A Simple Legacy II - Chapter 3

Sesshoumaru did not know how long they had been sparring, but he was surprised that the miko still appeared to be at full strength. Her excitement was palpable and it was infectious. He was finding it difficult not to smile at her.

For the last two hours, her face had been graced with determination as she fought him, her eyes flashing at the challenges he had thrown at her. Even now, he could practically feel her determination as his own as she stood there in front of him.

Although her eyes were averted from his, it was not hard for him to guess that she was about to trying something. What was she up to? Out of curiosity, he refrained from attacking as she frowned in concentration. The miko was up to something and it bothered him that he was unable to guess what it was. She had obviously taken to heart the lesson he had taught her about concealing her thoughts.

“Miko. Your enemies will not wait for you to prepare yourself,” he remarked dryly.

She scowled at him. “Then it’s just as well you’re not my enemy, right?”

He stilled at her flippant reply. Yes, somehow it had escaped his mind that in the past, they had been enemies. Her words had brought it back. “Perhaps.”

Rolling her eyes, she said flatly, “We’re not. And you know it.”

Uncomfortable with the subject, he evaded, “You try this Sesshoumaru’s patience. Attack, or be attacked.”

She waved him away. “Wait. I can do it,” she replied absently as her hands began to glow.

She frowned in confusion at the thick beam of energy running from her palms outwards. Her face set in concentration, she flicked her wrist in an oddly familiar motion and the beam expanded outwards unsteadily.

He could tell from the look of utter disappointment on her face that the result was not what she had strived for.

Letting out a groan, she muttered, “And it was going so well…”

At her look of consternation, Sesshoumaru forcibly swallowed the sudden bubble of amusement which threatened to rise in him. She was obviously trying to recreate something she had seen. From her actions, he suspected he knew what it was.

“It’s not as easy as it seems, Miko,” he remarked smoothly.

She gave him a mutinous look. “How do you know what I’m trying to do?”

His eyebrow rose slightly. “You are attempting to form the whips, are you not?”

Blinking in surprise, she just gaped at him. “How do you know?”

The miko dared to underestimate his power of observation, Sesshoumaru thought darkly. “Your wrist is in the correct position. However, this attack is not the same as your usual orbs.”

She slumped, visibly dejected. “And I thought I could actually get it.”

“You still could.”

Her hesitation was clear as she raised a pair of hopeful eyes up towards him. Haltingly, she began, “I know our training officially ended a month ago, but do you think that you could…um… teach me? Just this once?”

Sesshoumaru felt a twinge of pleasure at her request. Frowning at his unexpected reaction, he shook himself inwardly. There was no reason for him to feel pleasure. The miko simply required his assistance to further her skills.

However, her question raised an interesting possibility. It occurred to him that he could request compensation for imparting the information. After all, their agreement did not include further training.

Somehow, for some unknown reason, the idea of seeking compensation did not appeal to him.

“Sesshoumaru?” she prompted anxiously.

He watched her fidget for a moment, wondering if he should be so generous as to humour her. It went against all he believed in, but he could not see any harm in it. After all, he had trained this miko for weeks and had imparted many skills to her. Another lesson would make little difference.

With a curt nod, he finally said, “Very well.”

She clasped her hands together, her face wreathed with a smile. “Thank you.”

“Hn.”

“Um… I can pay you back with something if you like.” Frowning thoughtfully, she added, “But I’m not sure what else you need from me.”

He stiffened in surprise at her offer. Had she been able to discern his earlier thoughts on compensation? The open honesty he detected in her eyes told him otherwise.

“It is unnecessary,” he said, feeling strangely discomfited. Gesturing for her to approach him, he continued quickly, “Come. We will begin.”

Eyes bright with anticipation, she came to him. “So, what was I doing wrong?”

She listened intently as he explained the correct method to form the whips. When he finished, he nodded to her. “You will attempt it.”

Sesshoumaru watched as she concentrated on her wrist motions. A few flicks later, thin strands of her miko powers appeared from her fingertips. The short whips glowed brightly for a few seconds before they fizzled out miserably.

He was not surprised.

She groaned, obviously frustrated at her failure.

“Do not force it, Miko. Try forming one whip,” he advised. “This skill requires practice. It is unlikely that you will master it today.”

Grimacing at the effort, the miko flicked her wrist again. And this time, a single glowing strand appeared from her index finger. Holding her hand almost gingerly, she tried to move it around. The whip instantly disintegrated.

