Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha
A/N Thanks so much for the reviews and your patience! The long awaited chapter! Here we go!
Awakened Dead
Chapter 14. November 28th
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"I don't understand why I can't just take the night off! You guys are so mean to me.." Kagome complained, letting out yet another tearful yawn. She snuggled deeper into her jacket and shivered at the cold wind.
Miroku sighed again at the miko's complaints and eyed Inuyasha for some help. It's not like the monk wanted to get on the girl's bad side, it's just that she needed to train her abilities so that she could properly control them. Even now he could see how strong her aura was, a bright pink light surrounded her and created spiritual tendrils as it seeped out of her. 'I can see why she would be swamped on the night of all hallows eve. The dead were naturally attracted to this powerful aura,' A frown settled on his lips. 'The same type of glow a necromancer would have.'
"Quit your whining wench! You need to do this before you cause anymore trouble." Inuyasha said, wrapping an arm around the miko's shoulder. "Besides, imagine how nice it'll be when you've finally gotten a grasp on your powers. You'll be able to do all kinds of things."
Kagome glared at him, removing the hanyou's arm form her shoulder, "You didn't have to be so harsh about it, Inuyasha! And its way late at night, a time when I'm supposed to be asleep, not awake going over to his place to meditate!" She pointed to Miroku for emphasis on her point and then crossed her arms back.
Miroku laughed nervously, "Well we're here."
The three had entered the monks' home and were greeted kindly by a tipsy Mushin with flushed cheeks. While Kagome was led away to another room by Mushin, Inuyasha and Miroku had gathered in the living room where Allen sat watching TV, as always. Miroku had collapsed on the couch with a little groan of misery while Inuyasha chose to just sit on the floor cross-legged.
"You know, it was a good thing you did come Houshi," Inuyasha began.
"Oh really? How's that?" Miroku muttered dryly.
"Well considering how her brother and mother can now see me… I think we need to find a way to either speed up the process of control, or another way to either hide or seal her powers." Inuyasha explained.
From his spot on the couch, Allen had raised his eyes brows in surprise. "W-wow, she's really tough, isn't she? I'm glad I didn't decide to take her on."
"Actually you shouldn't even be here. You do need to move on sometime, Allen-san." Miroku said. "This world isn't for you anymore."
"I know," Allen shrugged. "But I don't want to go anywhere until I know the others are okay and where they're supposed to be, you know?" He zoned back into the television and began to watch his show again now that the commercials were done.
"Anyways," Miroku coughed. "We don't have any way to tame her powers. To our knowledge there isn't anything strong enough that can seal her powers—"
Inuyasha's ears perked, a low growl escaping his lips. "Houshi, we have company." He stood quickly and cracked his knuckles instinctually. "A lot of company…" This scent that he caught, it wasn't pleasant in the least.
Demon scents.
Miroku frowned and stood as well. "I can sense demonic auras. But this can't be." He marched over to the living room window, gaining a good sight of the front of the house and where the aura was coming from. "What—What is this?" He was left speechless at the site.
Inuyasha and even Allen had moved over to the window to look outside at the view. There were monstrous creatures, things that the monk and the boy ghost had never seen in their entire lives. Inuyasha on the other hand knew quite well what these were, and cracked his knuckles more in anticipation.
Demons.
He hadn't fought a youkai in five centuries. Though come to think of it, he really couldn't do much in this form either. He was a ghost compared to those things out there that were flesh and blood. Hell he could just barely touch Kagome and hold her in this stupid spiritual form, but fight real live youkai? He was useless! 'Shit! I can even scratch 'em in this form.' The hanyou cursed. 'And why the hell are they here? How in the hell are they here!'
"Inuyasha?" Miroku's voice broke through the hanyou's thoughts.
Inuyasha grunted in response and turned away from the window. "Those things are demons."
"D-d-demons?" Allen stuttered in pure dread, "B-but aren't those.. Legends? Myths? Not real in any way?"
"What the hell do you think I am? I'm a half demon, and those out there, are full blooded demons." Inuyasha pointed to the window. "By the looks of it, they've probably been in hiding and were attracted here by something."
