Chapter 6

Her mind was absolutely focused. The path towards her target was clear. Pulling her arrow back with the poise and precision of a master, with a quick motion of her fingers the bowstring snapped forward, sending the narrow wooden projectile on a collision course towards its target. It sluiced through the air, the wind whistling around it. It collided with the tree several meters away, piercing its hard bark with a loud 'thunk'. A few moments passed in silence before the arrowhead began to glow a soft pink, exploding in a shower of light taking a considerable chunk of the tree with it.

Kagome winced, walking towards her makeshift target, waving a slim hand to clear the sawdust from her eyes. Surveying the damage her shot had caused, she pulled a face. Her intention had been to work on her accuracy; given that she had practically annihilated it, it was difficult to tell whether she had hit her mark at all.

With a heavy sigh, she turned to her next target – a small boulder several yards to her right – a slight frown upon her face. It was strange that she could summon magnificent power to effectively decimate an inanimate target, but when the time came for her to supply that power in a fight, she was lucky if she managed even half of what she had displayed against Naraku that day.

Though a month seemed to have passed since Kagome's 'conversation' with the mysterious voices, the young girl from the future knew that the fact that it had passed without incident had nothing to do with luck. As she took up the mantle of priestess, traveling from village to village, she had noticed people remarking on the lack of demon activity. No doubt Naraku's invalidity was the cause.

Kagome knew that it would take some time for Naraku to recover, but she was still concerned. Since she had escaped from his castle, the young miko had not seen, come across, or had any altercations involving any demons of any kind. She had heard many numerous horror stories of how the demon-lord would send out his hordes to pillage and smite all those who dared to displease him. And yet, since she had begun her journey, she had not come across any such cases.

'Naraku…' The young miko scowled at the thought of the evil hanyou.

Never before had she wished such ill will against anyone as she had against him. She knew that it might be quite a while before he showed his face personally, but that was no reason for her to let down her guard. As she traveled, she always felt as though there was always a nearby presence - whether it was human or demon, she wasn't sure - but she had the sneaking suspicion that it was watching her. She would try to discern its identity with her newly improving miko abilities, but it always managed to remain out of her reach. It got to the point where Kagome would refrain from staying too long in a village so not to attract unwanted attention to the innocent villagers.

And as she traveled across the countryside, honing her skills, she managed to avoid any altercations with youkai altogether…

That was of course, until she stumbled onto one by accident.

000

Kagome stood in an empty forest clearing, hands on her knees trying to meditate when she sensed it. 'Youkai? So close?'

Blinking in surprise, she scrambled to her feet, letting out a curse. Really, she should have been paying more attention. She had tried to refrain from lowering her guard, but she should have been more prepared. After all, there had also been many reports of missing children and cattle. Not only that, since setting out from her last stop, she had heard that a small hidden village at the base of the mountains had been hit by a mysterious case of the flu as well. That had to mean something, didn't it?

Kagome had known there was a possibility of running in to trouble. Actually, it was beyond a possibility, it was a fact. So, gathering all the supplies she carried with her on the road, along with her arrows - a young girl couldn't let herself be defenseless against dangerous forest creatures, could she? - Kagome had set off in search of the village.

The young priestess had made three-fourths of the journey when she stumbled across a startling sight. Right in the middle of the road stood two large ogres; their skin dark and blemished with warts and battle scars, each of their one yellowed eyes glazed over with hunger and bloodlust.

Cursing herself for her inattentiveness, Kagome ducked into the bushes to get a better look without being seen. Creeping along with the ground, she could see the two ogres standing in the middle of the road tugging and fighting over what appeared to be a small, cloth bag.

Kagome's eyes squinted before widening in horror. 'That's not a bag.' She covered her mouth to smother a gasp. Clutched in their grips was a small boy dressed in furs with his hair pulled back in a high ponytail.

She felt her heart skip a beat, 'It - it couldn't be! Could it...?'

One of the ogres snatched the child from the other, knocking him against a tree.

Kagome's heart pounded in her throat, spurring her from her hiding spot. "Shippo!" The ogres could only start in surprise as she leapt from the bushes rushing towards the small boy. As she grew nearer, her heart sank. Though he appeared to be only unconscious, he did not possess the pointed ears and red hair she had first thought she saw. Instead of the distinct youkai features, this was but a mere mortal boy.