He refrained from chuckling at the look of dismay which crossed her face. It was a difficult technique to teach, one which required the student to be patient. The miko was obviously trying too hard, which had not helped. Nevertheless, he had every intention of making sure that she grasped it.

After all, increasing her skills would bring him further benefit when he collected on the debt.

He studied her as she continued to practice, biting her bottom lip in concentration. This would be a good time to approach the subject of her debt. But he was strangely reluctant to do so.

Why?

Could it be because he was almost certain that she would not welcome his request with open arms? And that if she was foolhardy enough to refuse him, his reputation would require him to retaliate? Would she refuse to repay her debt?

His lips tightened at the thought.

No, the miko was more honourable than that. However much she disliked it, she would repay her debt in full. He was certain of it.

So caught up in his thoughts, he was startled when he found a pair of soft brown eyes gazing up at him.

“You’re worried about something, aren’t you?” she asked, placing her fingers lightly on his shoulder.

He looked up at her in surprise. It was uncanny how she managed to discern his thoughts and feelings. And the way he managed to do the same to her was also unnerving. It had happened too many times. He no longer believed that it was just coincidence. Something was causing their unnatural ability to understand each other’s feelings.

“Sesshoumaru?”

Recalling her question, he replied curtly. “No.”

It was a simple matter to see if his assessment was accurate. Wanting to test out the theory, he forced himself to think of Rin’s kidnapping. As expected, a heated feeling of rage rose in him but he made sure that his expression remained unchanged.

The miko quickly snatched her hand back and moved away from him, looking alarmed. Her fear mingled with an almost overwhelming sense of worry stabbed into him like it was his own feelings.

“Sesshoumaru? What’s wrong?” she asked urgently.

So it was true. The miko could sense his feelings. His eyes narrowed as he continued to look at her. Perhaps she was the one who had caused it.

“Do you remember doing anything to us, Miko?” he asked tightly.

Her eyes widened in surprise and confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Spells, enchantments, bindings. Did you cast any in the past two months?” he elaborated impatiently.

She frowned and then shook her head slowly. “What are you getting at? I can’t do any of those sorts of things.”

His brow furrowing slightly, Sesshoumaru averted his gaze. He sensed no deception in her but she could have caused it accidentally. It would not be the first time she had done unexpected things with her miko powers. Accidents seemed to follow her wherever she went.

The day of her eighteenth birthday suddenly appeared in his mind. When she had been unconscious, a bright light had shot out of her, hitting him in the chest. Could that be the source of their strange connection?

“Sesshoumaru?” Her confusion washed over him.

He did not blame her.

But he was not confused. He was simply incensed.

It was unacceptable to allow this to continue. Even if she did not do it deliberately, it was not right for her to know what he felt. He was an intensely private person and he wished to keep it that way. His thoughts and his feelings were his own, and he would not share them with anyone else.

Standing up abruptly, he left, ignoring her surprised gasp.

He would remove himself from her until he figured out what he could do to prevent his emotions from spilling over to her.


 

 


Morning arrived bright and early. Overnight, the blizzard had died down and in its wake, a peaceful sense of stillness remained. The sound of wood scraping against metal and the smell of burning wood were the only things which marred the perfect stillness.

Kagome groaned as she sat up in her sleeping bag. The result of the impromptu sparring session with Sesshoumaru last night was making itself known in the most unpleasant way. Her muscles ached from the unexpected exertion, making her wince as she pulled herself to her feet. The warm patch next to her told her that Shippou had just recently woken up, but he was nowhere to be seen.

She blinked blearily and stood up.

An impatient Inuyasha stood hovering at the entrance of the cave with Kouga a short distance away. It was clear that they wanted to make a move soon while they could. Sango and Ayame were hunched over a small fire. The scent of food told Kagome that they were making breakfast.

At her approach, her taijiya friend smiled. “Good morning, Kagome-chan. Did you sleep well?” she asked.

Kagome nodded, placing her fingers over her mouth to cover her yawn.

Ayame just gave her an unreadable look. Kagome figured that the wolf was probably thinking about her journey to the back of the cave last night. Not wanting to be question, Kagome simply shook her head.

“I guess we should move soon, huh?” she remarked as she accepted a bowl of soup from Sango.

Nodding, Sango replied, “We need to take advantage of the good weather.”

Ayame glanced at the entrance. Kagome was not sure if she was looking at Kouga or at Inuyasha. The wolf then turned back to them and fiddled with her empty bowl.