"Kagome's powers perhaps?" Miroku suggested.
He didn't want to admit it, but that could only be the possible answer to this question. Back in the times of the feudal world, if a youkai got a hold of a miko and devoured her flesh, they could become immune to certain attacks and others miko's. 'They might have been attracted by her power, and now they want it.' Inuyasha grit his teeth and shot a look at the monk. "Are you trained enough to take out these low grade youkai?"
"It would be best if Mushin would accompany me, however I can keep my own." Miroku walked out of the living room and shuffled around in a closet nearby, withdrawing something that surprised the hanyou. When he returned he showed everyone his golden monk staff and several sutras and seals, "You should let Mushin know of the presence of these, I will hold them off for as long as I can."
Inuyasha nodded. "Right." He had taken off towards Kagome and Mushin to grab some extra help, seeing as this was probably the first time the monk has ever encountered demons. These things were much different than spirits that was damn sure. 'They don't just possess dark auras, they are dark creatures, nothing like a human ghost.' Inuyasha ran through the closed door, and slid to a stop in front of a meditating Kagome and Mushin.
"Oi! We've got a problem, there's demons out there." Inuyasha barked.
"Hn?" Mushin opened one eye to look at the half panicked hanyou then closed it. "Nothing to worry, I'm sure Miroku-chan can handle himself."
Inuyasha fumed and looked down at Kagome, noting her peaceful state, "We need help, so leave Kagome to do her thing and get your old ass out there and help that Houshi."
Mushin sighed. "Yee have little faith, hee hee!"
His eye twitched in annoyance, 'Is this gramps for real? He's not even lifting a finger to help his adoptive son.'
"Hee hee!"
-X-
Outside, Miroku stood in front of the grotesque youkai with sutras in hand and his staff in another. They appeared to be a group searching for something, each sniffing different sections of his driveway and some bushes that surrounded the property. 'I will only have a couple shots at this.'
"A monk?" An ogre demon spoke, "Ha ha, we haven't seen one of your kind in centuries!"
"What is that brother? A houshi you say?" Another ogre demon repeated with a similar chuckle. "But he isn't the one with the grand powers."
"No, this whelp is hardly the one we are looking for," A large purple creature added, its red eyes scanning the area more. "I believe the one we a looking for, resides in that home." He grinned broadly, showing its large rows of sharp fangs, "Ka..gome, yes that is the girl with the spiritual powers."
'So they are after her,' Miroku frowned. 'And it looks like the leader is this one.'
"You are correct, Mi-roku. I lead these creatures," The purple one chuckled. "I am Goshinki, and yes, I can read your minds…"
'Great, just what I needed,' Miroku thought grimly. The least he could do was take out the minor guys before even trying to pick a fight with the bigger one. Though he supposed that it already knew that seeing as it could read his mind. 'No point on dwelling about it.' He forced some of his powers into the sutras he held and tossed them at the ogres, nailing them in the foreheads. "Sacred sutras!"
"Ack! Brother!" The one ogre yelped in pain.
Miroku charged for the two, whacking them both in the head with his staff, successfully burning their bodies in a blue flame. 'Two down, four to go.' He quickly backed away from the four, readying more sutras.
A snake-like demon had sprung forward and received a similar treatment then the other two, disintegrating after being engulfed in blue flames. 'Three more,' Miroku kept count in his head.
An enormous bull demon had charged next along side a large insect demon, a centipede one to be exact. First the bull had just missed the monk while the centipede had grabbed him with two of her several arms and bitten into his shoulder with her fangs. "You are mine, monk." She screeched in laughter, delighting in ripping her fangs out of his shoulder painfully. She sighed as the luscious blood dripped from her mouth, and had encircled Miroku with her body to keep him still. "Now now, I don't want you running away from me." She tightened her body and dived in again in the same spot, teeth sinking into flesh.
"A-aaaaack!" Miroku hissed, his dark blue eyes scanning the area wearily for his staff. 'Damn, she made me drop it when she grabbed me.' He let out a yelp of pain when the insect had further tightened her hold on the monk's body. 'She just cracked one of my ribs!'
