A/N: Inuyasha and all characters therein belong to Rumiko Takahashi, this story is the brainchild of Kajatk8, and belongs to her. This story is for fun, and no profits are made from it.

Chapter 2. White Kitsune

After a week of being on the road Kagome and Inuyasha were a little tired and worn down. They had come across another village that had been decimated by forces unknown, but Kagome had her sneaking suspicions. She had found several ofudas on trees surrounding the village. When she had tried to remove them, she'd felt as if she had stuck her hands in a pile of mud, except the mud oozed darkness and evil. It had taken a lot out of her physically and mentally to finally purify and remove all the off-putting ofudas.

She and Inuyasha had found themselves in a very unique position – that of being cast as undertakers. It wasn't the first time she had had to offer last rites to a village, and she doubted it would be the last. However, this time, she just thought how needless the whole thing was. Naraku wasn't around anymore. Whoever had done this, whoever was targeting the villages was evil. No doubt about it. Yet, it seemed to be an evil just for evil's sake. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to it.

Kagome had spent the last day finishing up all fifty-two graves. It had been difficult for her, particularly when she went inside the few homes that were standing and found smaller children and babes, slain while still at their mother's breast. It had been exhausting to bury the families. She tried to lump together the bodies in what she assumed were family units, but so many of the men were buried on their own. They had been in a group of bodies with no weapons to speak of except their scythes and hoes grasped tightly in their weathered hands. It appeared that the men had tried to make a last stand, despite being armed only with farming equipment.

"I always think this will get easier, you know? But if anything, I feel like it's harder. I can still remember all of their faces," Kagome said looking out over the piles of fresh graves surrounding her. She had purified fifty-two rocks and placed one above the head of each grave, in hopes of settling the spirits. Feeling that this wasn't enough, she had gathered fresh flowers and was now laying them over the stones as an offering of peace.

"I know," Inuyasha said, and pulled her into a tight embrace. Kagome felt the strength of his arms as he held her, and succumbed to the tears that had been at the corners of her vision all day. She knew that while they were working if she had started to cry, she wouldn't have been able to stop. But now that she had laid the last of the offerings, she let lose all her emotions that had bottled up.

"It's okay," Inuyasha said as he rubbed her back, soothing her while she cried. They stood like that for a long while as they felt the sun start to sink, growing into the late afternoon. They needed to head out and find a place to camp before night fell that wouldn't feel so very – evil. Despite removing the off-putting ofudas the darkness seemed to have sunk into this village. The soil seemed to have swallowed up the spell, and it spoke of holding a grudge for years to come.

Kagome started hiccupping eventually calming herself down and withdrawing from Inuyasha. She knew that she was not mentally or physically strong enough to stay overnight in such an evil place. In fact, she was sure she wouldn't survive the night if she did.

She looked over all the graves they had spent the past two days working on and closed her eyes one last time, offering her prayers to the departed souls. Walking over she grabbed the few belongings that she had, shouldering her bag, quiver and bow. Turning to Inuyasha she said, "Alright, I'm ready, let's go."

He turned in front of her and got down so she could hop on. She grasped him tightly, perhaps a little stronger than she had meant to and he let out a gruff "Oof."

She whispered her apology as he launched himself high over the tops of the remaining village houses back out towards the path. He followed the path for what seemed like hours before finally setting her down so they could make camp. The sun had just dipped below the horizon and the night was rapidly approaching them in the twilight dusk.

"How many more days do you think it will take us to get to the shrine?" Kagome asked.

"We should be there by tomorrow, maybe midday?" Inuyasha replied.

Kagome was thankful for that. She didn't know if she could handle seeing another village or burying another villager. Feeling drained she stretched and her back cracked where it had grown stiff from digging graves. Right now she just wanted to soak in a nice hot bath, get a foot rub, eat her Mom's home cooking and fall into her nice clean bed.

If only.

