Chapter two
Consciousness came back to Kagome slowly. Sounds drifted to her before anything else; she could hear the rustling of fabric and the soft thudding of footsteps along with labored breathing. Her body's sensation hit her next and she groaned. Her side burned with a fierceness she had never known. She opened her eyes when she heard her name being called.
"Kagome, are ye awake child?" Kaede was just a blurry figure off to her side, but she could make out the old priestess from her voice. She shifted in an attempt to make herself more comfortable and ended up moaning in pain. "Do not move, your wounds need at least a day's rest." Kagome complied only because she didn't want another sharp pain running up her side. She took a deep breath, trying to ignore the pain as she did so.
"Kaede… Who was he?" She whispers. She is hesitant to ask the question nagging at the back of her mind. The old woman looks at her with unreadable eyes.
"I forgot ye are not of this time. That was the half-demon Inuyasha. Fifty years ago, he attempted to get the sacred Shikon No Tama while it was in my sister's, the priestess Kikyo's, care. They fought a fierce battle in the village. It ended when she sealed Inuyasha to the Goshinboku. Unfortunately, she did not survive the ordeal. She succumbed to her wounds shortly after." Kaede had a sad look on her face, obviously still silently mourning the loss of her sibling.
"I'm sorry to hear that…" Kagome murmured, sorry that she had asked. The old woman had been so kind and she had repaid her by dredging up traumatizing past memories.
"Now that the jewel has resurfaced, he will surely be back for it," Kagome was sure he would be back, but she didn't think it was for the same reason. She had felt a strange connection with the demon, but with her demon side currently suppressed, she wasn't sure what the connection stemmed from. She assumed forty-eight hours period for the potion she had taken to suppress her demon side would wear off soon. She couldn't wait to be back to her natural form. Kaede continued speaking, "but I am sure that Inuyasha will not be the only demon after the jewel. Ye need to be prepared for the worst child."
Kagome nodded in agreement. "Kaede, thank you for your kindness." She could feel her demon blood start to hum in her veins. The burning in her side dulled to an annoying ache and she sat up.
"Kagome! Ye must not move." Kaede's voice was filled with concern.
"I'm fine Kaede, I need to leave. I pose a threat to your village by being here any longer. I will go back to my own time to heal my wounds. Demons do not dare show their true nature there." She needed to leave before her demon features surfaced. She had a few more minutes at most. She staggers to her feet and shakily bows to her host. Her side is not fully healed and it still hurts, but she forces herself to walk out the door.
When she stepped outside, the moon had already taken its place in the night sky. She feels her power rush back to her and sighs happily. Her wound stitched itself back together. Her claws made an appearance along with her fangs and the pointed tips of her ears. She had never been sure why she looked like a full demon, but that was alright with her. It made her features easier to hide. The only thing that was difficult to disguise was the black tribal markings representing fire that were emblazoned on the skin of her arms and chest. A glace back at the door to the hut told her that she was not being followed. She made sure none of the villagers were around before taking off at a run into the forest. She only made it a few steps into the trees when she stopped dead in her tracks. There was a lithe demon female standing in her way.
"You'd be wise to give me the jewel. Otherwise, I will be cross." Kagome merely met the demon's stare evenly. She didn't know what she was facing so she listened to her demon's advice to stay put. The challenger scowled. "I said, give me the jewel!" The demon's hand jerked and a mass of hair rose from the forest and started speeding towards her. She dodged it easily, but had a tougher time avoiding it when it turned on a dime and attacked her from behind. Kagome was still trying to regain her bearings as a demon. She focused her attention on the puppeteer. She could sense no life coming from her and frowned. The hair demon's power source was obviously located elsewhere.
"Having trouble wench?" Both demons turned their gaze to him. He had been surprised to find the female who had barely had any trace of demon blood in her veins yesterday now had a more overwhelming youki than he did. Her features no longer had the soft edges of a human and she had marks along her arms and on her chest, from what he could see of it anyway. His demon roared her name, fighting against him, telling him to go to her and protect her. So that's what his attraction to her was. She is his mate. When her demon side had been suppressed, his demon's reaction had been weaker, almost muted. He had just felt a pull towards her. He jumped in between the demon females and faced the demon wanting the jewel. "The jewel ain't yours. Back off and maybe I'll let you live." He growled.
The hair demoness laughed. "Ha! You? A pathetic half-demon laying claim to the jewel? You have no right to touch it you vile hanyou. Now give it here or you shall die." The two demons advanced on each other, the hair demon calling on her endless supply of hair and Inuyasha flexing his hands and crouching down in preparation to strike.
Kagome was taken by surprise when Inuyasha has come to her defense. Her inner demon purred. "Mine. My mate." The carnal being almost never spoke, only giving Kagome feelings of what she should and should not do. She wondered if Inuyahsa's demon was telling him the same thing. As much as she wanted to stay and help, her hand to hand combat was severely lacking and if she could get to the well she could probably go back to her own time to grab her bow. Or she could abandon Inuyasha to deal with the demon and run away to her world. That is if the well lets her go back to her world. Not caring about the outcome anymore, she turns and bolts away, letting her nose lead her to the well.
She reaches the well quickly and jumps into it, relieved as the pink and blue light that engulfed her when she had been transported to the feudal era flared up again before fading, leaving her in the bottom of the well in the well house at her family's shine. The scents of her human brother and her grandfather fill her nose and she leaps out of the well.
"Kagome!" they both shout her name in surprise. Her brother, Souta, rushes forward to give her a hug. "I'm glad you're back sis. We were worried about you when you fell down the well. You've been gone for two days!" She assures her brother that she is fine. Her grandfather scolds her for not calling. Guilt refuses to leave her be though. She tries to fight the feeling off while talking to her family, but eventually it eats at her enough that she disappears into her room to grab her weapon. The longbow thrums in her hand, her spiritual powers reacting to the weapon. While her youki is strong, she has never figured out how to use it as a weapon as she has had no one to teach her. Her father disappeared shortly after her birth and no one had seen him since. It had been difficult enough to find a priestess to teach her to use her spiritual power. She shoulders the bow and its quiver of arrows and heads downstairs to bid goodbye to her family.
Inuyasha had been furious when his female had bolted into the forest. He had not expected to run off, but could do nothing about it since the hair demon had chosen that exact moment to make her attack.
"Awe, your girl ran off on you. How pathetic a man you must be to make your own kind run away. I will deal with you and then I will follow that girl and the jewel. She will not get far." The demon taunts him as she manipulates the hair, letting it attack him. Inuyasha cannot see what is attacking him and it frustrates him not being able to see his target. He can hear it though, the whooshing as the hair moves through the hair towards him giving him a vague idea of where it is coming from. He releases his attack, releasing blades of condensed energy from his claws. It doesn't hinder what is attacking him. The hair wraps around his arm before slithering its way over the rest of his body. He is helpless since he cannot see his captor. It constricts around him, slicing into his skin.
"Kagome!" He roars, hoping that his mate will come back to help him.
This chapter sucks and I know it does. I don't have the time to really proof it right now. I'll dump it here for now. I might go make some changes later. Bear with me while I get back into the groove of writing fanfiction regularly.
Please review.