In The Blood

By: Ryu Katanna

Beta:

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter One

Prologue

The heated burning of her blood surging through her veins was the first thing her mind could register feeling and she became aware of anything except the darkness she had been pulled from. The sensation flowed outward through her skin as the solid feeling of the ground upon which her body had laid vanished from under her. Energy pulsed outward from her in waves; growing stronger as time passed unknown to her. Shouts of her name came from all directions as she woke. Waking from a painless darkness was something she had thought she would never do again.

"Kagome!"

'Sango. The sister of my heart.'

"Lady Kagome!"

'Miroku. My good friend and mentor.'

"Mama!"

'Shippo. My adoptive son.'

"What's happening to her? Wench!"

'Inuyasha. My best friend.'

Cruel Laughter. The sounds of battle. An evil hanyou. The one who had caused insurmountable pain to much. So much suffering. So much death. So many lives destroyed because of his lust for power. He was the one responsible.

'Naraku. Our enemy.'

'That's right...' She thought as it all snapped into place in her mind.

This was to be their final battle with Naraku. The air was clouded thickly with his miasma. She could remember pain greater than she had ever imagined before the darkness had claimed her. She had been wounded. A mortal wound. She had died in the battle.

Energy exploded outward from within her as Kagome's body righted itself from the ground; long dark hair grew to her ankles as it whipped around her with the torrent. A blast of youki poured from her body in all directions; killing any close to her when she opened her eyes to look up at the hanyou that had run her through with one of his tentacles. The evil being that had killed her and was trying even now to kill her friends.

'Another one has awoken. How odd. For two of my line to awaken so close together is unexpected.' A gruff voice spoke into her mind with a harsh laugh as her feet came down to stand upon the ground.

'Awoken? What do you mean? Who are you?' Kagome asked the unknown voice as her eyes narrowed in on Naraku when he made to attack Shippo.

Luckily Kirara had gotten them both into the air and out of reach in time to avoid it. She had joined Ah-Un where the dragon carried Rin up far into the sky and out of the way of any harm. Those two would keep the children as safe as possible with the battlefield that raged below.

'I am Raizen. Your ancestor. You have died, but been reborn because of my blood that flows through you. You are now of the Mazoku.' The voice, Raizen, laughed harshly in what seemed to be pleasure from within her mind.

'Mazoku. The devil clan? I can't be. I am human, a Miko!'

She had heard of the Mazoku before from Sango when she had been training as a taijiya. They were a demonic clan feared for both their raw power and prowess in battle. How could she be one of them? It made no sense!

'You do not even know of the true power the runs in your blood, my dear. Here. Let me show you!'

That was the last thing Kagome heard before her body started moving on its own. The power of the youki in her blood surged forth as she felt another take control. Raizen. She watched as her body moved around the battlefield slaughtering any in her path. Marked arms reaching out with clawed, bloody hands that ripped through Naraku's forces like a knife through softened butter. Her youki pulsing in waves around her and killing any weaker opponent that came too close as black hair flashed white and grew to pool on the ground as it moved behind her with a speed that more than matched Lord Sesshomaru.

'Please! Not my friends!' Kagome cried as she sent the images of them through her mind when she drew too near to attacking Sesshomaru.

'Calm young one. Learn of the power you hold. Feel it, and know it. Who is the enemy's master?' Raizen asked gruffly as she felt herself jump back from the Western Lord before her clawed fingers could make contact.

'Naraku.' Kagome responded as the image of the hated hanyou came to her mind and she could feel her body jerk in his direction.

She watched in disbelief as the powerful youki flowed out from her and she ripped Naraku apart; tearing through his tentacles like a knife sliding through butter. She could see glimpses of her friends who didn't know what to make of what was happening. Was this power really coming from her? The whole time she tried to pay attention to what this being was trying to teach her.

He called himself her ancestor and was trying to show her something. As disconcerted as she felt with her body under the control of another, she felt that he really was just trying to show her. To teach her how to use this power that she now had. She understood that the best way he could do so was like this, but she was still confused about how this situation had come to be in the first place.

Soon enough Naraku was destroyed. Ripped apart by the hands of the girl who he had mocked as weak and killed not so long before. His flesh burning away with the power of the youki that flowed outward around her. Kagome could feel the control of her own body come back slowly as she slumped next to the jewel piece the evil hanyou had possessed; hair pooling on the ground around her as it returned to its black coloring. The youki flowing outward from her calmed as her friends came to stand around her.

'I will see you soon, daughter of my blood.' Raizen's gruff voice sounded before she felt she was alone in her own mind once more.

"What the hell was that, wench?!" Inuyasha growled angrily as he grabbed her and hoisted her up as he shook her.

Without a thought, Kagome grabbed his arm and easily ripped his grip from her shirt. Something a human would not have been able to do against the demonic strength Inuyasha had. Looking up she could see her friends gathered around her. They all held a wary look of astonishment, incomprehension, and worry. Even Sesshomaru seemed a little wary from where he stood looking over the carnage that surrounded Kagome.

