Inuyasha stared at Kagome's long, black hair that sported bright electric blue streaks. Her ears had immediately appeared on top of her head; the fur covering them was as jet black as her hair. She also had claws that were a bit shorter than his and fangs that were just as long as his own.
Sota ran to his sister and gave her a good look over, tugging her hair to make sure it was real and testing her claws.
" Cool!" He exclaimed when he had finished his investigation.
" How did you keep this from us, Kagome?" Mrs. Higurashi asked the person, no hanyou, she had thought of as her daughter for so long.
" My mom's amulet. She was full inu youkai, before she died that is," Kagome said and sadly watched as her only known human family walked out of the door to think about the change they had just seen.
Turning to Inuyasha, she looked him straight in the eyes and asked the one question that she really wanted the answer to.
" What do you think?" She demanded.
" For a hanyou miko, you haven't changed that much. You're still as beautiful as ever, Kagome," Inuyasha said and gathered her in his arms.
" When do you want to go back?" Kagome asked him, relieved that he still loved her.
" Whenever I can, and whenever you feel like it," Inuyasha replied as he nuzzled her neck.
" I wonder how the others will react," Kagome muttered and turned back to Inuyasha. " I don't have a night like you do. For me, it's the day, but instead of being human like you, I will be in a true inu youkai form."
" When is it?" Inuyasha asked, wanting to know when his love would have her demon day.
" The day of the new moon. Close to you, at least," Kagome said and closed her eyes.
Inuyasha was released from the hospital in a couple of days. He had healed completely and had most of the use of his arm, much to the surprise of the doctors. He was happy for that and couldn't wait to get to Kagome's house to get his normal clothes and head back to the feudal era. But he was worried. What if the others didn't accept Kagome's new look? Would they reject her? But, come to think of it, they didn't reject him, so that boosted his spirits.
Arriving, they immediately headed to her room and gathered some belongings that they knew they needed, including a couple of cases of ramen. Since they had left Kagome's huge yellow backpack at Kaede's village, they decided to bring it all by hand. Inuyasha, being stubborn as usual, wouldn't let Kagome carry anything heavy because of her condition.
" I'm a hanyou now, kono-i-yerro!" Kagome yelled at Inuyasha.
" Baka, you're pregnant and you are not doing any heavy lifting. That's it!" Inuyasha yelled back at her.
" Don't make me say it," Kagome warned him.
" Say it, I don't care, but if you say sit, you're coming down with me," Inuyasha told her and grabbed on to her waist.
" Damn it. Let me go!" Kagome screeched.
Even though his ears rang, Inuyasha held on tightly. He wouldn't let go. He was going to have the last word and he knew it would be final, but it all depended on how Kagome took it.
" Fine, you take most of it, I'll bring the gifts for everyone and my stuff," Kagome said, gesturing to a leather backpack. She tied on a headband around her head, so if she had to take off her amulet, the only thing she had to explain was the blue in her hair.
" Then hurry, I smell your friends coming," Inuyasha said, climbing out onto the windowsill.
" Mom, we're gone!" Kagome shouted down and jumped on Inuyasha's back with her pack in hand.
The hanyou leapt from the window and was beside the well house in a second. Leaping into the well, he felt the tingle of time travel and was jumping out when he felt his feet hit solid dirt. He ran fast to Kaede's village, grunting at each hello that he heard. When he finally reached Kaede's hut, he let Kagome off in time to avoid being bowled over by an over-excited kitsune.
Instead, Kagome fell on her butt, tickling the kitsune as a punishment. Laughing, they rolled around until Inuyasha picked them both up and set them on their feet. Even then, they continued to try and tickle each other.
" Why do these act like children?" Inuyasha asked himself under his breath and was immediately assaulted by both the kitsune and the miko.
Kagome found an extremely ticklish spot on the hanyou and attacked. She giggled like a madman as her fingers worked with precision on the half demon. She ducked under the swipes that the hanyou gave her, tickling him along with Shippou, who had found another spot underneath his feet.
Kaede, Miroku, Sango and Kohaku looked at them as if they were crazy. Their antics were strange. They watched as Inuyasha finally escaped and ran after Kagome and Shippou all around the village, eventually ending up in the river. There they began a water fight, soaking the half demon thoroughly before he could get anywhere near getting the two wet.
Inuyasha grabbed a bucket and filled it with water, whispering his plan to Shippou. He ran after Kagome, who in turn ran to the others. The half demon threw the bucket, getting every one in its radius wet.