Sipping her hot soup, Kagome blinked as Ayame turned her attention back to the entrance of the cave. This time, only Inuyasha was in sight. A sneaking suspicion came over Kagome. Could it be possible that Ayame was interested in Inuyasha?

Kagome felt an odd pang in her heart. Was Inuyasha interested in her as well?

She lowered her bowl. Her thoughts about her feeling for Inuyasha confused her. There was no doubt that she still loved him, in a way. But did she still love him the way she had done few years ago or was it a different kind of love? Had his transformation a few months ago affected her that much?

Yes, it had.

Kagome sighed inwardly, feeling a little sad. She supposed she should have admitted it to herself earlier. Somewhere along the way, she had stopped seeing him in a romantic light. It must have resulted from the combination of the way he had attacked her in his demon form and the events involving Kikyo in the past.

Come to think of it, she had not seen Kikyo for a while now. The last time she had seen the undead miko had been weeks before Inuyasha’s transformation. Why was Kikyo keeping her distance from them? She usually appeared quite regularly.

Sango’s voice drew her out of her contemplations. “Ayame, do you know how far we’re going?”

Shrugging, the wolf replied absently, “I don’t know. Maybe a day’s travel or so.”

At that point, Inuyasha strode them, his jerky movements belying his impatience. “Will you hurry up? We don’t have all day, you know!”

Kagome rolled her eyes. “Then why don’t you help clean up.” Passing her empty bowl to him before he could protest, she stood up and began to walk back to her sleeping bag.

Glancing at the dark passage at the back of the cave, she realised that she should at least let Sesshoumaru know that they were leaving. Her steps faltered as she recalled the abrupt manner in which he had left her last night. Perhaps she had unknowingly offended him. But how? She did not remember saying anything that could set him off.

Brushing away her hesitation, she moved away from her sleeping bag, making a beeline for the passage.

Inuyasha’s voice reached her. “Oi! Where are you going?”

Without looking back, she replied vaguely, “I’ll be back in a while.”

With that, she continued down the passage, intent on finding Sesshoumaru. She would ask him why he had left so suddenly last night. Her spine straightened with resolve as she reached the end of the passage.

Eyes wide, she stood rooted to the spot, staring at the empty cavern.

He was gone.

Just like that, Sesshoumaru had left without a word. Kagome frowned, wondering for the millionth time what had happened to cause his abrupt departure. He had not even bothered to tell her he was leaving.

But then again, this was Sesshoumaru. She supposed it would be even weirder if he had the courtesy of telling her goodbye. His actions were not unexpected. But still, she could not help but feel a little disappointed. She had thought that they shared something more. Something to warrant her at least a goodbye from the stoic taiyoukai.

Perhaps she was mistaken.

But what was most surprising was the feeling of disappointment lodged tight against her chest. Sighing, she went back out to the main cave to find everyone preparing themselves for the imminent departure. Numbly, she began to pack.

“Where’s mutt-face?”

Still distracted by her thoughts on Sesshoumaru, Kagome lifted her head from the pot she was busy packing into her yellow backpack. Frowning a little, she replied, “I don’t know. Ayame’s not here. Maybe he’s with her?” She looked at Kouga questioningly.

Kouga’s eyes flickered for an instance. “What’s he doing with her?” he asked curiously.

Turning back to her packing, Kagome shrugged. “Ayame’s pretty upset about yesterday, so I suppose Inuyasha’s just making sure she’s okay.”

A moment of silence passed before she heard Kouga’s reply. “So, mutt-face turned his attention to Ayame, huh?”

Kagome looked up to find Kouga looking into the distance. He seemed to be deep in thought, wearing an expression which was unfamiliar to her. Perhaps he had come to the same conclusion as she had done over breakfast.

Feeling mischievous, she plastered an innocent look on her face. “Ayame just needs some attention. Since you won’t give it to her, maybe she has decided to move on.”

Kouga turned to look back at her, still looking thoughtful. And then he broke out in a grin. “This means I’m off the hook, right?” Taking a step towards her, he continued, “I can take you as my mate soon, seeing that Inuyasha is occupied.”

Kagome groaned. Somehow, her teasing had backfired.

“Kouga. Drop it before I decide to purify you.”

Kouga simply grinned rakishly.


 

The whitewashed landscape twinkled brightly under the rays of the afternoon sun. Everything was still, adding to the effect of the almost surreal beauty. It was a peaceful day.