It had been over a year since she'd been in the modern era. Kagome had found that she was unwilling to test the well again, not after she had had to wait three years to come back. She didn't want to take a chance she would be stuck in the modern era again, away from her friends—and now family. When she left, her mother had known that she might not come back, and she had said goodbyes to all of her family. She suspected they were both happy to see her go and saddened by it, just as she had been. She sometimes found that it was easy to not notice the passage of time, but after days like today, she found that she was quite homesick.

"No chance for a bath is there?" Kagome found herself asking hopefully.

"Yes, actually, there's an onsen not too far from here, it's why I kept us going for so long. I thought we'd both need a bath." Inuyasha replied.

Kagome smiled brightly at him and asked him to lead the way. "You know me too well."

After their soak, Kagome felt immensely better. The waters had worked wonders on her sore back and straining muscles. She had wandered off to find kindling and some logs for the fire they would need for dinner and to keep warm. They still had some traveling rations left, but Inuyasha had left to see what he could hunt. She hoped he brought something back, already tired of the dried meat and vegetables that she had packed.

All at once Kagome stood up and spun around, the hairs on her neck standing straight up. She glanced around; sure that someone had been looking at her out of the shadows. Dropping the pile of wood in her hands she unhooked her bow from her shoulder and notched an arrow. She had yet to pull the string back, but instead sent her reiki out testing the air. She shivered as she pushed herself in her weakened state, but held firm. There was danger, and she knew it.

There, she found it. She recognized the youki as that of a fox, having spent so much time with Shippo—it would be difficult to fool her. Plus, after a year in this age she had not been idle, pride filling her with confidence, now she could accurately address who it was. "Come out kitsune, I know you are there," she said coolly while pulling back on the bowstring.

Appearing as if by magic out of the shadow stepped a large red fox, with a white face it staggered its way over to her. Despite being about the size of a horse, it walked delicately and it had blue flames that flared each time it took a step, yet nothing was singed as it walked. It was brilliant in the darkness; the white almost seemed to shine out of its face as if it were reflecting the moon back at her. Her eyes widened as she saw that the fox was in fact pure white, and the red color was blood matted fur. It promptly fell over and whimpered.

Without thoughts as to what had harmed the animal might still be around and could harm her; or even that it was just a trick of fox magic and in fact meant her harm, Kagome jumped into action. She dropped the arrow and bow where she stood. She ran over to her backpack carelessly sitting next to a tree and threw it open grabbing for bandages. Then she flew back over to the fox and triaged the patient, eyes flashing back in remembrance of her medical classes.

Blood was freely flowing from what seemed to be the body of the animal itself, so she gently swept fur away and tried to look for the wound. She soon found it, a mass of slashes right across its throat and down its back. Pressing the bandages she had in hand into the wounds as best as she could, while she simultaneously applied pressure, she tried to remember placements of veins in the fetal pigs she'd dissected in biology classes.

She also tried to remember the color of the blood, if it was the right color as to be arterial blood or not. She thought not, as the youkai was still moving around, but then quickly dismissed the idea. How often had Inuyasha seemed to be dying because he took a sword, hand or spike through the body? Clearly youkai could survive from worse wounds than humans could, but still… she didn't like how much blood the fox had lost.

"You're going to be okay, stay with me." Kagome found herself repeating. She didn't know when she had started speaking to the fox, but she found now that the whimpering had lessened under her hands. She wasn't sure if it was because it was being reassured or if it was getting weaker. She dropped her head to listen to its breathing; she squeaked and jumped back when its eyes popped open showing her the cool blue eyes staring at her from a sea of red. She was reminded of both Inuyasha's and Sesshomaru's true forms – both demons displayed the same eye color.

"It has been so long hime, I had thought never to see you again," the fox hoarsely said. If Kagome hadn't still been quite close to his head, despite jumping back, she was sure she wouldn't have heard it.

