned some control," she added.
Kagome nodded and said gratefully, "Thank you for the offer. I would welcome the training."
"Good. You are free to go, though you may be called to the principal's office later for your account of what occurred."
Kagome nodded in understanding as the warning bell rang, and Kaede yelled for everyone to get to class. The unknown youkai were long gone.
Kagome ran to Sango and Miroku, who watched her with wide eyes. Thankfully, their injuries were minor. Sango sported a few scratches, and Miroku had a split lip.
"Kagome, since when are you a… a…?" Sango began.
"A demon." Miroku finished.
"Um…" she noticed a teacher glaring in their direction. "Why don't I tell you at lunch."
Her friends agreed, but before they diverged paths, Sango triumphantly called out, "You really showed the bitch. Nice job, Kagome."
Kagome again found herself the focus of the entire school. Humans were either in awe or afraid of her new appearance. Mikos eyed her more warily than they did other demons. As for her fellow youkai, the females judged her with their eyes, and the looks she received from some of the males caused her to want to hide. She felt the hungry stares sweeping up and down her changed body and fought the urge to cringe.
Someone fell into step beside her, and almost immediately she felt the loss of eyes upon her. Her tense shoulders slumped in relief as she turned to gaze with gratitude upon her rescuer. Sesshoumaru.
His large form blocked her more petite frame from the prying eyes of many, and his sheer imposing presence discouraged almost all others. He did not look at her, but her whispered thank you met his ears only, and he secretly smiled beneath his frozen mask.
A/N: I have decided not to post individual reviewer responses, the main reason being that I would like to post the newest chapter as soon as it is finished, and I would like to think that would be your preference, too. I am receiving nearly fifty reviews per chapter from this site alone, and with the start of school, my free time has nearly disappeared. Please do not think that I do not appreciate the input, because I do, very much so. I will post answers to questions, so do not hesitate to ask.
That said, thank you so much carnatla, Do a DAMN GOOGLE SEARCH, Lass, Kakiomae, hermonine, inugrldemon, BleedingxEternally, satsu, kawaii-baka4life, LynGreenTea, cuttie-blossom, DudettRin101, panda, Ladyofthewest15, purplemiko, NyghtShadow, Lady Aurora of the Cresent, darkpriestressofhell, Flame Ivy Moon, sataness-ov-desire, Kagome21, The Squabbit, KiTsUnEoOkAmI, zuchinisushi, Kyaku-kun, Sesshomarus Chix, Itasuko-chan, LadyRedEyes, Inuyasha's hun, biolightning, Crystal Koneko, zeddy200, artemisgirl, Ginny-cry, ladylillyofazra, Chibes, evilclosetmonkey007, Girl of pain and darkness, lilvietdevilgrl, hi, Emeraldrose13, Sakae, and MidNite Phoenix. I am grateful to all of you who took the time to review my story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Will there be any lemons?
I have not decided yet. It's possible.
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