The bull demon had ceased it attacks when the centipede demon had claimed the monk to be hers, "Mine! Your delectable flesh is all mine!" She squealed happily.
'Damn.. Damn…' Miroku cringed more at the pain, watching the centipede woman close in on him.
"This is the end for you, dear Monk," Goshinki chuckled deeply. He motioned for the bull youkai to follow him as he moved forward, now prepared to take the miko body for himself. After only two steps, the purple youkais' muzzle had risen when it caught a whiff of a new scent. "Hn?"
"Get your greedy paws offa him!"
Miroku felt blood seep from the corner of his mouth, and looked up with dull blue eyes to the new voice. Strange, he knew that this voice surely did not belong to Inuyasha, so who could it be? He hadn't even realized he was free from the centipede woman until he had a rough landing with the cement ground, the woman's bones littering the place with little bits of steaming flesh. "How..?"
"Are you okay Houshi?" Asked the voice, a man now standing in between Miroku and Goshinki.
'What happened to the bull?' Miroku looked around and found another pile of bones in similar condition to those of the centipede. "I… suppose so…" Miroku mumbled. He gazed at the newcomer and practically did a retake, 'Wait a.. Th-that's the substitute teacher! Kouga-sensei!'
The wolf demon was crouched into attack formation, wearing suite pants and a white dress shirt with a tie loosely undone and his sleeves rolled up. Though the charm that had hidden his wolf features was off and now you could see that he had pointed ears, claws, and fangs. "Stay down, alright? I can take care of this guy."
"Oh? You are a wolf demon, and a teacher at a school? Do you truly believe you can defeat me?" Goshinki grinned toothily.
"He's a mind reader," Miroku informed Kouga.
"Gotcha," Kouga cracked his knuckles in the same fashion as Inuyasha.
"Houshi!"
And there he was now, about damn time too.
"The hell is that wolf cub doin' here?" Inuyasha scowled before noticing how badly injured Miroku was. "Shit, are you okay?"
"I've been better," Miroku muttered wryly.
"Heh, I told you earlier that I would be watching out for weird shit like this since Sesshy assigned me to it. So sit back puppy, and watch as a real demon takes out this idiot!" Kouga laughed, already running up to the purple youkai to begin. First he leapt up into the air and went to kick the thing in his chest however that was quickly blocked by a large clawed hand, shoving the ookami youkai away. Next he went to kick his legs, but was knocked back yet again by claws. 'He's fast, and he can read minds,' Kouga mentally concluded. 'Heh, that's okay,' He proceeded to grin, whipping back around for another kick.
Goshinki blocked it again, all the while sneering, "Too slow, cub!"
Kouga had laughed at him, "Nobody calls me slow!" He howled, becoming a blur as he went and attacked Goshinki again, this time with a punch to the muzzle. Then he dropped and kicked the things left leg, swiftly and hard, practically cackling when he heard a crunch of bones.
Goshinki lost his footing, but quickly regained it with a growl, "I see you can be quick, but no matter. I will end this—" His red eyes widened when Kouga appeared out of nowhere in front of his face, fist pulled back again, "I will not be mocked!"
Kouga went to punch Goshinki, then quickly moved away from the clawed hands that reached out to him. In slow motion he could see them making their way to him, and with a grunt he had used the enemies hands as support to thrust himself upwards and disappeared in a whirlwind from his sight, only to appear behind him with something cracking and sparking in his fist.
'What? Where—' Goshinki felt the presence behind him all too late.
"Lightning Claw!" Kouga had what looked like a glove over his right hand with long metallic claws. He had ripped through one arm of Goshinki's flesh with his claws, landing easily on the cement ground afterwards. There was no need to attack again since the claws power had not only cut off Goshinki's arm, but also electrocuted all the flesh to ash. Goshinki was no more.
Dematerializing the glove, Kouga had rolled his shoulders and sighed loudly. "Whew! That was entertaining."
Inuyasha blinked shockingly at the new development. "I don't remember you havin' those five centuries ago." He pointed out.