" Inuyasha!" Sango yelled and ran after the half demon, who scampered away with hidden bursts of speed. Picking up the discarded bucket, she threw it at him, missing him by an inch.
After everyone had their fun and were sitting under the shade of a couple of trees, eating a snack that Kagome had gotten after their water fight from her era. Shippou sat licking an ice cream cone while everyone else had a Popsicle. They decided to play truth or dare, after Kagome had explained the rules to them all.
" Sounds like fun," Sango said, finishing her snack. " Lets play."
" Okay, so who goes first?" Miroku asked, before stuffing the remainder of his Popsicle in his mouth, shivering at the way it chilled his nerves.
" Brain freeze," Kagome said under her breath, so low that no one, not even Inuyasha heard her. " Eeto, how about we try it on you, Miroku?"
" Sure," The monk replied.
" So which on do you want?" Shippou asked, chewing the cone of his ice cream. " A truth or dare?"
" Lets start off with truth shall we?" Miroku told them.
" Okay. So how long have you been pinning for Sango?" Inuyasha asked, leaning on the tree behind him, arms folded across his chest.
" Well, since…since the first time I saw her," Miroku said, rubbing his head as if in embarrassment.
" Really?" Sango said and caught herself. " Who's next?"
" I'll go," Shippou said. " I want a dare."
" Show us your true fox form," Kohaku said.
Shippou nodded and closed his eyes. His entire body shimmered as the transformation took place. When it was done, everyone gasped at the sight.
Shippou's body was in the shape of a fox, but his colour was nowhere near their coloration. He was a bronze fur ball with pure emerald green eyes. With a puff of cloud, he was back to his well-known shape.
At that moment, Rin burst out of the trees, followed by one mad Jaken. The little girl ran straight to Inuyasha, arms outstretched as she cried out to him.
" Inuyasha," She screamed. When she sat beside him, she asked the question. " Where's Sesshoumaru-sama?"
"Rin, I…I hate to tell you this, but," Inuyasha was having trouble. He knew that it would be hard on the girl, but he had to tell her so she wouldn't worry. " He's dead, Rin. He died because of me and he wanted Kagome and I to take care of you, no matter what happened."
" I understand," Rin said, head hanging.
" Rin, come here for a second, will you?" Kagome asked and when the little girl reached her side, she gathered her in her arms and took her away from the rest of the group. When she had gone a good distance, she put the girl down and knelt in front of her. " Can you keep a secret?"
Rin nodded, not trusting herself to talk just yet.
" Tonight, I want you to come with me. I want to show you something. But can you do me this one favour? Keep this secret until tonight?" Kagome asked the girl and when she received a small 'yes', she took off her headband and her amulet. " I found this out before I ever met you or Inuyasha or anyone here."
Rin stared at the black dog-ears and bright blue streaks that ran through the length of her hair. She knew that the miko was powerful, but a hanyou as well? It seemed impossible, but the woman in front of her proved it wrong. Reaching out with a tentative hand, she rubbed the silky fur on one ear.
Kagome let the girl rub her ear for a while before she put her amulet back on. She knew that the girl wouldn't be happy for a while since her protector had died defending his younger half brother, but at least she would have some condolences.
" Come, let's go back to the others. Hey, do you think that you'll make a good big sister?" Kagome asked the girl as they walked back to the others.
" I can sure try," Rin said, brightening up. " What do you wish it to be? A girl or a boy?"
" To tell you the truth, I know who it'll be. It's a girl, but keep that from the others, too, okay?" Kagome told the girl. " Oh, before we continue, will you enter my family and be my girl?"
" Yes," Rin responded and watched as Kagome created a little charm out of nothing and handed her a little bunch of colourful pebbles in the shape of a swirl on a single strand of stretched silver.
" This will let you know where you belong. Keep it under your shirt and if any one bothers you about us, come to me. I'll take care of it," Kagome said and grinned. " Get going or I'm going to get you!"
" Get meeee!" Rin screeched in joy and surprise as Kagome tickled her, running off to avoid her searching fingers.
Inuyasha cocked his ears when he heard Rin scream. He could hear the joy in her voice, not the fear when a demon would have attacked. He smiled, hiding the grin as he leapt up into the tree, exiting the conversation.
Shippou glanced up at Inuyasha, wondering what was wrong with the hanyou. He was hiding something. Even though he couldn't do anything to find out because he knew that Inuyasha would only keep it hidden, he really wanted to know what he was hiding. The kitsune decided to wait for the right time. Maybe he would come out on his own when the time was right.
