Chapter Three – The Beginning of the End

Kagome bent forward and grabbed her ankles, pulling until her chest pressed against her knees. The stretch always managed to get her ready for her morning run, and today it had the added benefit of helping her relieve a little of the tension that she could feel all the way through her body. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she straightened, startled as she came face to chest with Sesshomaru.

He was standing a few feet away, but she hadn't felt him approach, much less had she noticed him standing there. She smiled.

"Good morning, Sesshomaru-sama."

He inclined his head, and his eyes roamed slowly over her body. She couldn't help but shift nervously, wondering what he thought about her workout clothes—if he hated her skirt, he would absolutely despise her spandex shorts and cut off tank top. "It appears you have not decided to dress as is befitting of your station, onna."

She scowled. "Am I supposed to exercise in a kimono, Sesshomaru?"

He blinked slowly, eyes roving over her form once more. "That would be acceptable."

She couldn't help it. She laughed. She knew he would probably kill her, but the stifled giggles as she shook her head at him only seemed to earn her a blank stare. "I didn't know you had a sense of humor," she murmured, gathering her hair up into a high ponytail. "As much as I appreciate it, though, running in a kimono would be really annoying." She crouched to check her shoe laces, looking up at him through her lashes.

He was beautiful in the early morning hours, and she wondered if he'd slept the night before—she hadn't. No matter how hard she'd tried, she couldn't get to sleep, her mind whirling as she'd contemplated her impending change. She'd thought of everything from what she would look like to what would happen when her uncle found out that she was alive. She seriously doubted that she would go through any drastic physical changes, and the fact that her uncle would more than likely kill her when—not if—he found her was enough to keep dread roiling in her stomach.

She straightened, and Sesshomaru was turning away. "Sesshomaru, I—" He'd stopped, and was looking at her over his shoulder, his profile stunning in the dawn light. She pursed her lips and looked down at her feet. "I don't know anything about being a youkai, and I know that you probably have other things to do, but could you—could you stay for a little while after the change? I think—I think I'll need your help."

She gathered the courage to look back up, and Sesshomaru still stood in the same position, staring at her from the corner of his eye. She waited.

"Hn."

Kagome frowned lightly, unsure as to whether the 'hn' was an answer or just a grunt. She opened her mouth to ask, but he was already partially off of the ground, his cloud cushioning his feet. She sighed, knowing that yelling after him would get her nothing but silence.

She reached up and tightened her ponytail before starting off at a jog through the village.

When she returned, Kagome was met with Sesshomaru's large body as he stood outside of Kaede's hut. The older miko stood next to him, and though they were talking, they stopped when she approached, a genteel smile creasing Kaede's grandmotherly face.

"There ye are, child. Come in and have a seat." Kagome knew better than to argue and she snuck a glance at Sesshomaru as she ducked into the hut. His face was blank.

Kaede indicated for her to sit, and she did so, glad to be off of her feet after her cool down. She kept her legs stretched out in front of her, gratefully accepting the cup of water the older miko handed her. "Thanks." Kaede nodded and lowered herself to the floor across from her while Sesshomaru settled against the wall to her right, his presence somewhat comforting.

"How do ye fare, child?" Kaede asked, drawing Kagome out of her thoughts.

She took a moment to contemplate the question. "I'm better than I was last night," she answered, nodding to herself. Last night she'd been a crying, panicked mess, but things always seemed better in the sunlight.

Kaede nodded and reached toward the flint and tinder she kept for lighting fires. Kagome instantly took the items from her hands and lit the flame for her, standing and pouring water into the pot. The older woman didn't complain, but there was a gentle reproach in her eye when Kagome sat back down. The girl shrugged, but didn't say anything.

Kagome watched as Kaede went through the motions of making tea, dropping specific herbs and a certain kind of tea leaf into the water as it heated to a boil. It smelled medicinal, and Kagome scrunched her nose as the scent grew stronger. She felt another sliver of reiki leave her body and fought the nausea that threatened to take over as the smell of the tea all but invaded her nose.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Kagome forced herself to breathe through her mouth, and the nausea passed quickly, leaving behind a feeling of relief—she didn't think Kaede would appreciate her puking all over the floor. When she opened her eyes, Kaede was watching her, her eye betraying the wisdom Kagome and the rest of the group had always relied on.