"Try not to speak; you've lost a lot of blood. I'm doing all that I can, you're in good hands," Kagome spoke firmly and rapidly, she had an authority in her voice that spoke of having seen worse wounds and patients survive them. It surprised her, this strength. She'd felt weak all day, but now she felt like she could take on the world.

Adrenaline, her mind numbly supplied her. You'll feel it later, don't worry! A voice in her head said rapidly.

"It doesn't matter what happens to me hime, I'm just glad to have found you again after so long," the fox continued speaking despite the warning against it. Still just as hoarse as the first time, Kagome found herself moving closer to the fox's mouth.

Numbly, (the adrenaline also told her) – "you better hope this isn't a trap! You don't know this youkai but he thinks you do!"

"I am not a hime, I am a miko. I am Kagome, a healer. Do not be afraid." Kagome said while continuing to hold pressure to the wound. She realized that there was what looked like spikes embedded deeply in the fox's fur, and she wondered if she should take them out yet or not.

"I coul' ne'er be 'fraid of ooo himeee," the fox said, words becoming slurred.

"Damnit, stay with me!" Kagome barked. Finally deciding that the wounds that she had applied pressure onto were fine on their own and she could handle the spikes. She reached over with her right hand to pull one out. Instantly her hand was burned and she pulled back with a shriek.

"Eh-ooohhhhwwww!"

She looked at her right hand and several fingers bubbled and oozed, appearing to have picked up something gooey and black from the spike. It was dark, demonic and evil—jyaki, the likes of which she hadn't felt since Naraku. Somewhere in the back of her mind she felt the ooze speaking to her baser instincts. It whispered sweet nothings and called her forth asking her to plunge her fingers into the fox's wounds, make them worse and truly claim his soul.

Immediately disgusted by these foreign thoughts she called forth her reiki and purified her fingers. It felt like they were covered in molasses. Yet slowly, whatever it was that covered them didn't outlast the onslaught of her purity.

Calling forth that reiki again she reached with both hands to rip the spikes out of the poor fox. If it was feeling even an ounce of what she had felt ever so briefly before she purified it—she couldn't let it suffer. She wondered how it could have walked at all. The power that briefly blew through her mind had been so dark, and spoke of things so evil as if they were a sweet lover come home. Being as careful as possible she focused as much as she could into purifying the spikes. She attempted to pull them out, each one by one. There were three of them, purifying them enough to touch before slowly easing them out of the fox, careful not to purify him as she did so.

The fox whimpered when all three of the spikes were finally out of it. Then it shivered and spoke in a deep voice that echoed and thrummed with power. "Thank you hime, you have saved me, yet again. It seems I will always be in your debt. But now, I can properly thank you, for I didn't have the power then as I do now. Know this, Amaterasu smiles on you, though you do not know it. You shall live."

At that the fox rose, fanning out its tails like a giant peacock, and Kagome counted – nine. It shook its fur of the blood and kissed Kagome, blowing what felt like foxfire down and into her lungs. Too surprised to even register what had happened Kagome sat there stunned. The fox broke from the kiss and looked at Kagome's surprised expression and whispered "Eternal." Kagome felt the magic clamp down on her, and the crackle of youki that surrounded her like a barrier being forced her down her throat and made her succumb to its power. It felt like she was being ripped apart, her lungs burned and her fingers tingled. She wanted to scream, but found she had no voice with which to do it. Finally she felt that whatever the barrier was, it finally made its way into her lungs and both of the magicks mingled.

As quick as it came, the pain stopped. She blinked several times, breathing deeply. Looking around she realized that the fox had run off in a blaze of fox fire while she had been struggling with the spell. Despite not knowing how, she felt more than saw, that she was still being watched.

She took in the scene around her. The ground was caked with blood, there were bloody bandages everywhere and to the right of her were the spikes she'd removed.

The spikes!