"If ya hadn't gotten your ass sealed away then maybe you would have!" Kouga argued back.
Miroku looked between Inuyasha and Kouga with a raised brow, "Do you two know each other?" He asked.
"He didn't tell you? Then again, I wasn't aware that Kagome-chan was friends with a monk," Kouga mumbled mostly to himself.
Snap!
Both Inuyasha and Kouga had turned their heads to a noise that was made in the bushes of the monks' front lawn. The ookami had nodded to the hanyou, mouthing that he'd take the front while the dog demon took the rear. In one swift motion, Kouga was standing in front of the trimmed bush, ready to tear into the intruder, when Inuyasha had shouted.
"Shit! Fleabag stop!" Inuyasha motioned down to the girl. "It's.."
The woman cringed after she had made the mistake of shifting behind the bushes. She had nearly died when she first spotted the monsters littering her friends driveway, but this? She had just watched them get mutilated by her substitute teacher! 'I am in way above my head here!' She looked fearfully up at the man that now stood in front of the bushes, claws poised. Then she tilted her head back when she heard another voice behind her, but saw nothing, "A-ah! P-please don't hurt me!"
"It's Kagome's friend, Sango," Inuyasha said.
"Who said that?" The magenta eyed girl turned sharply in her crouched position, but could see nothing. "Where are you?"
Inuyasha glowered. "Great, just fucking great!"
Kouga blinked and lowered his claws. "Is that the scent…"
"Of Hunters blood? Yeah, you bet your ass it is," Inuyasha gave a snort.
Sango looked up at Kouga and stood up shakily, "What are you talk—" She noticed almost instantly the bleeding boy behind him sitting in the driveway. She gasped loudly and ran through the bushes to get to him, "Miroku-san!"
"S-Sango-san?" Miroku gaped at her, wincing when she placed one of her delicate hands on his injured shoulder. 'How much did she see?' He half wondered.
"A-are you alright? Those things… What… Were they? And you.. I just…" Sango slid down to her knees and covered her eyes. What the hell was happening? The things she just witnessed, the monsters that were standing here moments ago. She peeked from behind her hands to see the smoking bones of the deceased, eyes widening when the bones began disintegrating. 'What is going on?'
Miroku observed her silently, looking over at Kouga and Inuyasha for some help, 'We need to get inside, before I completely bleed out here.' He thought with another wince, grasping his shoulder. 'On another note, I will need a new fall jacket, and button up shirt…' He mentally remarked with a groan.
"Alright Houshi, let's get you all fixed up," Kouga was at Miroku's side now, and helping the boy up by his good arm and circling it around his shoulder.
"What about this woman?" Inuyasha pointed down at the still-in-shock Sango.
The girl had lifted her head up again to the voice, her eyes looking everywhere for the person, 'Where does that keep coming from?'
"Sango-san! Inu—Oh my god what happened to Miroku-san?" Kagome's voice cut in.
His dog ears perked in her general direction, causing him to turn and fully look at her. Well, at least this time she didn't need his help to get her out of her meditative state. Which meant she was getting better at controlling her powers. Behind her, stood a waving Mushin, who ushered the wolf demon and his adoptive son to come inside the house.
"I'm fine," Miroku smiled weakly when Kagome had stopped to look at him, "Please, go tend to Sango-san.. She is in shock."
Kagome nodded briskly and moved on to Sango, slowly but surely approaching the girl until she stood in front of her. She crouched down until they were level, Inuyasha doing so as well next to Kagome. "Sango-san," She began slowly.
"You'll hafta do better then that wench. She just keeps zoning out weirdly and mumbling." Inuyasha informed her, a little annoyed that this hunter was here to begin with.
She was mumbling? Sango blinked, looking up at Kagome and hearing that same voice again. Except… it spoke to Kagome, not her… Who was this… "Who keeps speaking—Where is he?" Ah yes, she was mumbling after all. And here she thought she was speaking clearly. Blinking again, Sango cleared her throat when Kagome asked her to speak up a little. "Gomen, Kagome-chan.. I—I saw you leaving with Miroku-san… I followed."