Peace however, was never further from Sesshoumaru’s mind as he stood alone on the edge of a cliff. He had remained in the same spot ever since he had left the cave, watching the bright sphere rise from the horizon until it was high in the sky and then dipped to the west.

How was it even possible that he had succumbed to some strange spell which was powerful enough to connect their emotions to each other? For he was sure that it must be a spell that had caused their odd connection. And as he continued to mull over it, he was becoming increasingly convinced that it had something to do with the flash of bright light on the miko’s eighteenth birthday that had thrown him backwards.

He let out a harsh sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose in an uncharacteristic show of frustration. Figuring out the cause of the problem seemed to be a little pointless at the moment. Whatever the cause was, the important thing now was to find a way to stop it.

There was only one thing he think of doing.

He had to consciously barricade his emotions even further. Considering that it was something that came naturally to him for as long as he could remember, it irked him that it was insufficient for his current predicament. Consciously intensifying his barriers required a lot of strength although it would only be necessary while he was in the vicinity of the miko. He was not even certain that it would work.

However, he had no other options. He would have to at least attempt it.

His mind made up, he felt his tension ebb. Feeling a little better, he decided he should return to ask the miko to pay her debt. It would take some time for the task to be completed but once it was done, he could remove himself from her and prevent any further intrusion into his emotions.

With that, he launched himself into the air and headed in the direction of the cave. They had probably departed, considering the good weather. But he knew that it would be a simple matter for him to track them down.

Sesshoumaru had been travelling only for a short while before his senses picked up a scent he recognised. Stilling, his eyes narrowed. The scent of neko-youkais was strong. It could only mean that Ryokusen had his spies in the area.

Growling low in his throat, he turned around and followed the scent of his enemies.


 

The dry snow flattened underneath her boots as Kagome trudged along with her group of travelling companions. Kouga and Inuyasha were leading the way with Sango and Miroku a small distance behind them. Ayame had chosen to remain close to her and Shippou, while Kirara brought up the rear.

They had been walking for the entire day, only stopping to rest once. It was just as well because the brisk walk helped ward off the cold. But Kagome knew that they would soon need to find shelter for the night. The position of the sun told her that they had about two hours before darkness descended upon them.

“Inuyasha,” she called out. “We need to find a place to stop soon.”

Turning to look at her over his shoulders, Inuyasha scowled. “Again?”

Kagome glowered at him. “It’s getting dark, just in case you haven’t noticed.”

“Keh! We still have time,” he dismissed.

“Inuyasha…” she gritted out through clenched teeth. The temptation to hurl a purifying orb at him was almost overwhelming.

Almost.

“Calm down, Kagome,” Ayame said, frowning at Inuyasha’s back. “I’ll go find some place for us to stop. I’m quite familiar with this area.”

In front of them, Miroku stopped and walked towards them. Blinking innocently, he offered, “May I assist you, Lady Ayame?”

Sango instantly slapped him upside the head. “You stay where you are. I’ll go with her.” Turning to Kirara and Ayame, Sango called out, “Let’s go.”

Kagome gave them a grateful look. “Thanks.”

Ayame gave her a nod. With that, the three of them left the path. Sighing in disappointment, Miroku went to join the other two males.

Kagome hoped that Ayame found somewhere soon. Her muscles were still protesting against the strain from last night. Sesshoumaru was right. She should have kept it up instead of letting her training slip. Did it really matter anyway if her friend knew, anyway? It would spoil the surprise, but at least she would not be feeling like this now.

“Kagome-neechan, you look tired.”

She glanced down to see a concerned look on Shippou’s face. Smiling at him, she replied, “I’m just a little tired.” Then, lowering her voice, she whispered, “I was training.”

Shippou’s eyes widened. “Last night?” he squeaked, and then glanced quickly at Inuyasha who was still some distance away in front of them.

Kagome followed his gaze. Then she remembered something she had been meaning to ask the kitsune. Deliberately falling further back, she began, “Shippou?”

He dragged his eyes back to her. “Huh?”

Mindful of Inuyasha’s sensitive hearing, she whispered very softly. “You’ve been avoiding Inuyasha. Why?”

Shippou averted his gaze, but not before she saw the flash of anger in his eyes. “You’re angry with him?” she asked quietly, surprised at the kitsune’s anger.

Lifting a pair of guilty eyes to her, he nodded.

“Why?”

Shippou’s lips trembled a little. “I know I shouldn’t. He couldn’t control himself then.” Then in a harder voice, he said, “But he hurt you. And not only you.”