Each one of them seemed to thrum with that same dark and evil energy and she wanted to fling them far away from her. She resisted the urge, because she wanted to examine the magic that she felt there. For at first it appeared that the spikes were from an oni or an insect youkai, but now she knew better. These may have originated from a demon, but the magicks worked into them spoke of a dark miko. Perhaps the same dark miko that had razed the village she had passed through earlier that day.

Kagome put her hand to her head intensely angry – then immediately trying to soothe the ache that wanted to take her over as the adrenaline slipped away. As she brushed her hand through her hair and ran across what felt like a leaf. Curious, she brought the leaf out of her hair and up to her face. It was one of the leaves a fox would scribe a spell into. She had seen Shippo do it many times, whenever he transformed. The white fox must have left it with her, perhaps when she was being kissed or writhing around from whatever spell he had cast upon her.

Briefly she thought about that. She had just been kissed! By a fox, no less! She touched her lips surprised when she felt the same cackle of power there. It didn't hurt, but it sure let itself be known to her. She changed hands, moving the leaf to her right and her left hand brushing lightly on her lips. She found the crackle had lessened.

That was how Inuyasha found her, looking puzzled, blood covering the white of her haori – from what he didn't know, her bow and a single arrow several feet away from her, with three spines next to her, seeping out jyaki. She rounded out the image by holding a leaf in one hand and her fingertips barely touching her lips with the other and an amused look upon her face.

"Kagome! What the hell happened?" Inuyasha fumed, eyes sweeping over the clearing while dropping what looked to be a large bird that he had been carrying. Apparently he found no threats and ran to Kagome's side.

He took in the look of exhaustion that seemed to come off of her in waves and pulled her close into a hug. "I'll get everything ready for dinner. You just tell me what happened while I was gone." His voice said, reassuring her.

Kagome nodded, not sure of herself at the moment or how she should begin. She felt all of a sudden very tired and close to passing out. The purification, the graves, the digging, the burning of the spikes into her fingers, the barrier – it all seemed to crash into her and leave her breathless.

Inuyasha rolled her sleeping bag out for her and picked her up. He set her in it and then glimpsed down at her bloodied countenance.

"Seems a shame now that we took that bath earlier doesn't it?" He said, trying to lighten the mood.

Kagome smiled and nodded again. She looked down at herself and realized what he meant; she was covered from head to toe in blood. She had also held a death grip on the leaf and had no plan to release it anytime soon. She didn't want to put it down.

"That's an odd thought," her brain supplied. But not that odd… she supposed. This was the feudal era. Who knows what kind of power the fox had imbued in this leaf and then left in her possession…?

"I'll just change," Kagome said. Her voice seemed far away as she spoke. She briefly wondered if she was in shock or not. She dimly realized she wasn't acting the right way or responding in ways that she should.

Shrugging out of her miko garb she pulled her second set of robes out of her bag in silence. As she slipped on her under kimono followed by her hakama and finally her haori, she slipped the leaf into her pocket. She would examine it further in the morning, and perhaps ask Shippo what it meant the next time she saw him. She also thought about how she would explain everything that had happened to Inuyasha in a way where he wouldn't fly off of the handle.

As she sat back leaning against a tree sitting on her sleeping bag, she watched as Inuyasha made quick work of getting a fire going, and his hands had started to pluck the bird of its feathers. She thought she would grab the best feathers for fletching arrows and he seemed to notice her interest and nodded. She smiled and while watching his deft hands work at the task, she explained all that had happened while he was gone.

"So you just helped him and then he kissed you and disappeared?" Inuyasha said curtly. His demeanor had darkened as she explained the part about the kiss.

"Yes, he kept calling me a hime, and he seemed to think we'd met before. But I've never met him before. Have you met a nine-tailed white fox before?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha pulled back and seemed to think things over before he spoke again. "Are you sure he was white? Not cream, brown, grey, red…? He was really and truly white?"

"Yes, he seemed to be as bright as the moon. His fur almost glowed," Kagome replied.

