For nothing but a solid week Sesshomaru steered his pack in the right direction, his attention solely on making it to the dragon demon the fates had chosen as Kagome's second task, his fist tightened in his sleeves, this task wasn't necessary so it made him wonder.
Kagome was oblivious to Sesshomaru's inner turmoil as she was fighting down her own panic, it was ridiculous how the heck did the fates think she was capable of beating a dragon demon with nothing but the skills she had gain so far which wasn't much and then to make him submit what kind of crap was that.
"We approach" Sesshomaru's smooth baritone voice filled the air startling Kagome from her internal musings, her eyes flashed in his direction before nodding in understanding, his own golden orbs glinted in the sunlight, this dragon was a strong demon.
The closer they got the easier it was for Kagome to tell that the ensuing task wouldn't be an easy one, his aura brushed against her's and she nearly fell to her knee's under the sheer power of it, Kagome righted herself a moment later, she wouldn't be the one to fall, he would.
"Ah Lord Sesshomaru what is it that brings you before me" the dragon floated lazily in the air before them, his aquamarine eyes settling on the young raven haired girl a few steps behind the daiyoukai, "And why are you in the company of a mere mortal child" he questioned in a deep voice.
Sesshomaru glanced between the dragon and his second human ward "Hakari-san, this Sesshomaru comes before you because it is necessary, the miko has been given a task and this one is merely here to see the completion of the task" he spoke.
Kagome came forward when Sesshomaru beckoned her forward silently "Tha...that's right Hakari-san, I must defeat you and make you submit and I must take three of you're scales" she stuttered lightly before finishing in a confident voice.
Hakari twisted his head to stare at his crystal blue scales, they shined in the daylight "Or child I could just give you the scales you need" he offered tilting his head to the side, she was interesting and he had no wish to fight with the girl.
"I'm sorry Hakari-san, the fates have ordered it, demanded really" Kagome wrung her hands nervously, while the thought of not fighting this seemingly gentle dragon demon was nice, she knew that if things didn't progress as the fates wanted then something terrible would happen.
The dragon sighed "If you must miko, then attack, but know I will not kill you" Hakari rasped, before disappearing from view, aura masked, Kagome froze and her eyes searched the clearing, a shadow formed above her head and she almost didn't have enough time to get out of the way of the massive spiked tail coming at her.
Kagome spun on her heel, heart pounding erratically in her chest, this was going to be one of those things that made her question her sanity, what the hell was she thinking, she could have just taken the scales 'Stupid, stupid, stupid' Kagome inwardly berated herself, consequences be damned.
Hakari spun and snapped his jaws, catching a bit of the girls kimono and tearing it a little, Kagome's eyes rounded in slight fear and she looked at her arm that was slightly bleeding and then to Hakari, she pushed down the urge to whimper and darted to the right to avoid getting hit again.
This continued on for awhile, Kagome dodging as best she could and Hakari striking out with either his tail, claws or jaws until the girl couldn't go on for much longer and in a move that shocked the dragon demon, her barrier materialized around her preventing him from attacking again.
Sesshomaru smirked to himself, so she was learning "I'm not done yet Hakari-san" Kagome called pushing reiki into her hands until they glowed a bright pink, then she forced it to form into something tangible a small dagger that she could wield.
When she was finished, Kagome looked at her hands as if she had never seen them before, that had been a subconscious decision that her conscious mind had no part of, but now that she had learned what else she could do with her powers.
Hakari's tail crashed down upon her barrier before a pained groan escaped from between his scaly lips, his tail curled against his body as it burned "Though you are untrained miko, you have the potential, well done, rest you're wounds for tonight and we'll continue tomorrow" he spoke gently.
Her barrier collapsed and the knife she had formed faded out of existence, it seemed when she wasn't using her spiritual powers that anything she created with her reiki vanished in the blink of an eye, Kagome sighed and trudged wearily to the camp that had been set up a distance away.
Sesshomaru's golden eyes trailed over the little miko he had taken into his pack, despite having only figured out what else she could do with her powers in the last little bit of the fight, she was covered in still bleeding scratches and her clothes were nearly in shreds.
He scented the air lightly and smelt hot springs a little ways away "Miko, take Rin and go to the hot springs, this Sesshomaru orders you to" Sesshomaru waved the two females off in the direction he had scented the heated air that accompanied hot springs.