"Tell me... Do I still smell the same?" She asked as she started to feel the confusion take over when she looked down at her hardened nails that now had a subtle point to them.

"The smell of humanity is gone from you. You smell completely of demon. The scent of death lingers, but is no longer a part of you." Sesshomaru responded as he observed her carefully.

"You look different too. You have markings on your body, and your hair, it's down to your ankles. It was white until a minute ago. Kagome what happened to you? We thought he'd killed you!" Sango asked as she looked over her friend.

"You did die. There is no way any human could survive that kind of wound, but then youki just started pouring out of you. How is this possible?" Miroku asked her as his gaze shifted between her and Sesshomaru.

"I don't even know myself. I remember the pain and that I was dying, but then I woke up again. When I did there was a voice. He said he was my ancestor. He said I was a Mazoku… He took control of me. I don't know what's happening!" Kagome cried out as she curled in on herself before Sesshomaru drew her attention.

"Transmigration. The Atavism of the Mazoku." He said as he seemed to look closer at her where she sat in interest.

"What is that?" Inuyasha growled in irritation as Sango gasped.

"Kagome had demon blood somewhere from one of her ancestors. All the training she's been through since we joined forces with Lord Sesshomaru... When she died it must have woken the demonic blood because she was powerful enough." Sango replied as she thought back to what her father had taught her.

It was an oddity that very rarely occurred, and only in very powerful yokai lineages. Looking back at her friend, Sango had known Kagome had a lot of raw and untrained power, but she couldn't believe this had really happened. Kagome had been training to hone her skills for months now, and she still had room to grow.

She had completed taijiya training with Sango, was still weapon training with Sesshomaru, and had been learning how to control her spiritual ki from Miroku and Kaede. Was this how far her friend had come? So far that she had been changed and born again as a demon with her human death? Sango didn't understand how it was possible when Kagome was a Miko, but it had happened. It was possible that one of her family had been the descendant of a holy bloodline who then had a child with one who held dormant demon blood, but one should have canceled out the other. Yet that's not what had happened.

"Whatever. Naraku is dead. Finish the jewel, Kagome." Inuyasha growled impatiently; uncaring of the whole thing.

Looking over to her side, Kagome could see where the jewel lay after it had been torn for Naraku. Slowly she picked it up and watched as the dark taint was purified with the contact to her skin. She gasped a bit in surprise when the two pieces came together with a flash of pink light. The now completed Shikon No Tama floated in front of her as it shone brilliantly in it's purified state. Soon everyone could hear the voice of a woman echoing around them.

Midoriko.

"What is your wish?"

Kagome paused for a moment in thought. She knew what Inuyasha wanted, but it was a selfish wish. A selfish wish would never rid them of the Shikon No Tama, but there was no such thing as a selfless wish. It would remain a danger to the greed of others because of this. No, the Shikon No Tama would never be gone. She knew that. No matter the wish one always had something to gain from it in some way.

"I would wish that the Shikon no longer exist. As long as it exists it will continue to be an object others will seek despite the pain it brings. I want the world free of it. Is that possible?" Kagome questioned Midoriko softly as she thought about her travels.

There had been a lot of heartaches caused by the existence of this one small jewel. Shippo had lost his father because of the jewel shards. Kohaku had been made to live a waking nightmare even in death, and Sango forced to watch on as she could do nothing to save her little brother. Inuyasha had been pinned to a tree for fifty years by Kikyo over the jewel because of Naraku's deception. All the fighting over the shards after the jewel had been shattered. All the death of humans and demons alike. Pain caused by such a small thing. Just because of the power it held.

"The Shikon can never completely cease to exist. As you have already figured out. Not while the endless battle within continues." Midoriko's voice rang clear in denial.

"Then can its form be changed, and it's power hidden from any who would seek to use it? I don't want to see any more pain caused to others who thing to use it selfishly." Kagome explained as her friends around her shifted and looked on.

"It can. Its power would remain though hidden." Was her reply after a moment of silence.

Kagome thought for a moment before speaking. She had to make this as selfless a wish as she possibly could. Anything selfless usually came at a cost to the one who had done it. Now she was the one to make this wish. She would be the one to pay whatever price there was in exchange. As long as it meant that the past would not be repeated.

"Then I wish for the Shikon No Tama to take on another form, it's power hidden and no longer subject to the greed of others. For its legend to be passed on into the stories of history. Even if that means I will be the only one to carry the burden of its protection. Let no others pay the cost of its existence but for me!" Kagome cried as the light started to pulse from the jewel before it shattered into dust.

The dust that was the jewel glimmered and gleamed in the light of the air as everyone watched on in shock before Kagome was knocked back and cried out in pain. The dust that was the gem surrounded her and she felt like she was being stabbed by needles to every part of her body as it settled and made its way into her skin. Through her skin and into her blood she felt it burn. Kagome could vaguely hear the cries of her name made by those around her as the light blinded them all. Midoriko's voice sounding like a bell that echoed in the air before Kagome blacked out.

"Then so it shall be."

123456

Edited: 01/23/2020