"Your senses will heighten through the day, child," the old miko murmured, reaching forward to stir the tea. Her eye darted to Sesshomaru and then back to Kagome. "Lord Sesshomaru has agreed to help ye adjust, but ye must leave the village before your change."

"Leave? Why?"

For a moment, neither one of them answered. "The scent of a human village is not kind to youkai," Sesshomaru murmured. Kagome frowned and thought to defend the human race but decided against it. She couldn't deny the statement, not when she knew that people in the era didn't bathe daily as she did.

"Where will we go?" she asked instead, looking over to the big inu.

"This Sesshomaru shall procure a location," he answered.

"Until then," Kaede murmured, bringing Kagome's attention back to her, "ye shall go and collect herbs for me, child."

Kagome grinned and reached over to take the basket that Kaede offered her. "Sure."

Inuyasha folded his arms over his chest and looked, actually looked, at Kagome. He hadn't believed her story at first, but now, with the reiki fading and being replaced by youki, he had no choice but to trust what she'd said. There were other signs too, signs he should have noticed.

She'd never been able to actually control her reiki, not even after Kaede had taught her to meditate. She was only dangerous when threatened, and that was probably because her mother sensed that she was in danger and somehow managed to direct the reiki to help defend her.

Kagome had never been afraid of youki, and even though she had a soft spot for hanyou, it was well known that youkai were inherently unafraid of their own kind, especially if their opponent was weaker than them. Inuyasha frowned. Kagome was only afraid—and minutely at that—of Sesshomaru. She'd been scared of Naraku only when Sango and Miroku had been nearly killed by the bastard, and Inuyasha grudgingly admitted that the fear was probably fear for the slayer and monk, not of Naraku.

"Inuyasha, come help me," Kagome called. He pulled himself out of his thoughts and ducked through the brush, taking the basket Kagome held out to him.

"I hope you're not gonna make me carry this, wench," he grumbled, more out of habit than irritation.

She shrugged. "I just needed to use both hands," she answered, not taking the time to look up as she dug in the dirt for whatever herb Kaede had her looking for now. Inuyasha watched her. How had he ever mistaken her for Kikyo?

Sure, they looked alike, but that was where the similarities ended. Kagome's eyes were blue, where Kikyo's were brown. Kagome was kind and selfless, where Kikyo was unemotional and cold. Hell, Kagome wasn't even Kikyo's incarnation, he knew that now. He wondered why it had taken him so long to see it.

Kagome straightened, placing a minty smelling root into the basket before brushing her hands off and taking it from him. She smiled up at him, and then her face scrunched as another bit of reiki left her body. The expression passed quickly, and Inuyasha felt himself frown as youki grew into the space that the reiki had left.

Kagome didn't know it yet, but she was already stronger than any hanyou, including himself. He was almost wary to find out how strong she was as a full youkai.

Kagome bounced on the balls of her feet, watching as Shippo and Rin chased each other through the clearing.

The sun had set a few hours earlier, and Sesshomaru had led her and the children to a clearing pretty far away from the village. He had explained that the children would be sent back before the change, and Kagome couldn't have argued with him even if she'd wanted to—she figured he knew what he was talking about.

Beside her, the big inu was silent, watchful, and she turned to him to find him looking up at the stars above them. For a moment, Kagome studied his profile, and then looked down. The grass underneath her feet was lush and green, and she could see every little blade without having to focus. It was amazing what heightened senses could do—she'd stopped Miroku from groping her, smelled Shippo from a mile off, and had even been able to find water without help. And she'd been told that she hadn't even experienced the half of it yet.

Her breath caught as yet another bit of reiki left her body. It had only been uncomfortable at first, but it was quickly becoming painful as youki and reiki tried to coexist in the same body. She took a deep breath and forced the pain to the back of her mind as Shippo and Rin ran to her, squealing about the fireflies they'd captured in their palms.