'But that still doesn't give them to right to toss him around like a rag doll,' she thought angrily. She could feel her powers surging in righteous anger, but it wasn't quite close of enough for her to draw upon. Nevertheless, she drew an arrow from her quiver, pulling it taut across her bow. "I won't allow you to harm this boy any further," she replied evenly.

The two ogres, surprised to have their play ended so early and in such a manner, turned to each other in confusion. After a few shared grunts, they turned back Kagome with grins on their ugly faces.

"We've heard about you," grunted one ogre.

"The priestess woman who has the 'bility to keep the humans from dying?" snorted the other. "Thought the last o' your kind had died out years ago."

The young girl kept her expression neutral. "I'm just a healer," she recited. "I heal the sick and nothing more."

"Well, we can't have that," chortled the first ogre. "That's less lost souls fer us to feed upon!"

"Aye, brother," agreed the other. "But I s'pose raw flesh is just as good as any old soul." He leered down at Kagome, running his tongue over large, browned teeth. "'Specially the young and tender kind."

The boy, who had come to minutes ago, rose unsteadily to his feet. Having quickly assessed the situation, he tugged on the sleeve of Kagome's gi urgently. "Run," he replied hoarsely, though he seemed to be wary of her. "You shouldn't be here."

Kagome smiled slightly. It was no surprise she had mistaken him for Shippo; the two did bare a striking resemblance to each other. Had it not been for his human features, he was almost a spitting image - he even sounded like the kitsune!

"I'm afraid I can't do that," she replied in a pleasant tone. The boy looked at her in surprise. She shrugged absently. "Besides, I really don't have any other place to be right now."

"Then rest in peace down in my belly!"

The pair looked up to see the bigger of the two ogres rushing towards them with big, thundering steps. The boy braced himself as if to act, but Kagome would have none of it. Stepping in front of him, she raised her bow once again, letting loose an arrow and watching as if flew forward and lodged itself in the ogre's chest.

"What's this?" he chuckled, reaching for it. However, as his fingers came in contact with it, it ignited with her spiritual energy, reducing him to dust.

The boy stood still in shock. "How...?"

She found herself wondering as well; her arrows had never done that before. Still, now was not the time to be considering such things. "Don't waste time staring!" Kagome exclaimed, turning back to him. "Get out of here!"

His expression turned from one of suspicion to surprise. "Hey, look out!"

Kagome had no time to act. She looked up to see the second ogre barreling towards her with a look of pure rage on his face. Reaching for another arrow from her quiver, Kagome could only gasp in shock as it was snatched from her back. She and the boy were knocked aside, and Kagome could only watch as the ogre crushed the remainder of her arrows in a large fist.

Snarling, he slapped her to the ground with a large fist. She hit the unyielding ground with a thud, staring dazedly up at her attacker. Snarling and snorting at her with his one eye blazing with fury, he loomed over her. "You think yer funny, do you, witch woman?" he roared. "Think you can kill me brother and get away with it? You'll pay the price all right - I'll smash yer head against the rocks and bathe in your blood before this night is through!"

The small boy grabbed a rock and dove in front of Kagome, hitting the ogre in the middle of the head. While it did no real damage, it gave the two humans enough time to scramble out of the way as the ogre slammed his large fists in the dirt, missing them by mere centimeters as he attempted to crush them.

"Shit!" Kagome bit her lip in frustration, keeping herself between the boy and the ogre. All her meditation, all of her practice… was it all for nothing? 'How am I supposed to beat this monster without my arrows?'

The mysterious voices she had heard all those weeks ago came back to her mind as if to answer her plea.

A priestess' first duty is to aid the people, the voice had explained. By doing thus, your power will grow.

'But how?' She looked down at the boy to see that he was watching her with an apprehensive look on his face. 'How can I protect him?'

Again, the voices' words answered her. Strength will come to you the more you seek it.

The ogre was rushing towards them again, this time with a log in its hands ready to bludgeon them to death. Kagome closed her eyes, summoning every ounce of strength available in her being.