"Yay, Rin gets to bathe with Kagome-chan" Rin clapped her hands together and Kagome sent the little girl a fond smile, and Hakari chuckled at the child's enthusiasm, soon enough both girls were gone in the direction the dai had pointed them.
"Why do you travel with two ningen females, I've heard stories about you're hatred for their kind" Hakari couldn't help but ask, Sesshomaru turned his golden eyes on the dragon, they were narrowed in thought, he himself wondered why.
"This one saved Rin from death, and for the Miko, this Sesshomaru only protects her just to see the look on that worthless half demons face, when he realizes just all he has lost and by then it will be much to late" Sesshomaru chuckled darkly, golden eyes darkening.
Deep laughter filled the air from Hakari until all was quiet "Yes, I'd heard that Inuyasha has gotten himself mixed up with another half demon, Hinoko I believe it was" he explained and Sesshomaru nodded his head, even he knew of the half demoness his ignorant half brother had mated on a whim.
Nearly an hour later, Kagome and Rin returned, both females smelling like strawberries, they sat around the fire chitchatting about this and that while the fish that had been caught cooked, then they ate before heading to sleep Rin curled up in Kagome's arms as was usual now.
The next morning Kagome sat up and rubbed her sleep crusted eyes, she winced at the movements as pain flared in her sore limbs 'Ow' she grimaced inwardly suddenly wishing all of her wounds were gone, Sesshomaru's head snapped upwards when Kagome's spiritual powers flared.
Even Hakari was curious as the miko was surrounded in a bright pink light, a moment later it faded to reveal all of the small wounds he had given her the other day, had vanished, "Lord Sesshomaru you didn't mention she had the ability to heal as well" he accused.
"This one was unaware of the ability as well, but this will be good for the miko, the more she learns the easier it will be for her to complete her tasks" Sesshomaru rumbled softly, his voice not reaching Kagome's ears as he had settled further away than usual from their encampment.
Kagome was shocked beyond belief, all she had wanted was for her wounds to be gone and they vanished without a trace, she was learning more about herself now as she traveled with Sesshomaru, than she ever had while traveling with Inuyasha, a bitter smile came to her lips.
"Perhaps I was only pathetic in you're presence" her lips formed the words quietly, to quiet for Sesshomaru's or Hakari's ears to catch, but Jaken heard them just fine and he lowered his gaze to the ground as his eyes filled with pity, the half demon had dealt a lot of damage to the miko it seemed.
Breakfast was eaten in silence until Kagome jumped to her feet "Hakari-san, I'm ready" she called softly and ducked to avoid the claws that was aimed at her shoulder, yesterday all she had done was dodge until the very end, not today, she was going to start fighting back little by little.
Like Hakari, she also didn't want to hurt the dragon, he was to kind, gentle even, so Kagome turned her thoughts inward as she tried to come up with a way to avoid accidentally purifying the dragon demon with her growing spiritual powers.
Hakari's spiked tail swung through the air and slammed into the miko's side, he winced, he didn't want to seriously maim the girl, but Kagome was up on her feet again a moment later, blood dribbling down her side and plain white kimono stained a dark red.
Kagome cringed and erected a barrier around herself, earlier she had subconsciously healed her wounds, so now she was going to try it on her own, she forced her reiki into her hand and pressed it to the bleeding wound and willed the flesh to stitch together.
While the miko worked on discovering how to heal herself and keeping her barrier up, Hakari attacked trying everything he could think of to destroy the pink dome of reiki, even though it burned him when he touched it, he was nothing if not persistent.
Finally, when her skin melded together, her barrier dropped, and Kagome spun to the right avoiding the slash aimed at her neck, her movements were faster and her eyes were able to keep up with Hakari's quick movements just slightly but it was enough to let her know she was improving.
Hakari eyed his opponent as she danced in and out of his attacks, it was no wonder Sesshomaru was her protector, if the other demons knew how quick the miko learned things they would want to destroy her, he only hoped that would never happen, if only other miko's were more welcoming to the demon kind.
Like yesterday, Kagome formed a tangible dagger, it's intent was to pin something in place to prevent it from moving, she tossed it and she grimaced, her throwing skills were crappy at best, and her formed dagger blinked out of existence three feet away from her.
The dragon laughed then "Perhaps you should practice" Hakari rumbled deep within his chest and Kagome frowned forcing her reiki to form another dagger, it was sent sailing in his direction falling short by several, several feet.