Inuyasha twitched his ears and gave another snort, "That much is obvious. Why the hell would you be stupid enough to follow Kagome in the dead of night?"
"She was leaving with my Miroku-san!" Sango snapped quickly, not even thinking before the answer had flooded out from her lips. She didn't even know where this stupid voice was coming from and here she was, yelling at him and saying these… Oh kami what did she just say? She turned crimson and covered her mouth with one hand, looking away bashfully. 'Oh no…'
"Sango-san," Kagome mumbled looking up at Inuyasha. "You heard Inuyasha?" She asked.
Sango looked up at Kagome, a little surprised that she hadn't even started to tease her about Miroku. "Inu.. Yasha?" She repeated slowly. "Who's that?"
"Wench, you better bring her inside so we can explain everything."
"I don't know, isn't there someway to make her forget all this?" Kagome looked at Inuyasha with a little bit of hope in her eyes.
"Nah, I think the demon's outta the bag now," He flickered his eyes to her briefly. "Let's bring her in."
"Come on, Sango-san?" Kagome stood and held out her hand to her best friend, a genuine smile on her face.
Demon? Is that what those things were? Demons? And the voice… Now Kagome, being so nice… And Miroku was bleeding.. There were still bloodstains on his driveway! And everything.. Everything was spinning…
"Oh shit, Kagome I think she's passin' out—"
"Ack! Sango-san—"
Everything went black for Sango, the girl barely registering the pain from hitting the cement ground with a loud thud.
-X-
"Itai itaaai itai itaaaaaaiiii! H-hey!" A voice protested down the hall from the living room.
"Now is not the time to be complaining about pain Miroku-chaaan!" Sang the other voice down the hall.
"So," Kouga coughed. "You think the reason those weaklings were here was to get to her?" He pointed at Kagome.
"Yeah, it was pretty common for a priestess to attract youkai with their spiritual powers. I'm guessing the leader wanted her flesh to be stronger against humans." Inuyasha shrugged.
"Th-they wanted m-me?" Kagome repeated. 'With everything that happened, thank gosh Mushin-shishou ended our lesson so early to tend to Miroku-san. Things could have been ugly if he didn't.'
"You could be gentler with that needle!" A yell from down the hall interrupted.
"You disappoint me sometimes my boy."
"Mushin! Where are you stick—Itai itai itaiiiii!"
"Wouldja suck it up Miroku? You'll end up waking sleeping beauty with you whining!" Inuyasha barked from the living room, earning a small glare from Kagome.
"Itaiiiii!"
"Here I thought the kid could put up a half decent fight for a human," Kouga mused from his position in a chair. "He's actually just a wimp when it comes to measly pain like this." He chuckled a little.
Miroku had chosen to enter the room at that moment, faint amounts of blush tinting his cheeks as he pulled up the sleeves of his clean zip up hoodie. "I'll have you know," He cleared his throat. "That needles are not at all pleasant, and I did not like getting repeatedly stabbed by one-!"
"Oh please, you only received just a few stitches," Mushin piped in from the bathroom.
Kagome shook her head at the monk, 'He can take a blow that leaves him bleeding to death, but he can't take a few stitches? What strange friends I have.' Actually, she wasn't about to go further with that mental comment, considering all the people who stood in the room now.
"Something is bothering me still," Miroku started with a small frown. "If Goshinki was a mind reader, why didn't he and his demon buddies attack Sango-san if she was hiding just behind those bushes?"
Inuyasha and Kouga exchanged looks then focused them on the slumbering girl on the couch. The dog demon spoke first, answering the question. "That's 'cause of the woman's bloodline limit. As long as she is part of the ones with killers instinct, her mind is protected from anything demonic or supernatural. Her scent is even partially covered and undetectable until she's a certain distance away."
"That's just a few of the attributes that made them so powerful and frightening as enemies. Back in our era, hunters were a force not to be reckoned with. They were the guardians of the humans, their protectors. As powerful as a demon and born to kill them on site." Kouga added. He was silent after he had finished his explanation and sat back comfortably in the only other chair in the living room. Next to him stood Allen with his hands in his pockets, the boy staying quiet for the most part while he took in all the events of tonight.