“Shh…not so loud.” Then she frowned. “Who else did he hurt?”

“No one important,” Shippou muttered.

Sensing that he was hiding something, Kagome wondered if she should press the issue.

Before she could, her senses suddenly flared, the shock of it rooting her to the spot. She had never felt such an intense sense of danger before. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw a flash of green and then it was gone. Something told her that she should heed the uncomfortable prickle at the back of her neck. Quickly, she grabbed Shippou and ran towards Inuyasha, Kouga and Miroku.

“I think something’s wrong,” she whispered nervously.

Inuyasha’s eyes widened and he shot to his feet, sniffing around. “I can’t smell anything. What did you see?”

“Something green. But there’s also something else,” she replied with a small frown. Perhaps she was mistaken. But something in the air unnerved her, making her hair stand on its end.

Shippou glanced at her nervously. “Is it a youkai?”

Stalking to the edge of the path, Inuyasha paused and listened.

Miroku fingered his prayer beads as Kouga dashed to the other side of the path.

Inuyasha suddenly hissed, “I sense them. They’re coming.”

Wordlessly, Kagome reached into her backpack and pulled out her kodachis. Once she fixed it securely to her waist, she checked her bows and arrows and went to join Inuyasha.

Six figures suddenly appeared in a cloud of dust.

Kagome noted that they all shared a similar feline look. Although they looked mainly human, there was no doubt that they were some sort of youkai.

“What do you want, Neko-youkai?” Inuyasha snarled, the transformed fang held in front of him.

A neko youkai? Kagome frowned. So they were…cats?

One of them, obviously the leader, stepped forward. A sneer crossed his face and his green cat-like eyes narrowed. “You have something which belongs to us.”

Kouga glared at them. “Whatever it is, we don’t have it. So, get lost! You’re trespassing.”

The neko-youkai gave Kouga a look of surprise. “So, the prince is helping ningens now? You too, have something which belongs to us.”

Kagome’s eyes widened. These cats recognised Kouga?

“Who are you?” Kouga asked suspiciously.

“I’m surprise you don’t know, Kouga,” the neko-youkai mocked. Then his yellowish-green eyes narrowed. “Enough of this! Hand me the Shikon shards.”

“I should have known,” Kagome muttered under her breath. It seemed like a never-ending pattern. They hunted the shards and then they were hunted down for the shards.

Inuyasha’s expression turned hard. “You are not getting your stinking paws on any shards.”

Snarling menacingly, the leader charged.

In that instance, all hell broke loose.

The neko-youkais spread out rapidly, pinning them in. Two of them headed straight for Miroku and Kouga. Before she could even utter a word, Kagome’s eyes widened as one of the youkais launched himself at her and Shippou. Throwing up her arms in reflex, a pearlescent barrier formed around her and her kitsune.

The youkai smashed into her barrier and was immediately repelled. His body flew through the air before landing some distance away with dark smoke rising from him.

“What the-” Inuyasha’s exclamation was cut short by the approach of three other neko-youkais.

Enclosed together with Shippou in her barrier, Kagome watched anxiously as Inuyasha tried to fend them off. There were too many of them, she realised in alarm.

Then she came to a sudden decision. Dissolving the barrier around her but keeping Shippou barricaded, Kagome let her power rise. Unsheathing her kodachis, she ran towards the fighting youkais and hanyou, ignoring Shippou’s frantic calls.

One of them turned towards her and charged, his fangs bared in a snarl. She stood her ground as he neared her, his claws extended menacingly. Just as he swiped, she infused her powers into her weapon and raised it. Unfortunately, before her hit connected with him, the youkai managed to scrape her with his claw. Stinging pain exploded in her arm.

Annoyed, she swung her kodachi in an arc and brought it down hard. The youkai howled in pain as his severed paw fell a short distance away with a dull thud. But it did not seem to deter him for long. Enraged, the youkai charged again. With growing confidence, Kagome sidestepped his attack and slashed at him with both her weapons. Pearlescent sparks shot out of the ends of the kodachis, hitting the youkai in the chest.

An ear-splitting roar rang through the air as the youkai disintegrated into dust.

“Damn!” she gritted out in frustration as she inspected the scratches on her arm. Distracted by a strangled sound, she turned to find Inuyasha frozen in shock nearby, staring at her with disbelieving amber eyes. The two youkais he had slain lay in pools of blood on the ground.