Kagome laughed and plucked a blinking bug from Rin's hair, snagging another from Shippo's shoulder. "You guys are covered," she murmured, brushing bugs off of arms and legs.

"The bugs like us, Kagome-sama!" Rin exclaimed. Kagome winced slightly at the high pitch, but nodded anyway.

"They sure do," she responded, watching as a bug climbed across her own fingers before ascending to the tip and flying away. Rin laughed and immediately went to chase after it again, but Shippo hesitated, and Kagome combed her fingers through his bangs.

"Okaa-san?"

"Hmm?"

He was fiddling with his fingers, watching a lightening bug crawl up over his wrist. The insect blinked occasionally, and each flash of light burned her eyes, so she looked away, tracing Shippo's features. "Okaa-san, what happens when you change?"

She cleared her throat, lowering herself to the floor and pulling the kit into her lap. He didn't seem to mind the contact, and she wrapped her arms around his stomach, resting her chin on the top of his head. He smelled like dirt and springtime, an underlying musk identifying him as kitsune. "I'm not sure, Shippo."

"Will—will you leave?"

Rin had stopped chasing the bugs, and was walking back toward them, the smile on her face fading as she neared. Kagome held out an arm and somehow managed to get both of them comfortably in her lap. Rin smelled of the flowers she was so adamant about, but there was another distinctly masculine scent that Kagome recognized as Sesshomaru's.

"Kagome-sama will never leave us, right, Kagome-sama?"

Kagome didn't know how Rin managed to hear the question from where she'd been, but Kagome knew that the girl had always been perceptive, and had probably read the expressions on their faces.

"I'm not going to leave," she answered, pressing a kiss to each small temple.

"Kagome-sama is going to be an inuyoukai just like Sesshomaru-sama, and Sesshomaru-sama has never left Rin, so Kagome-sama won't leave either, right?" The child swiveled in her lap, and Kagome smiled at her broad distinction.

"Right."

Shippo remained silent, but Rin quickly changed the subject, tilting her head back and pointing up at the stars. Kagome let herself be distracted for a little while, but it seemed like only a few moments had passed when Sesshomaru told the children that it was time for them to leave. Kagome pushed back the irrational urge to pull them possessively to her chest.

Smiling, she hugged each of them, whispering that she would see them later. Shippo still seemed uncertain, and Kagome made sure to give him an extra hug before sending him off toward Kirara, who had been sent for them. She watched as the nekomata took to the skies, and then turned to Sesshomaru.

"Come, onna, it is time."

Kagome nodded and followed the inu to the center of the clearing.

Sesshomaru watched as the soon-to-be ex-miko folded herself to the ground and assumed the lotus position, closing her eyes and breathing deep.

They had already gone over the procedure, but Sesshomaru monitored her anyway, being sure that she remained calm as the reiki that had been holding back her youki was leeched from her system. It went quick, quicker than it had been going throughout the day, and Sesshomaru watched as she gritted her teeth in what he could only call intense pain.

Her lips parted, and then she opened her eyes, gasping. Her hand came up from her knee and she clutched at the fabric of the blue top she wore, twisting it until it pulled tightly against her breasts. The pain in her eyes was fierce, and it wasn't long before she unfolded herself from her position and fell to her side in the grass. Sesshomaru erected a barrier of his own youki around the clearing in preparation, and then stepped back and waited.

Kagome wasn't sure what was going on. One second she felt perfectly fine, and then pain blossomed in the center of her chest and spiraled out to her fingertips. It was slowly spreading down through her belly, traveling along her thighs and down to her feet. She couldn't help but wonder if this was what it felt like to burn alive, but the thought didn't want to stay in her mind.

She was vaguely aware that Sesshomaru was standing a few feet away, but his youki was pressing on her from all sides, keeping her in check. It wouldn't let her move, wouldn't let her breathe correctly. Wait, no. That was the pain constricting her lungs and tightening her throat. It was the burning agony coursing through her veins that kept her from moving.

She could feel the grass against her cheek and poking her side through her shirt. They were smaller pinpricks of extra sensation amidst a sea of pain, and it suddenly became too much. She had to stand up.