Kagome looked worriedly over at her friend on the couch, deep in thought. If Sango were to have her powers awakened, would that mean she would attack Inuyasha or Kouga-sensei? Were hunters really that cold hearted and animalistic like she was being told? 'I see now why he didn't want me around Bankotsu-san.' She was sitting on the floor next to the couch, keeping a close eye on Sango still while Inuyasha simply leaned against the wall next to her and watched her like a hawk.
Sango was beginning to stir just as Miroku had found a spot comfy on the carpet next to the coffee table. The woman had bat her eyelids open drowsily, blinking them for a few more moments before sitting straight up on the couch. She had quickly scanned the room, taking note of the occupants until her eyes landed on Kagome, the seemingly brighter magenta orbs narrowing on the girl in mild anger. Oh yes, now she remembered why she had left to come to this place. Before she had run into those demon things, she had been furious.
She had witnessed her best friend leaving her own house with someone she was interested in, and taking to the winter formal.
Kagome left with her Miroku.
Kagome-chan.
"What were you thinking leaving at night? And with my date for the formal no less?" Sango suddenly burst, grasping Kagome by her shoulders so that she could look her square in the eye.
There was a crack.
"S-Sango-s-san—"
"What, were you going to hook up with him? Is that it?" Sango continued, not really knowing where this anger was coming from. This just wasn't like her at all. She was really pissed off, and generally it would be directed at Miroku. Of all things, it would never be Kagome.
"San-go-san—" Kagome tried again, her pained voice not really registering in her best friends mind, nor her unusually pale face.
Her magenta eyes were a little brighter now, but she didn't notice. All she knew was that one moment she was shaking Kagome a little roughly by her shoulders, and the next she was shoved back into the couch roughly. Her friend was on the other side of the room in the arms of a man she did not recognize, and looked suspiciously like an actor of sorts in costume.
Oh, he was growling at her.
Growling? Was that even humanly possible? He sounded down right like a dog.
With a grunt of her own, she felt the need to jump up to him and beat the living crap out of him for pushing her the way he did.
"Kagome, are you okay?" Inuyasha asked the girl with a bit of a whimper laced in his voice. All he received from her was a small nod, but he didn't believe any of it. He hook a finger around the collar of her winter pajama shirt and yanked it to her right shoulder, another growl escaping his lips. Dark bruises had already formed on this side, and he assumed the other was just as bad. "That bitch. I knew it, I should have killed her the second I knew she was one of them!" He seethed, sending another hateful glare and a snarl at the woman on the couch.
Miroku was already up and ready to defend Sango if he had to, but he couldn't help but feel horrible for the bruises that had appeared so quickly on Kagome's body. With a gulp, he half wondered if he was on the right team right now, considering this woman he was defending was probably a tiny bit stronger than him.
"Wh-what?"
Kouga had been watching the scene unfold from his chair, Allen standing right next to him in a similar fashion. "Get a good look, you were the one who did that." He pointed out, standing up to brush the wrinkles from his pants. With Inuyasha holding the miko, the wolf demon would be needed if a brawl were to suddenly break out between Sango and him. The monk would be useless at this point and Allen didn't look like he cared much at all.
Sango felt dread and a wave of guilt wash through her, the anger not gone but just lowered as she surveyed the damage done to Kagome. She couldn't believe that she could have done that, not to Kagome. Never mind how it was even remotely possible to be that strong considering her small size and lack thereof in the muscle department.
"Someone explain to her what she is and what happened out there while I take Kagome to the old man. If she remotely tries to pull anything again, she's dead." Inuyasha viciously snarled the last part, storming off with a pale Kagome in tow and faint purple markings on his cheeks.
"Sango?" Miroku fully turned to the woman, his face void of any emotions.
The woman had snapped her head up to the monk and looked at him, feeling worse by the minute, "I…." She sniffled and lowered her head so that she was covering her eyes with her bangs. "I'm so sorry I didn't.. I didn't—" She felt Miroku sitting next to her and rubbing soothing circles on her back.