'I don't care what happens to me,' she told herself. 'But don't allow this little boy to die!' Suddenly, she opened her eyes just in time to see a bright ball of light emerge from her outstretched hands. Without really thinking, she directed it towards the ogre, watching with fascination as it quietly slipped into his body, reducing him to nothingness. The log he had been holding dropped to the ground with a loud thud in the middle of the road.

Several moments followed in silence. Kagome stared at her hands in bewilderment. She hadn't remembered raising them, and yet somehow she had been able to summon up her spiritual powers without the use of an arrow as a conduit.

'Just… just like before…!'

"So, the rumors are true."

Feeling the sudden swell of youki, Kagome stilled as a soft light appeared from behind her. Reaching for her bow, she cursed remembering she had no arrows to shoot with. However, she braced herself and turning, half expecting to find the little boy still seated behind her. What she found, however, was something entirely different.

A young man stood in place of the small boy, surrounded now in an ethereal glow. Not a boy, but not quite a man either, he was dressed in a pair of brown hakama and a black haori all under a fur tunic vest. They were the clothes of a commoner at best, yet Kagome knew this was no mortal being. His skin was pale and smooth, as was the long auburn hair tied loosely at the nape of his neck that flowed down to his feet. His facial features were angular, yet slightly effeminate, and he regarded her with calm, almond shaped eyes. Beautiful was the only word she could think of to describe the sight.

Oddly enough, she found herself reminded of fairytales in which a young maiden rescues a child or animal only to have it transform into a fairy prince that would grant her heart's desires. The romanticist in Kagome was charmed at the idea of this scenario, but she had come a long way since then. The realist in her knew that situations like this were nothing to take lightly.

Almost as if he were able to sense her unease, the young man tilted his head, a small curious smile making its way across his face. His eyes, that had once held the epitome of calm, were suddenly filled with amused excitement. As he grinned, she took notice of his elfin-like ears; they gave him a very boyish quality that made Kagome figure he couldn't have been all that old even by youkai standards.

Almost remembering that he had been the one who'd originally broken the silence, he nodded, speaking candidly, "I'd heard people talk of a priestess who traveled the countryside healing people. Word had it that she had escaped from Naraku's castle." His smile brightened. "I didn't want to believe it at first... It was almost too much to hope for."

Kagome hid an uncertain frown. Was this person a friend or an enemy?

"But now you're here... after all these years, you're back," Were those tears forming in his eyes? "I've missed you so much!" Before Kagome even knew what was happening, he had swept her up in a tight embrace, pressing his lips against hers in a not-quite-chaste kiss.

Now, Kagome now realized his was the presence she had sensed watching her. Though she had sensed no hostility from him, that didn't prevent her from pulling away and socking him good right in the eye. She wasn't sure who this guy was or who he thought she was, but if this was yet another case of mistaken identity she was really gonna let him have it on principles!

"Just what do you think you're doing?" she demanded, placing her hands on her hips as he backed away from her with a slightly wounded look on his face. "You must be mistaking me for somebody else if you think you can just jump me like that! Just what kind of girl do you think I am?"

He blinked, and as if remembering some private joke, chuckled gleefully. Before long, his quiet chuckles increased and morphed into gales of laughter. He doubled over, revealing a long busy tail that trailed behind him, twitching and curling as his body shook with amusement.

Kagome gasped. The tail, the slightly pointed ears, the shape-shifting abilities; why hadn't she put two and two together before? "You're a kitsune!" she exclaimed. "There's no way you can be anything else!"

As his laughter slowly subsided, he looked up at her with a mischievous grin nearly splitting his face. "And there's no way you could be anyone but my Kagome."

Her eyes widened as a brighter light engulfed his frame, dying down to reveal the small boy she had rescued, the color of his hair melting into a fire-red pulled back in a turquoise colored ribbon. His smiling eyes faded from unobtrusive brown to a vibrant aquamarine, blinking at her expectantly.

Kagome felt as though her heart were going to stop. "Shippo," she gasped. "Is that you?"

He grinned as light surrounded him, dying down with a loud pop as he once again appeared before her as a young man with smiling, almond-shaped eyes. "Were you expecting someone else?"

End Chapter 6