Rin ran out from the undergrowth with Kagome hot on her heels. They were laughing maniacally as the energetic young girl ran away from the miko, who was trying to tickle her.
" Hey, I thought that you had given up on tickling others, Kagome," Inuyasha called down from the tree.
" Well, if you would stop running away from me, I wouldn't be stuck going after people like Rin, not that I really mind," Kagome yelled up to him. " I think she's cuter than you are, I'm afraid."
" Kagome, if you start that, I might as well do this," Inuyasha said and leapt from the tree, grabbing the miko as he went past her.
" I want to go to Kaede's. I'll walk over there while you go get your brother's body," Kagome told him, got out of his grasp and turned to Rin. " Rin, are you coming with me?"
" Yes Kagome," The girl said as she ran to Kagome and held on to her hand. They both headed to the village.
" See you all later," Inuyasha said as he took off, dashing between the trees as he headed to his brother's temporary grave, a blur of red and silver.
" Kagome, why are you going to Kaede's?" Rin asked, turning to her new mother, starting when Shippou ran up and jumped on Kagome's shoulder.
" Shippou, don't do that. Any way, I have to go see Kaede because she is going to help me develop my powers even more, that way I can heal people and protect them if any demons attack," Turning to the girl, Kagome smiled and placed Shippou on her shoulder. " I don't want any one getting hurt any more, so I'm going to be more powerful to prevent any more deaths."
Kaede sat outside her hut, sipping tea when Kagome, Rin and Shippou walked up.
" So, you're here to work an your powers, child. Come then, let's get to work," the old woman said. " Rin, Shippou, can you play out there? This needs extreme concentration."
" Okay, Kaede," They chorused and ran off to play with the other village children at the river's edge.
Entering the hut, the young miko closed the cloth door and sat down, cross-legged, in front of the elderly miko.
" So, Midoriko showed ye how to concentrate on your power when using weapons. I will show you how to control it so ye do not get so ye will not get so tired next time," Kaede said. " Close your eyes."
Kagome followed each direction with the utter most seriousness that left no doubt in Kaede's mind that the girl in front of her would be her predecessor.
" Think of a tendril of your power coming up from a pool. Reach for it," Came the first order.
" Once you've grabbed it, visualize something, anything that ye want to. Concentrate on it and think of what ye want to do with it. Heal it, destroy it, or put it together again, anything. Do ye understand?"
" Hai," Kagome said and suddenly a clay pot broke apart and put itself back together again, almost as if it had never broke. Opening her brown eyes, she took a good look at it." Wow."
" Ye have great power in ye, so I'll ask ye this question. Whenever I leave this world, I would like ye to take over my place and watch over these people. This is not a question where you'll think about it; I need and answer right now," Kaede said, shocking Kagome into silence.
" I think that, well, I'll accept," Kagome said after the shock had worn off.
" Is it too hard to ask why ye seem too distracted?" Kaede asked.
" I'm going to show everyone else something tonight, and I'll suppose I'll show you too. Inuyasha knows all ready; I showed it to him in my time," Kagome told the elderly miko. " It's a hell of a surprise, I'm afraid."
Inuyasha reached his brother's grave about late afternoon. He silently and quickly dug up the youkai lord, fighting back tears that threatened to overflow. Grabbing his brother's body and throwing the corpse over his shoulder, he headed back to Kaede's village in the darkening night. The smell from the body clogged his nose, but he tried to ignore it, keeping a hold on the Tetsusaiga in case some other youkai decided to attack him as he made his way back to the village.
Thankfully, no demons attacked him, as if they knew that it was him and Kagome who had fought Nianniai and come out alive. What was wrong with them, he didn't know, but he was glad that they left him alone.
As he reached the edge of the village, he left the body there as he went over to Kaede's hut. He entered, greeted by the roar of a fire and the rush of heat washing over him, a change from the cool night. He sat down beside Kagome, pulling her into his lap.
" Sesshoumaru's body is at the edge of the village. I'm going to dig a grave tomorrow and bury him," Inuyasha said. " Can you put a barrier around him so no other demons can reach him?"
" I've done it already," Kagome told him and placed a hand on his chest. " I think that it's time to show them."
" Show us what?" Sango asked, putting down her empty bowl.
" Before I do, promise me this. Don't freak out over it, please for me," Kagome said and slowly, almost hesitantly took off her amulet from around her neck, revealing the bright blue streaks in her hair, the fang, the claws, the amber eyes and the jet-black dog-ears on top of her head.