"Monk, how much you know about hunters?" Kouga asked, now leaning against the wall Inuyasha and Kagome were previously at.
"Not much I'm afraid."
'Monk?' Sango mentally repeated. 'Hunter?'
"I guess then, this leaves the lesson to me?" He sighed in exasperation. He stared at the weeping girl on the couch in annoyance and scratched the back of his neck, "Stop your crying and listen up Hunter, because I won't be repeating this."
Sango had shot glares at the wolf demon she knew to be her sensei and wiped her eyes clean of tears. Right now was not the time to be crying and feeling sorry for herself and Kagome. She needed to straighten things out and fast. "Fine, go on, Kouga-sensei."
"Alright, class is now in session."
-X-
"So that man—"
"Inuyasha," Miroku corrected.
"—Right, Inuyasha, is a five century old ghost. And you're a ghost too." A finger pointed to Allen. "You're a full demon who's just as old, he's a monk, Kagome's a priestess and I'm a Hunter? A Hunter?"
"We've been through this whole thing already," Kouga pinched the bridge of his nose to help with the minor headache he was getting.
Sango on the other hand was still processing. She was in shock to find all this out. Where Kagome had been off to for the past month, what she had been doing behind her back. About how real ghost and ghouls really were and how she wasn't the only Hunter either. There were two others, though out of town, but bound to be able to help her with her issues with the ah.. Strength thing. Apparently it was common for Hunters to have temper tantrums like that out of the blue as their powers developed.
So it was a gene, this Hunter thing. Something that had been in the bloodline since kami knows when. Only active when needed. With Kagome's adventures right left and centre and her massive power fluctuations, this actually made a good mix to give a jump start to Sango's bloodline limit. 'I was born to destroy supernatural things that are not meant to be in this world. I'm meant to protect it.' She thought.
Which brought on an important thought. This was why she had the feeling to jump that demon ghost earlier. She had been so tempted to tear Kagome away from him and beat him to a pulp. Even now, Kouga was giving her a similar feeling. "So then, if all this is true, shouldn't I be trying to kill you or that ghost—"
"Inuyasha," Miroku corrected again, inching away from the girl when she shot him a brief warning glance.
"—Right, Inuyasha, or something? I mean I know right now I have this weird urge to just start an all out brawl with you, but I also know that you guys aren't all bad, so I shouldn't even be considering things like this, but I am! It's so confusing, like I'm fighting with myself to stay sitting on this couch."
"Those are your killers instinct kicking in. I'd like to say that they're like demon instincts, but that's putting it lightly. You're much more sensitive to the supernatural, and basically hardwired into becoming killing machines when it comes down to it." Kouga explained smoothly. "But since this Bankotsu guy looks to be level headed, when he gets back we can get him to teach you how to control yourself around us so you don't accidentally start a fight."
"This is, so strange.." Sango wrapped her arms around herself and shuddered.
"Actually, for a human who just found out she wasn't-so-human-after-all, you're taking this real well," Kouga complemented.
"Thanks," Sango dryly muttered. So this meant that not only did she have these abilities, but her younger brother did too. And most likely her father. "My little brother, should he know about this?"
"I think it's best you don't mention this to your family. As a precaution." Miroku replied. "They do not need to be aware of the unknown as of yet."
"But what if—"
"Jeez woman, can't you see that we've got this city under strict protection? Whenever something weird pops up, it's dealt with. Your family is safe, just like the rest of 'em," Kouga pointed out, one of his pointed ears twitching upon the arrival of Inuyasha and Kagome. "Oh, so mutt face is back. How are you doing Kagome?" His voice instantly went gentle.
There was a low rumble in his chest, growls escaping the hanyou's lips directed at the youkai, "Feh, she'd be doin' better without you around, flea bag!"
"Inuyasha," Kagome warned with a small growl of her own.
Damn, she just knew how to intimidate him.
He grunted a small response, holding the girl more closely while he made his way to the empty chair. He had sat down and held her firmly to him, his eyes constantly darting from the ookami to the Hunter warily, "Does she know?"