"I've never seen one, but I've heard stories. I always thought they were legends." Inuyasha said.

"Legends of what?" Kagome said.

"Legends of the White Kitsune, specifically the Nine-tailed White Kitsune." He said.

"What are the legends about?" Kagome's voice quivered, she couldn't help but worry over what kind of spell the kitsune had cast on her.

"Usually of a challenge that leads to a riddle for a trick and a wish. All kitsune are mischievous, just look at Shippo. But the White Kitsune has a special type of magic. It's a healing kitsune – very rare. It is said that if you answer its riddle correctly, a Nine-tailed White Kitsune will supply you with its most treasured possession." Inuyasha said.

"But I never answered a riddle…" Kagome said frowning thoughtfully. "What would be its most treasured possession?"

"Well that's where the stories differ. Some say beauty, wealth, good life, happiness, you know…but… Many of them say that a healing kitsune can grant eternal life." Inuyasha said.

At that Kagome gasped. "You don't think?" She touched her lips again and just like before, she felt the crackle of power. It felt as if the power were trying to speak with her, and it was attempting to say 'yes.'

"Nah, it's just a story." Inuyasha said firmly. He smiled, handing her a leg of bird as he did. During the telling of the story he had finished plucking the bird and had spitted and cooked it. After taking a few tastes, he had deemed it cooked enough for Kagome's standards.

She smiled and said thanks, taking the meat and enjoying the leg. It had been a rough day, and she had yet to go to sleep. She looked up at the few stars she could see through the canopy of trees and became lost in thought. What is the most treasured possession?

What's mine?

At that she looked over Inuyasha and smiled, she knew without a doubt what hers was, and she had found him, despite all the odds.

He seemed to feel her gaze and looked up and met it. He smiled a knowing smile that they had shared since she came back for good.

"I'll use those ofudas Miroku sent us with and place them around the camp so we can both sleep tonight." Inuyasha said.

"Really?" Kagome said, her heart beating slightly faster. It would be just the peak of luxury if they could both sleep tonight, without one of them having to keep watch.

"Yeah, we both need the rest." He said.

As Inuyasha rose and reached into her bag, grabbing the ofudas and placing them in a circle around the camp and fire, Kagome reached into her pocket with her right hand. She withdrew the leaf she had kept close to her heart and examined it in the light of the flames.

"Do not fret hime, we shall meet again." Kagome read the words written on the leaf almost as if they had been singed into it with fox fire. Hrmm… they probably had been, her mind supplied. She looked closer at the leaf and touched her fingers to where the writing was. There were little divots in the leaf where each character was, and she felt it crackle with that now familiar sense of power.

Flipping the leaf over in her hands Kagome almost gasped when she realized the back had a message as well. "Soon" was all it said. She re-pocketed the leaf and became lost in thought. She looked down at her hand and realized that she hadn't been as quick as she thought at purifying whatever residue was on those spikes. Her hand was covered in blisters and boils. When it healed it would leave an angry scar. Inwardly she cursed herself for not bringing any of that burn ointment she had been working on for Kaede with her.

Kagome felt like she wouldn't be able to sleep that night, because of everything whirling around in her mind and the pain in her hand. But, as Inuyasha came to lie down next to her and he pulled her to him, she relaxed. Before she knew it, she was curling into his warmth and felt his support. Without even noticing, she reached into her pocket and grabbed the leaf, her right hand easing away from the pain, she drifted off to an easy sleep.

A/N: I know, I know. I spelled magicks like that . But that's okay. I just wanted to make up my own spelling. Somewhere I read once that the more successful authors made up at least twelve words of their own in their books. Think about it…

Please let me know what you think. I'd love comments, even if they are little. For example, I don't believe the dialogue or I'd like to see the story progress quicker, etc. All reviews are appreciated.

I am still looking for a beta-reader for this story. If interested please PM me.

Thanks!

Edit: 08.14.2016 - Fixed grammatical and spelling errors, small edits.