Kagome dropped her phone onto the foot of her soft bed. A nice big crack decorated the screen from it's rough treatment the night she officially met the spirit detectives, but she found herself wishing that the device had shattered all together. First Yuka, then Ayumi, and finally Eri had all called to hound her about the fact that the Shuichi Minamino had sat with them at lunch. At least his fan-club hadn't gotten the gall to confront her, though if the looks she'd received all day were anything to go by it wouldn't be long before they mustered up the courage.
The priestess tied her hair back and proceeded downstairs to help her mother with dinner. Souta's newest video game blared in the hallway, despite his closed door. Gunshots and shouts could be heard along with her brother's loud voice jeering at his fellow gamers. She smiled as the smell of cooking dinner and her grandfather's grumbling voice wafted up to her from the kitchen. Safe. Her family was safe. Her barrier and the demonic aura outside it ensured that, and while she had been reluctant to accept their help in the beginning she found herself grateful for it.
She wasn't alone in this.
Souta thumped up the stairs as Kagome cleaned up the leftovers. She stared down at the food and turned her attention to the window thoughtfully. 'Maybe he'd take better to a peace offering?' She gathered up some of the still warm leftovers before following Hiei's aura to the same tree he had occupied that morning. She squinted up at the completely hidden demon once again and felt a sudden sense of deja-vu.
With her smile firmly in place she left the dishes at the foot of the tree before skipping back up the shrine stairs. Halfway there she paused and turned back towards the street where she could sense several demonic auras lurking just out of sight on the other side. Her eyes slid over to the tree where she could sense Hiei hadn't moved. Were these demons not dangerous, then?
Well...the things weren't causing any trouble, and if Hiei wasn't bothered by them she supposed there was no point in confronting them. Her bow was back in her room anyhow with the duffel bag Botan had returned to her earlier that day, and Kagome wasn't keen on picking a fight unarmed when she didn't have to. She turned away from the demons, which wasn't her best idea in hindsight. As soon as her back was turned all five auras flared and rushed towards her.
By the time she had twisted back around to face the threats all five demons were frozen halfway across the road as their heads slowly slid away from their bodies. Kagome felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise as she saw the outline of the red-eyed demon responsible. She decided right then that Hiei was the most terrifying creatures she had met in recent memory.
"Stupid girl." The short demon glared at her, "never turn your back on a threat."
"Uh...right." She backed away from the surly creature before she plastered on an awkward smile. "E-enjoy your meal!" She squeaked out before she retreated up the stairs and back behind the barrier. She had to suppress a shiver as she slipped into her bed. If these guys had wanted to hurt her or, gods forbid, kill her in the first place...she would have been dead several times over before she even realized there was any true danger.
His aura was in the same tree when Kagome started her pre-dawn ritual. She paused by the trunk and grinned at the empty bowls, absolutely delighted that he had eaten. Perhaps the sight of the empty bowls did not deserve quite the amount of happiness that radiated off of her, but she truly felt that his accepting of her 'peace offering' was a huge leap forward when compared to their relatively rocky beginning.
"Maybe I'll start leaving you offerings every day, Hiei-san." She mused good-humoredly, "let's just hope the kami don't get jealous." She heard a soft scoff from the tree above her as she collected the empty dishes with what she was sure was a dorky grin.
"None for me?" Kurama's teasing voice surprised her into dropping a bowl. The avatars hand flashed out and caught it easily before it could shatter on the sidewalk.
"Shui-er Kurama-san! I wasn't expecting you here so early...I won't be ready to go for hours yet." Kagome flushed as she took the empty dish and skirted away from the man. She was sure she smelled just delightful after her morning jog, and didn't want to offend his sensitive youkai nose.
Still so skittish...tell her we'll accept her as an offering anytime. Yoko's playful voice went unheeded.
"Don't worry, I'm only patrolling the area." His eyes followed her movements and she thought she could catch a hint of amusement in his voice. For some reason she could feel her face heating up.
"Well then Keep up the good work! I better not get in your way!" She nearly tripped as she bolted up the shrine steps with the dishes in hand and Kurama couldn't suppress his soft chuckle.
And to think she gave us so much trouble. Shuichi mused to a pouting Yoko.
She didn't even offer us breakfast. Fox grumbled with no little jealousy. Shuichi was surprised at the emotion at first then grinned inwardly. The demon was obviously not used to a woman who didn't dote upon the pair of them, perhaps associating with a woman who resisted their natural charms would humble the creature.
"So let me get this straight." Kagome eyed him skeptically as they walked the darkening street back towards her home after a long day of school. "You are sharing your body with the soul of a kitsune?" She supposed that explained why she couldn't always sense his demonic aura. She leaned in close to look into his eyes with her own narrowed orbs as she expanded her senses to try and feel the fox hidden within. Right now she couldn't feel anything odd from him at all. "Do something." She demanded as curiosity gripped her.
"Pardon?" He chuckled.
"You know something demon-y." She flushed at the immature wording and then took a step back as she realized how close she was to the attractive red-head. A light dusting of pink decorated her cheeks but she kept her gaze strong as she waited for his next move.
Kurama quirked an eyebrow at her word choice before producing a small seed and feeding it demonic energy. Kagome's breath caught as she sensed the sudden intense aura, and then her eyes sparkled as the seed bloomed into a beautiful red rose.