Everyone stared at her except for Inuyasha and Rin. Since they had seen this before, they gazed at the frozen masks of surprise on everyone else's features, smirking at their expressions. They pointed each of them out, doing their best to keep quiet.
" When?" Miroku managed to stutter out, his voice betraying his fear and amazement as he stared at the sight in front of him.
" My mom was a youkai, an inu youkai and my father was a human. I never knew my mom's name, or my dad's. I actually found this out on my own a couple of weeks before that centipede demon brought me across the well for the first time but there was a time before that," Kagome said. " My mom died when I was really young, so long ago that I can't exactly remember when, but before she passed away, she gave me her amulet that kept her true form hidden to the rest of society. If they ever found out about her, who knows what they would have done to her or me."
" Why did you want to keep it hidden from us?" Sango asked the girl she thought of as her sister.
" To find out more about you all. But most of all, I was scared for what you would think of my true secret," Kagome told them. " You see, there was a kid who saw me in my hanyou form and he ran off to tell his parents, who called the police. When they got to my house, they saw me and tried to capture me. Unfortunately, they had their guns out and one of them shot me. I was wounded, but my mom, took off her amulet and saved me. She told me that I was brave and that I could heal myself if I though about it hard enough. Turns out, I discovered my miko powers at that moment, but I forgot about it after."
" What's a gun?" Shippou asked her curiously, crawling sleepily into her lap, yawning as he did so.
" It's a weapon that shoots little bits of metal a very high speeds. It's quite deadly, trust me," Inuyasha replied, wincing inwardly at the pain when a bullet had lanced through his shoulder.
" I can try and get a picture of it whenever I go back to my time," Kagome said and absently rubbed her side where that bullet had hit her so long ago when she was young and her father had died in front of her. She shuddered at the horrible memory, the vivid and gory display playing through her mind again.
" Do you have a night like Inuyasha?" Sango asked, wanting to know if there was some kind of time when her sister would become demon or human, like the other hanyou that sat beside her.
" Well,
yeah, in a sense. I have a day where I become a demon and in my true
inu demon form," Kagome replied. " I felt weird one day, and it
was the day of the new moon. I took off my amulet and saw my ears,
claws and all that. I freaked out and I ran home, locked myself in my
room. That was after my mom had died. My dad came up and told me the
whole truth, which scared me even more. But as time went on, I
realized that this could be for the best. Of course, shock erased
that memory, the same way it erased the memory of my father dying in
front of me and some one who looked like Inuyasha saving me. Maybe
what they say about the past repeating itself is true, because he
knew all about me and how I would be in the future."
" How
could some one like Inuyasha save you when he was sealed to the
Goshinboku?" Kohaku asked. He knew the story well, and wanted know
why that something like that had happened.
" I don't know really. What I do know is that the man was about to kill me when Inuyasha popped and stopped him," Kagome replied. " And please don't ask me how or what because I don't know."
Kaede was quiet during the whole answer-the-question session. She reflected on this, trying to figure out if this girl who was to be her successor was the one who came from Midoriko's line of ancestry and the line of a pure-blooded inu youkai pack. She would soon have to announce Kagome as her successor, and at the same time, reveal Kagome's true form. Perhaps she should do it tomorrow, when they were preparing to bury Sesshoumaru. But what would the village do? Would they be scared? Swearing an oath under her breath, she told herself that they would have to accept it, no matter what happened to her.
The next day, Inuyasha dug a hole where they would bury his brother. It was also the day when Kaede would announce that Kagome would be her successor. Idly, he wondered what they would think of her, but seeing as they trusted her whenever she helped them recover from a demon attack, there was a good probability that they would accept her as she was.
All ready, there had been a numerous amount of questions, mostly about Sesshoumaru's body. They had finally annoyed Inuyasha, growling that if they didn't shut up, he would do it for them. Luckily, no one had pushed the point and left him alone.
Rin stopped by and gazed sadly at her protector's body. He was the only one she had in the world before; now she would be living with Inuyasha, Kagome and Shippou. She had developed feelings for them, family feelings.
When it was time for Sesshoumaru's burial, Kaede came out of her hut, followed by Kagome, both wearing traditional kimonos. The aging miko's was wearing deep blue, while the younger one was wearing a pink and white one. Kagome's long hair had been rolled up into a bun. She knew the part that she had to play; first take care of Sesshoumaru's body and then announce that she would be Kaede's successor. When that was done, she would tell the assembled crowd who she really was. Since they had not run Inuyasha out since she had appeared, she took that as a good sign and that calmed her nerves down a little bit.