"Gomen nasai, Kagome-chan!" Sango suddenly said.
Kagome had smiled as brightly as she could. "Don't worry. I already forgave you. I know how things must have looked with Miroku and I, but you should know that Inuyasha was there too. I never meant to cause any harm, I just needed to meditate." She giggled a little and winced when pain shot through her shoulders.
"Don't move so much," Inuyasha spoke very soothingly to Kagome. "It'll only hurt more."
"R-right…" Kagome yawned tiredly, blinking slowly.
"I believe it is time for everyone to return home for the evening," Mushin came into the living room with his usual smile on his face, "The drugs that I gave Kagome will make her fall asleep very soon, and it is apparent that you are all in need of rest."
"What about...?" Sango looked down at her hands.
Miroku shook his head, "It will be fine. Just try to avoid grabbing things, and also try to avoid being angry. Once you wake up tomorrow morning try to come here as soon as possible and we will think of something to do with your… Power."
Miroku had escorted them all back to Kagome's shrine while Kouga stayed back to do some mild damage control of whatever flesh or blood that was left in the front yard and driveway. Inuyasha had joked a little about the monk actually keeping his hands to himself and earned a glare from the boy as he was leaving the shrine grounds. Personally, the hanyou would have loved to see what kind of bruise she could give the hentai if he had actually groped her when they were saying goodnight.
Sango had apologized profusely again before they went inside the quiet house, still feeling beyond horrible for what she did to her friend. When Kagome brushed it off, she had bit her lip and given in for now since they were inside. There was no sense in arguing here, especially with the small army of girls slumbering in Kagome's room. Though now when you thought about it, Sango could actually stand a minor chance against them with this newfound strength.
'No, Yuka could probably still find some way to win any battle… I don't even want to think of what Ayumi or Eri would do..' Sango thought.
They had made themselves comfortable in Kagome's room again, Inuyasha still holding onto Kagome just as possessively as before. He had been torn at the door between forcing Kagome to make a barrier or Sango taking Kagome to her room, but it was quickly decided that it was both safer and better for the miko to make a barrier. She had told him that it was better this way considering how fragile she was right now and Sango's un-mastered powers. Not that she could talk much.
'If my powers weren't so stupidly strong then we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place!' Kagome mentally shouted at herself. She shifted into a little more of a comfortable position in her hanyou's arms and sighed. Her shoulders had been terribly bruised, with hand print markings. One of her bones was cracked and her muscles felt like they had the life squeezed out of them. 'But according to Mushin, I should heal a little bit faster than a normal human and he put some weird stuff on me that is helping with the mending of the broken vessels and my cracked bone.'
Inuyasha nuzzled Kagome's hair. "Get some sleep wench. We can figure things out later." He whispered, now that Sango could hear him, things weren't going to be as fun anymore. "Okay?"
"Hmm," Kagome acknowledged lightly, smiling at him.
He felt pretty shitty himself. Considering how slow he moved to stop Sango from hurting Kagome anymore and all. 'If I had known her powers had completely come to life like that, I would have never let her hold Kagome that long, let alone touch her.' He mentally growled, his youkai senses on full alert knowing Sango's bloodline limit had been brought back to life. 'Damn Taijiya clan…' The hairs on his neck rose. It was going to take some time to get used to this feeling. And hopefully that idiot Bankotsu and his crazy brother Jakotsu would come back soon.
Ha, he couldn't even believe he was wishing the other hunters were here. 'Until then, I'll have to keep a close eye on her. There's no way in hell she's getting near Kagome on my watch.' With that resolve, he had dug his nose into the miko's hair and sighed a little dreamily, focusing on her scent to keep him calm and collective. He could lay here for the rest of his days, and still be content. But he didn't want to just be content. He selfishly wanted more than that.
'Soon… I will have you Kagome, that's a promise.'
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A/N Good? No good? Ha, like I said before, this chapter had more Kouga and a pretty pissed off Sango. Jeez, strong girl isn't she? Just wait till the boys come back into town, Miroku will have a bit of competition for attention. Bahahaha. So, R&R!