Chapter 3

Kagura's a WHAT?

Kagome's POV

I. Am. Not. Dead. Despite contrary beliefs. ;) Anyways...I'm dropping a bomb-shell in this one. I guarantee you will not have seen this coming! Anyways I don't own Inuyasha or anything like that. Now...On with the story!

We made it to Kaede's in no time at all. My new body had all these side-effects that I discovered on the trip.

For example, one time I decided to race everyone, and ended up going so fast I….er…ended up walking on water. I'm not kidding, I broke the sound barrier, and I was so fast! It was terrifying.

Anyway, we arrived at Kaede's hut, and I burst inside in frenzy. Kaede dropped at pot in surprise, and I caught it out of reflex.

"Ka…Kagome? Child, what happened to ye?" She asked in shock. I sat down, curling my tails around me in my usual fashion. The others came in, and followed suit. I explained everything, including Kazumi and Amaya.

Everyone was silent after my tale, processing it. Shippo was curled up beside me, using my tails as a pillow. He stared up at me with huge, emerald eyes. Kirara lay beside him, nestled in my tails like a nest. She was fast asleep, not bothering with my life. Lucky cat.

Sango was sitting on my left, frowning at the floor. She was in her green, white and magenta kimono, and her hair was sweeping over her shoulders. Her whole body was sub-consciously shifted away from Miroku, wary of his hand.

Said monk was beside her, his hand not creeping towards Sango, for a change. He was staring at the wall above my head, glaring as he tried to work out my life. Yeah. Good luck with that buddy.

Beside him was Inuyasha, who was staring at me with wonder, confusion and…concern in his eyes? He was scrutinizing every inch of me, and I felt self-conscious. Tucking my hair into a side-ponytail, I turned to Kaede.

She was at the pot of stew, stirring it absentmindedly while staring into its murky depths. She searched into it for a while, until speaking.

"Well… I have never heard of a ten-tail, but I have heard of this 'Ice Rose' though some records of my ancestors. They speak of a transparent rose, which glistened like water, but held its shape. There were countless descriptions of it, but they all spoke of its beauty and power. They also mentioned powerful guardians, who held the appearance of a demon, but the power of a god. I assume they were talking about ten-tails."

"Amaya mentioned that I had elemental and dark powers. I guess that's the 'godly powers' your records speak of." I murmured.

"Well, elemental often refers to the four elements, Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind or Air." Miroku pointed out. "So you may have the ability to control or create those."

I nodded my head. "Darkness is stereotypically things like Poison, Fear and Shadow." (Yes, yes, very Spyro and Cinder, but that's how I base those sort of things.)

Sango looked up. "Did your… other sides… say something about battle gear and weapons?" She asked.

"Yea… Amaya said Totosai would deal with those." I answered. "What I'm curious about is do I have a night of weakness? Even though that is typically for hanyous, I do have a human side. So am I a hanyou? And if so, when is my weak night? That is my first priority." (Yes, I am going to make her have a night of weakness. She is to powerful not to have one. Any good writer knows your characters can't be invincible!)

The others nodded and I smiled. Kaede handed out stew, and we ate in silence for a while. A crash outside snapped me to my senses. A foul stench drifted into the hut, and I recognized Kagura's scent. It smelt like Naraku, smelling like poison and burning rubber, but it also smelt of lilies, Kagura's personal scent.

We all raced outside, to see Kagura floating on her feather above our heads. She had her fans out, and was fanning herself with the most bored expression on her face. Even Sesshomaru shows more emotion than that look she's giving us! (I'm just having a bit of fun at Fluffy's expense!)

"Kagura!" Inuyasha snarled, drawing Tetsusaiga (Finally got the spelling!), and pointing it at Kagura. She looked at him, and raised her fans.

"Dance of Blades!" She yelled, and the all-too-familiar white crescents came shooting out, hitting Inuyasha on the arm and nicking his cheek. Miroku, Sango and Shippo leapt onto Kirara and flew into the air, and I used my new speed to my advantage. Note to self: challenge Koga to a race.

"What's this?" Kagura asked, shocked. "The miko seems to have gone demon!"

"Yeah, you wish I was demon!" I spat back at her. I guess I have a short temper now. And a sharp tongue. I inwardly shrugged. I'm not gonna complain.

She raised her fans again, and with a "Dance of the Dragon", I was speeding around again. I caught Inuyasha's eyes, and mentally gave him a command. He caught on quickly, and took advantage of Kagura's lack of awareness.

"WIND SCAR!" The yellow scars of energy flowed through the air towards Kagura at a deadly speed. Her eyes registered surprise and fear for a split second, before she flew out of the way. Damn.

She snarled at us, and took something out of her kimono. She held it to her mouth, and a high-pitched sound filled the air, making Kirara, Inuyasha and I flatten our ears against our heads. Almost immediately a crunching sound filled my ears. I swiveled them towards the sound, and noticed a crack in the ground racing towards us. Before I could alert the others, though, a demon burst from the ground and slammed me into a nearby tree.