Inuyasha only regained his composure when the youkai who had hit her barrier earlier regained consciousness and charged towards him. Turning around swiftly, Inuyasha slashed the already injured youkai with Tetsusaiga, ripping a death scream from the youkai’s throat.

Kagome looked around anxiously. To her relief, she found that between them, they had managed to take down all six of the neko-youkais.

Just then, she noticed that Sango, Ayame and Kirara were standing nearby, all staring at her with identical look of astonishment on their faces.

Then her taijiya friend rushed towards her. “Kagome-chan! What happened?”

Before Kagome could open her mouth, she found herself swung around to face a thunderous-looking Inuyasha. Not far behind him, Kouga was gaping at her.

“Yeah, what happened?” Inuyasha gritted out, his golden eyes flashing. Gesturing at the fallen neko-youkais, he added tightly, “What’s that all about?”

Kagome gulped. This was not exactly the reaction she had been hoping for when she thought of surprising her companions with her newly acquired skills. Inuyasha looked positively seething.

She was about to apologise. Then she brought herself up short. Frowning, she wondered why she had even thought to apologise. She did not do anything wrong. As a matter of fact, Inuyasha should be glad that she could now protect herself and maybe even those around her. She no longer had to keep her distance from battle, firing arrows while hiding behind some rock.

Stiffening her spine, she lifted her chin. “I was fighting, Inuyasha,” she answered him calmly.

Inuyasha’s eyes narrowed at her answer. “I can see that.” He pointed at her kodachis. “This did not happen overnight. Not with those skills. Who taught you those moves?”

“Sesshoumaru,” she replied without hesitation, giving him a challenging look.

Jaw dropping in surprise, Inuyasha only stared at her dumbly. When he finally recovered his capacity for speech, he sputtered, “T-that bastard taught you to fight? YOU? Why the hell would he do something like that? Why would he even teach someone like you?”

Kagome’s eyes flashed at his barely veiled insult. What? Was she so hopeless in Inuyasha’s eyes that he simply could not grasp the idea that Sesshoumaru would train her?

“So what? Not everyone thinks I’m as useless as you do,” she retorted angrily, her hands clenching and unclenching around the hilt of her kodachis. Why could he not support her for once?

He looked taken aback. “I didn’t say you’re useless,” he said gruffly, his heat cooling visibly. His ears lowered against his skull, a sure sign of his discomfort.

Placing her hands on her hips, she shot back, “But you’re implying it.”

His eyes hardened and his ears snapped back up. “No I wasn’t. Anyway, I can’t let you put yourself in danger.”

Kagome felt her blood boil. “I can fight now, alright? Deal with it!” she snapped.

A firm hand landed on her shoulders, drawing her attention away from Inuyasha.

“Let’s not fight, alright?” Miroku advised quietly. Then her houshi friend turned to Kouga and said, “It is good that Kagome possess fighting skills now, isn’t that right, Kouga?”

Looking almost as shocked as Inuyasha, Kouga cleared his throat. Then he nodded quickly. “Yes. She definitely got some moves there.” To his credit, Kouga sounded sincere. Almost impressed, even.

Inhaling a deep breath of air, Kagome forced herself to calm down. Miroku was right. They should not be fighting among themselves. But Inuyasha was really the limit sometimes. She felt her anger flare again at the memory of his words. Her hands fisted around the hilt of her weapon. Why did he always insist on belittling everything she did? What had she done to him to deserve such an awful treatment from him? Her anger grew at the injustice of it.

To her surprise, her friends took a step back. Puzzled, she turned to them. “What?”

“Um…That glow around you…it’s…” Ayame faltered, her eyes wide in her face.

“What?” Kagome repeated, a frown finding its way to her forehead. What were they talking about?

Inuyasha circled her, sniffing slightly. “What are you turning into?” he asked with a worried frown. “You're surrounded by some strange youki!”

Kagome blinked in confusion. “What do you mean? What youki?”

Inuyasha glowered, obviously annoyed. “Ever since you got back from that bastard’s place, your aura looks darker. And now, it’s worse.” He gestured at her. “Look!”

Apprehensively, she glanced down at herself. Her jaw went slack when she saw her usual pearlescent miko glow tinted with red. What was happening to her?

“Maybe she’s turning into a youkai,” Shippou ventured quietly. “Their youki is normally darker.”

Silence descended upon them at Shippou’s proclamation. Kagome looked around her, seeing the stunned expression which graced her friends faces. Could it be true?

Her own face contorted in dismay, she whispered, “Please, no…”

 

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