" Sesshoumaru, half brother of the hanyou Inuyasha, the one who had sacrificed his life to save his little brother when Kagome was kidnapped from us. He lies here, waiting to be delivered back to Kami. We will not disappoint him," Kaede said and stepped back so Kagome could get a word in.
" The youkai who had sworn to destroy Inuyasha instead risked his life when Inuyasha would have been killed. For that I owe him my thanks," Kagome took a deep, shaking breath. " Please forgive him so he may be on his way."
All most as one, the villagers mumbled their forgiveness.
" Before you leave, I have some news for you all. Whenever I leave this world, my wishes are that Kagome will take over my position, and that ye will all accept her for her true form," Kaede said.
Now that got every one's attention. What did Kaede mean by "Her true form"? Was there something about the young miko that they didn't know about? Was she hiding some dangerous secret from them? They murmured with their neighbours, trying to figure out what it was.
" I had learned this last night. Kagome's father had been killed when she was young and a man who resembles Inuyasha saved her. Now if he hadn't saved her, she would never be here and Naraku would have taken this era over," Kaede said, pausing for effect. " She is a hanyou, from her mother's side. An inu hanyou"
The villagers were scared and spoke excitedly among themselves. But then they realized that after Inuyasha had the beads around his neck, they had ignored the half demon, knowing that he was there whenever he was.
" Kagome, take your amulet off," Kaede ordered.
Kagome followed the command, loosening her hair as she did so. She didn't want her ears to hurt.
Everyone gasped. Kagome suddenly had golden eyes, claws, fangs, black dog-ears and blue streaks in her hair. They watched as Kagome lifted her head and smelled the breeze, eyes glowing as she snarled lightly.
Inuyasha smelled the breeze at the same time, growling softly in his throat. He knew that smell from anywhere after battling him for a couple of years on and off.
It was Koga. At least Ayame was with him. Maybe it would go calmly.
The wolf prince entered the village and headed to the ceremony. He smelled a new hanyou in the vicinity, but he couldn't tell who it was. He glanced at Ayame. She was his mate now, bringing his tribe and hers together.
" Oi, mutt," Koga said.
" Koga, do ye have to interrupt a burial ceremony. If ye do not mind, I would suggest ye leave before it gets worse," Kaede said and turned away, unintentionally revealing Kagome in her true form.
Both wolves gasped. They never thought that Kagome was actually a hanyou. It came as a shock to them that shook their bones.
" I had originally pined an inu hanyou?" Koga asked himself, disbelief filling his voice as he stared at the hanyou miko in front of him.
Kagome grinned and started to laugh. Leaning on Inuyasha, she let her laughter roll of her lips as she watched Koga's expression. She felt the silver-haired hanyou's chest contract as he chuckled along with her.
" What's wrong Koga, afraid of little old me? Or are you afraid of what I really am?" She asked the wolf prince standing a couple of feet away from her. Then she froze, an unnatural smell coming from the forest. Inuyasha's forest. " Koga, you'd better get away from here. I can't protect you. I need to purify this area.'
Taking her advice, the two wolves ran for their lives, not wanting to be destroyed as Kagome purified the area.
The miko took a deep breath. She concentrated hard, trying to detect where the evil was coming from and from whom it was from. She finally detected it, about a couple hundreds of feet away from her position. Letting half of her breath out, she closed her eyes and felt her power flow out of her and purify what she wanted.
Inuyasha watched as Kagome's power flowed out of her with a pinkish purple wave. He winced at the thought that he might be purified, but as he opened his eyes, he saw that he was still alive and that the wave was past him. He could feel Kagome's limp body leaning against him. She was unconscious, the power she had used to purify whatever was there tiring her out completely.
Smiling, he gathered her in his arms and walked back to Kaede's hut, where they would stay. The rest of the gang followed him. They formed a phalanx, protecting the hanyou miko in their midst. Surprisingly, the whole village followed them, creating a larger phalanx. They wanted to protect their future protector from harm, and she had shown today that she was very powerful, more so than Kikyo. They would accept her.
Kono-i-yerro—you bastard
Eeto—umm
Baka—idiot
Hanyou—half demon
Inu—dog
Youkai—full demon
Miko—priestess
Kitsune—fox
Sama—lord/lady
Hai—yes
Oi—hey