The struggle sent agony zipping through her muscles but she pressed on, forcing herself to move until she was on her hands and knees. Her palms were hot, too sensitive. She pushed to her feet, swayed, and then steadied herself. Her thighs protested against the weight of her body and her breath passed her lips in short spurts.

A wave of nausea broke in her belly, and she leaned over, retching and expelling nothing but air. Her heart sped up, and heat flashed through her system as she straightened. She wanted to reach up and wipe her mouth, but just the thought of forcing her arm to raise sent discomfort lancing through her shoulder.

Her vision was bleary and Sesshomaru's fair coloring was all one big blob in front of her. The thought that he might somehow be able to take away the pain flitted across her mind, and then buzzed by a second time, and then a third. Her legs moved before she could tell them to, and she stumbled to the inuyoukai, fighting through the pain and reaching toward him.

His clawed fingers closed around her wrist as she fell into his chest, the feeling of him sending nothing but overwhelming sensations swirling through her system; pain, heat, and the shocks of their youki meeting danced along her skin. She groaned, and the noise seemed overly loud in her ears. Sesshomaru's chest was vibrating underneath her cheek, and the fact that she heard words instead of his growl was only slightly shocking.

"Calm yourself, onna. The pain will not end lest you accept the change."

She could feel the youki caressing her skin, running heated fingers over her arms and down her spine. It was intensely painful but there was nothing she could do to stop it. Sesshomaru spoke again, and her mind was diverted if only for a moment.

"There will be things that you do not understand," he growled, voice an octave lower and a bit rougher than she was used to. "But first you must embrace the change."

"Hurts."

She didn't realize that she'd said it until the word had echoed in her mind, and even then she couldn't recognize her own voice.

"Your youki must reintroduce itself to your body."

"Hurts," she repeated, not sure he was understanding her. Her fingers clenched tighter in his haori, and the silk was as hot as his skin must have been. His massive youki sparked against her, adding layers of pain on top of an already impossibly deep pool of agony. She didn't know if she could take much more.

A blow exploded against her stomach, and she stumbled back, realizing that Sesshomaru hadn't been the one to deliver the hit as another one landed against her chest. She fell, one hand over her heart.

It didn't take her long to figure out that the massive impacts weren't coming from an outside source—it was her own youki, pulsing in her body. She fell onto her side and curled up into a ball.

It was almost finished.

Sesshomaru watched carefully as the onna pulled her knees to her chest. Her eyes were closed, her breathing labored. Sweat beaded on her brow and ran like water along her skin, dripping to the grass beneath her and filling the air with her scent. He could smell the sharp tang of pain, taste the bitterness of agony on his tongue, and yet still he watched.

Her markings had begun to fade onto her skin, and they bled silver, the stripe on her cheekbones sharp but delicate in their beauty. She bore the mark of an heir on her forehead, a delicate eight-pointed star that sat directly in the center, glimmering in the moonlight.

The fingers that clenched her knees were tipped in deadly claws, and the bare feet curled near her rear end had developed dainty talons. Her bones were hardening, her lungs expanding and her heart becoming stronger as her youki dispelled all traces of her previous humanity. It was a necessary process, but the pain she went through would lessen if only she would accept it. One could not fight their own body, and the sooner she realized it, the quicker it would end.

A loud gasp drew his thoughts back to the situation at hand, and he watched as the onna flipped over to her back, arching up off of the ground. For a moment, there was silence, and then her mouth fell open and she screamed, youki flaring.

It was a long, loud noise that woke birds and sent skittish animals into their dens. His youki kept the surge of hers from escaping, but the sound must have carried for miles.

The power fizzled against him, sparking against the exposed skin of his hands and throat. It didn't recognize him, didn't submit to him. He decided to move on to the next stage of the onna's change—her body had adapted as much as it could to her body, and now her beast would emerge.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, her body slumped. She groaned, and then turned over, blood red eyes meeting his. Her lips pulled back into a snarl, and then she leapt.

Author's Note: Yes, I'm leaving it there! (Hopefully a cliffie will inspire you all to review? *hinthint* ^_^) Until next time!

~Aubrey