My mind went hazy, and the shouts of my friends were muffled. My vision blurred slightly, but I managed to get a good look at our enemy.

He stood on two brown, deer-like legs that resembled bark, with a matching tail. He had the torso of a man, and his arms were human, but covered in brown fur. Vines twisted around his body, and were weaved into his brown-and-forest-green hair. He had amazing eyes though. Striking sunflower-yellow, streaked with bright baby-blue. He had a sharp nose, and pointed ears. He was amazingly agile on his thin legs, and his arm muscles bulged unnaturally. (I made him up on the spot. Kinda random, but what the hell.)

He twisted his hands in a curious gesture, and thick vines sprouted out of the ground, pinning my friends to separate trees. He smirked, and said in a velvety voice, "It's rude to kill you without introducing myself. I am Kiyoshi (means pure, saintly. I know, I know.), master demon of the vines. Now," He held his hand out, and a vive grew out of his hand, forming into an elegant sword, which he poised delicately over Sango's heart, "which shall I kill first, the hanyou, or his pathetic friends? Kagura, any ideas?" He turned to said woman, who was lounging in the tree above me.

She turned, shrugged and turned back. Was that… reluctance in her eyes? She doesn't like Naraku! Maybe… maybe I can get her to help me! I shifted slightly, dazed, and smelt her scent. My eyes shot open. Is that..?

Kiyoshi padded over to Sango, and teasingly traced his sword around her lips. She snarled at him, but was powerless. Smiling, he placed a soft kiss on her lips, before plunging the sword into her stomach. I growled. That son of a…

Sango gasped, shuddered, and fell forward, the vines straining slightly under her weight. Inuyasha and Miroku were shouting obscenities at the demon, and I was *this* close to ripping out his spine out and beating him with it. If only I wasn't so dizzy. He walked over to the two boys, and I snarled again. He didn't even glance at me as he held the sword over Inuyasha's neck and drew the sword lightly across it, leaving a small scratch. He carefully centered the sword over Inuyasha's heart, and cut through the cloth covering it, revealing the skin below. He then raised his sword to Inuyasha's twitching ears, and drew the sword back.

LET ME OUT!Amaya's voice startled me, and I felt her presence. Then it was like slow motion. It was like I was outside my own body. I saw myself lunge forward with a feral snarl, all dizziness gone. I saw my hands change shape, and grew lavender fur. Black fur grew up my arms, and down my back. My tails grew in size, and my claws grew to actual claws. My nose and mouth stretched out into a black muzzle, and my eyes grew in luminescence, while my hair melted into my back.

I was now a spitting image of Amaya. Scratch that, I was Amaya. And I was pissed. Imagine you just killed some wolf cubs, and their mother. Imagine the packs wrath. Multiply that by twenty. Add 7. Now that is a controlled version of my rage. I think it would be safe to say I was not happy. Not. At. All.

Kiyoshi wisely backed away from the boys after seeing me. I padded softly towards him, growling, and he backed away, holding the sword towards me. Not easily fazed, is he? I rushed him suddenly, and barreled into his side, knocking him off balance. While he regained his feet I looked for his weak point.

Where is it, where is it… His feet! His deer legs were ridiculously thin; meaning a good hit to the ankles should take him down. Literally.

I rushed him again, but ducked and swung my back legs into his ankles, snapping one with ease. He howled, and fell to his knees. I lifted my claws for the final blow when a bunch of vines hid him from my view. I slashed at them, but they kept growing.

"Kagura!" His voice rang out. "Finish them!" The vines shrunk back into the ground, revealing a blank patch of ground. I shook my head. I'll deal with him later. I ran to Inuyasha and Miroku, and slashed the vines that held him in place. Immediately, Miroku was at Sango's side, slashing through the vines and catching her. Normally I would be pleased at the sight, but the situation was a little dire.

I heard Inuyasha draw Tetsusaiga, and point it at Kagura. She looked at him, anger and…pain in her eyes? In a flash I remembered her scent. Is it possible that..? I jolted back to reality when Inuyasha raised Tetsusaiga.

"Stop!" I yelled impulsively, and ran in front of the fang.

"Kagome! Are you crazy?!" Inuyasha shouted at me, but I didn't bother listening. My ears lowered in sympathy a little as I looked at Kagura. I padded over to her, and gave her a smile.

"If you ever need someone to trust, come find me." I whispered to her, and gave her a lick on the cheek. (She's still a fox.) I padded away to Miroku, ignoring the surprised look on both of their faces, and the grateful one on Kagura's, and focused on Lifting Sango onto Kirara's back, and transporting her back to Kaede's.

We entered, and Kaede went through the usual process of healing. Afterwards we ate dinner, and chatted about Kiyoshi. But my mind was focused on Kagura, and her new secret.

Kagura was a mother.

TOLD YOU! I bet you never saw THAT one coming! Anyways, sorry it's so short, but I wanted to drop that bomb-shell ASAP. Wait for the next chapter, people, and thanks for your support! Chow for Now!

~Kitty Of Death ;)