'Damn it, I guess Hakari-san is right, but something like that won't hold me back forever' Kagome sulked inwardly as she dodged to the right just as Hakari's jaws nearly bit down on her arm, she tried again to form her blade and found it difficult as she ran.
But that didn't stop her for long and soon enough Kagome held another dagger in her hand imbued with immobilizing powers, this time she waited until Hakari was close enough and then she threw her blade forcing more reiki into it to make sure it lasted, it struck true and pinned his tail to the ground.
Hakari's head swiveled around to his tail, aquamarine eyes going wide, though the reiki was weak and it was easily crushed, it told him just what kind of power had been held within the dagger, she didn't want to hurt him anymore than he wanted to hurt her and had tried to immobilize him instead.
"Good, you're learning" he praised gently and he got a blinding smile flashed his way from the miko in training, if she kept up at the rate she was going, Kagome was going to be a miko of great power, one well known in all the lands and coveted by men.
Kagome dropped and rolled to her feet to avoid getting smashed by the tail she had previously tried to pin, it hadn't worked, but that wasn't going to stop her from trying again, the minute Hakari was distracted she would throw another one and aim a little higher.
Sesshomaru had watched all this with knowing eyes, the fates had told him that this would be the eventual outcome, Kagome was coming into her birthright, the past was where she truly belonged now, even though the portal between times had been left open for her continued use.
Just a few weeks ago he would have never thought that the irritating girl that had hung off his despised half brother like a curtain would be capable of such difficult feats, but Sesshomaru could tell that in possible a few weeks, Hakari would be defeated and made to submit.
He realized though what this test was all about, the fates were turning Kagome into the human version of an alpha female, one that had power to rival those of his fathers, and as she was miko, any children she had by a demon would be full blood unlike Izayoi, who could only bare his father half demon.
Hakari's aquamarine eyes followed the moving form of Kagome, his tail twitched in anticipation and he lashed out, it struck true this time in her stomach, he was quick to stop his attack, and the girl hit the ground with a thud.
"Miko" he called leaning over her, Kagome was crying softly with out a sound as she raised a reiki filled hand and pressed it to her newest wound, their session was done for the day it seemed "Rest, you've done well" Hakari turned and headed for the tree.
Kagome sighed and flopped listlessly against the ground jarring her sore as hell body, no matter one of these days the soreness would fade and she'd be able to fight without tiring, right now though that seemed like such a far off dream.
"Kagome-chan are you alright" Rin leaned over the older girl worry in her brown eyes, Kagome sat up and scooped the little girl into her arms causing Rin to squeal and giggles to fill the air and a few chuckles to float towards the two girls from Hakari.
"I'm fine Rin-chan" Kagome assured the adorable child cuddling her against her chest for a moment before setting Rin on her feet, dinner was made soon afterwards and once both girls were finished they crawled into Kagome's sleeping bag and fell asleep.
The next two weeks were filled with nothing but learning the extent of her newest abilities, her reiki becoming stronger, her reiki dagger taking less time to form and less concentration to keep it from blinking out of existence, and her healing capabilities had blossomed as well.
On the morning of the first day of her fourth week since she had been assigned her second task by the fates, Kagome woke feeling determined, it hadn't taken her but a week to complete the first one and she was going to finish her second one today no matter what.
Once breakfast had been devoured, Kagome rose to her small height "Hakari-san, I am ready today is the day I beat you and make you submit" she vowed fiercely her hand already clenched around a reiki dagger imbued with immobilizing powers.
Hakari's aquamarine eyes peered into chocolate brown before nodding "I would expect no less miko, show me all you've learned" he spoke kindly before darting forward tail swishing out, but Kagome was quicker now and she tucked her shoulder in and spun to the right to avoid getting hit.
Her brown eyes were narrowed in concentration as she built up her reiki in her dagger and ducked, dodged and weaved in and out of Hakari's attacks, getting in a few of her own hits by shooting a ball of purifying powers at him, not enough to kill but enough to weaken.
Sesshomaru was watching the fight with interest, Hakari's aura was weakening slowly but surely, he doubted the dragon even realized what was going on, but Kagome she knew exactly what she was doing, she had learned a lot as she fought Hakari day after day getting stronger every waking moment.
His golden eyes were drawn to the shining pink dagger in the miko's hand felt the reiki built within and chuckled softly, as Kagome had vowed earlier today it seemed was going to be the day she managed to defeat the dragon and make him submit before taking no more than three scales.