"Amazing!" She gushed and Yoko preened at her praise, "did you manifest that seed with your energy, too?"
"Ah, no. I keep them in my hair."
"You...keep seeds in your hair?" Kagome couldn't help the snort followed by full-blown laughter at the image of Kurama painstakingly pulling seeds out of his hair during a shower. She felt his youkai rise to the surface again and felt her heart falter when she was suddenly captivated by two golden eyes as a devilish smirk spread across Kurama's face. He took a step into her personal space and pushed the rose behind her ear.
"I amuse you do I?" Even his voice was different, and Kagome knew that she was speaking with the fox Yoko. His face was perhaps an inch from her own and the smell of roses seemed to overwhelm her. The knuckle that lingered in her hair behind the rose trailed down to her heated cheek and Kagome felt gooseflesh raise in the wake of the appendage.
"I can think of several much better ways to amuse the both of us." His voice oozed seduction and Kagome squeaked and stepped away from the fox as her cheeks burned nearly as red as the rose in her hair. Just as suddenly as the energy had surged forth it became dormant again and Kurama gave her a rueful smile.
As Kagome woke up sticky and out of breath that night she felt the moisture between her thighs with no little trepidation and she couldn't help but think that while Hiei was certainly frightening, Kurama was in a wholly different league of terrifying.
Despite her misgivings about both of her new watchdogs, it was easy for Kagome to fall into a routine with the pair over the next couple of weeks. She even got to know a little more about Yusuke and Kuwabara as well as their main squeezes. The normal day-to-day activities the group shared was punctuated with at least two demon attacks per week, and while the attacks became more bold, no more people had yet been hurt.
Kagome jerked awake suddenly and panted in her bed. She had no idea what had awoken her from her dreamless sleep, or what had her heart palpitating in her chest until she felt it again. Her body shivered at the feeling of something being repelled from her barrier and sat up in a panic. Her mind cleared from the fog of sleep as the sensation repeated and she threw her window open. She couldn't see the attacker, but she could sense them. Ten, maybe more. It felt like Hiei was fighting them.
'He might need help.' Kagome slammed the window shut and pulled Inuyasha's fire-rat haori from where she'd had it folded on her dresser. 'Just in case.' She donned it and tied it with a makeshift obi so that the oversized garment wouldn't fall and shoved Tessaiga into the obi then snatched her bow and quiver before stampeding out of the house. She winced as a stronger force bounced off her barrier and changed direction. The fight was behind the house in what remained of the forest.
She could barely make out the fight despite the light of the full moon. She could see Hiei silhouetted against the trees, and what looked to be four or five quick creatures dancing around him. Two lay hewn in dark pools at his feet, but the others weren't letting up and the normally quick demon's movements were more sluggish than usual.
'Is he injured?' She dare not call out for fear of distracting him during the battle, but she did not think twice about leaving the safety of her barrier with an arrow drawn. She let it fly as one of the shadows ducked towards the panting fire demon, the holy light lit up the area like a beacon and purified the attacker. The remaining four that she could see took a cautious step back and Kagome stood next to her ally.
"What happened? Did they hurt you?" She asked quietly as she leveled another arrow at the curiously still attackers.
"Fool, get back into the barrier." Hiei hissed as he took a step forward. Kagome had a retort on her lips but was forced to let her arrow fly at the sudden movement of their attackers. The flash of pink streaked through the air to thunk uselessly against the trunk of a tree, but her breath caught as she saw a glimpse of the battlefield. Too many bodies for her to count were strewn throughout the trees.
'What's going on? Why did they back off so suddenly?' Kagome wasn't so full of herself as to believe that they were afraid of her powers. 'Their planning something and I'd better get Hiei out of here before they come back.' The small demon hadn't moved but she was sure he was scanning the area for the escaped foes. Her face paled as she sensed more demons gathering just outside her ring of sight.
Suddenly she was shoved roughly to the ground and something hot and wet splashed across her face.
"H-Hiei!" Kagome gasped. A body thudded heavily on either side of them and the fire apparition panted where he hovered above her. She could feel the blood from his wound dripping onto her and feel the small tremors in his muscles. The priestess could sense a higher level demon gathering it's youkai just beyond his body and wrapped her arms around the small demon that covered her. She rolled them so that she was above him and closed her eyes as she put every ounce of her faith into the Tessaiga and the fire-rat robes as the strange demons offensive energy washed over them.
Tessaiga heated up on her hip much as it had when it protected her from Sesshomarus melting poison. Once the energy died away Kagome rolled off of the injured Hiei and grabbed up her bow. She turned to fight only to bite off a scream as she was seized from the side. Her power flared almost involuntarily as panic flooded her body and the few demons that had converged upon her dissipated into ash.
As soon as the flare died down several other demons converged on the pair and Kagome felt her bow ripped from her grip. 'Oh no!' She was pulled off her feet and thrown away from the barrier and the fallen Hiei. Her breath was knocked out of her lungs as she landed heavily on the blood-riddled ground before she could regain her composure she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder and her mind immediately went fuzzy.
Strong arms lifted her up and she watched with a half-lidded disconnected gaze as Yusuke and Kurama appeared on the scene. 'Pretty...' She thought drunkenly as the scene flashed with the bright blue light of Yusuke's spirit gun before everything went dark.