Hakari cursed softly as his serpentine body twisted and rolled to avoid getting hit by another one of the young girls orbs of shining pink purifying powers, she had gotten better at reading his moves and was spinning in and out of his own attacks with ease now.
His lips pulled downwards, something was seriously wrong, his body was moving at half the speed it could usually move but he didn't realize, Kagome smiled inwardly, she felt bad but Hakari needed to be taken down even if it meant deceiving him somewhat.
"Oi Hakari-san" Kagome called sweetly tucking her chin into her chest to avoid getting beheaded by a swipe of his sharp claws, when the dragon had his attention focused on her, she tossed another ball of her purifying powers at him sufficiently distracting him enough.
Sesshomaru leaned forward curiously as Kagome shot forward, and slammed her reiki dagger into the dragons tail, then pushed off the ground with her hands and cartwheeled backwards, Hakari had frozen in place and wasn't moving a muscle, his silver brows pushed together in confusion.
Hakari was the first to realize, "You, well done young miko" he gestured with his eyes, the only thing he was able to move at the moment how proud he was of the young girl, she had honed her powers tirelessly these last couple of weeks and had finally managed to pin him to the spot frozen.
"Thank you Hakari-san, but my task isn't finished" Kagome frowned, she hated the fates in this moment as she took a deep breath and flared her aura outwards to press down on the dragon overcoming his own powerful aura.
Hakari twisted his head to the side knowing what the miko wanted and bared his throat for her, "I submit" he murmured and that massive aura vanished hidden behind a barrier deceiving everyone into thinking she wasn't as strong as she now was.
Kagome bristled with pleasure, she had overcome her second near impossible task and she strode forward "Then rise" she commanded, she was alpha female over Hakari now, not that she truly knew it yet but someday she would.
Hakari got to his feet and plucked three crystal blue scales from his tail and handed them over to Kagome "This one thanks you miko for the kindness you have showed" he bowed deferring to the human girl and floating into the skies heading for his caves until she called for him.
Her ebony brows creased, "Lord Sesshomaru why did Hakari-san bow like that" Kagome questioned softly watching the dragon demon disappear from view, the inu daiyoukai stepped up behind his second human ward golden eyes trained on the spot Hakari had disappeared.
"Some day miko, all you're questions will be answered, but it won't be by this one" Sesshomaru rumbled and Kagome turned to face him, chocolate brown eyes filled with confusion, the dai shook his head and faced the opposite direction.
"Time to go huh Lord Sesshomaru" Kagome yawned tiredly but she walked to her bag and gathered her belongings feeling accomplished, it had been two months plus an extra week since she had stopped traveling with Inuyasha and she was already stronger than before.
"Yes Miko, we travel to the well again to restock on supplies and to fulfill a promise this one made to himself" Sesshomaru dipped his head in acknowledgment leading his pack forward again in the direction of bone eaters well.
Kagome titled her head to the side curiously "What kind of promise Lord Sesshomaru, if you don't mind me asking that is, if you do, then I won't ask again" she bowed her head as she babbled, her cheeks stained red in embarrassment.
Deep chuckles filled the air and Sesshomaru craned his neck to peer at the miko he had taken under his wing "To prevent you from becoming uneasy or agitated, this one vowed to take you to the well after every task you complete to visit you're loved ones" he spoke in that smooth baritone.
Her cheeks flared and the blush darkened, but this time not out of embarrassment but in affection for the big inu dai that had saved her in her time of need and given her something new to do with her life, it wasn't love, but a sisterly kind of affection, not that she'd tell him that.
"This one thanks you Lord Sesshomaru" Kagome giggled lightly, it was so weird referring to herself in third person, but person it drove home the fact of how grateful she truly was to Sesshomaru, his golden eyes glanced at her before he turned his head around.
To hear those words slip through her lips had been something else entirely, it made him want to protect the miko even more, Sesshomaru shook his head ridding it of the thoughts that now consumed him, he was certain the miko was to be his fathers.
"And this Sesshomaru see's no need to continue thanking him" he grumbled and got another giggle this time from both of the human females he traveled with, Sesshomaru's golden eyes softened imperceptibly as he eyed his tiny child ward, it wasn't so unbearable having them in his pack.
Kagome smiled behind her hand but allowed silence to fall over their little group, each of them making the week long trek back to Inuyasha's forest and subsequently the bone eaters well so that she may visit with her family and stock up on food supplies before her third task was assigned.