A Twist of Fate

Author: Reflection of a Broken Dream

Pairing: Kagome x Kurama

Quick Note:

- I decided to stray from the usual by...a lot. I haven't seen anyone do something like this, so I can only hope I'm the first! (This is going to be shocking- brace yourselves!) It's definately a twist...

- Kagome is still shard-hunting three years after her fifteenth birthday. The Yu Yu gang are done with their tasks, are ex-spirit detectives, but they still help in secret sometimes. Hiei patrols the border but he comes in occasionally, on his days off, to see them.

Disclaimer:

I don't own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho...but I do own the storyline!

A Twist of Fate

Chapter One - Fate Has a Cruel Sense of Humor

"Go!" Kagome called from the side of the clearing they were in, shooting off an arrow...that wasn't nearly as powerful as one of her normal arrows. "Damn it...not now! Not right now!" Kagome felt panic and fear welling up and bubbling in her chest as the airborne arrow barely singed her target's right arm, her target one of the remaining three of the bear demons after the Shikon. Her fear picked up when the bear looked up at her, the male half in a humanoid form, half in a demonic bear-looking form. His brown eyes narrowed, fury showing on his face as he switched targets from Miroku to her. He charged and Kagome's trembling hands were fumbling, trying to retrieve an arrow from her quiver to nock in her bow.

"Kagome!" Miroku called, worry in his voice as he threw ofuda at the bear. They sizzled and burned at his back, but he kept his charge, determined to ram into Kagome.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha's voice cried from somewhere in the fray, his voice panicked. He wasn't anywhere near her...

"Kya!" Kagome cried out as she barely managed to nock her bow in time and shoot. She almost fell to her heavily-quaking knees when the bear exploded into dust a mere foot from where she stood. (She hadn't had such a close call in a long time- it had thrown her off. Panic had gotten the best of her, as much as she was ashamed to admit it.) The arrow had barely gotten stuck in his skin- it'd had a wobbly start from her bow, the string not pulled back as far as it should have been. Had she not been so close to the bear, though, she wouldn't have been able to purify him. The power in her arrows waned with distance when it was shot, when her powers were as shaky as they were now, and had he been farther away, the purification power wouldn't have reached him well enough to fully purify him. For some reason or another, her purification powers had been...shaky, for a lack of words, for the last few months. It had started as small fluctuations and dips in her power, but now it was flickering in and out like a light at, seemingly, its own will.
Sometimes they wouldn't even work.

She got lucky this time...next time she might not be so lucky...

"Are you alright, Lady Kagome?" Miroku asked as he jogged over. She idly noticed that the other bear demons had been taken care of.

"Y-Yeah...I think so," Kagome nodded shakily, the adrenaline still surging in her veins. Inuyasha was the second to arrive, his eyes scanning her trembling body. A blush dusted her cheeks as a wave of anxiety and self-consciousness swept through her.

"Are you sure? That was awefully close...," Sango spoke softly as she stood next to Miroku, the young woman dragging her Hiraikotsu behind her. Kilala mewled from her perch on the slayer's shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kagome attempted to brush it off with a smile. It was times like this that she was glad that they left Shippou in Edo. Things had gotten more dangerous over the years so it was only natural to leave the kit in a safer place while they continued their journies across Japan.

"Your powers flickered again," Inuyasha pointed out, a frown marring his handsome face. "They almost went out...even now, they're not steady...not like they used to be." Gold caught azure and Kagome averted her eyes embarrassedly, her smile easily slipping away.

"I know...," was her soft reply as her right hand gripped her left arm, her right arm just beneath her bust. 'But I don't know why...,' she mentally added with a soft sigh. The issue weighed heavily on her heart. 'Nothing has changed over the last few months...I don't understand why my powers are doing this...'

"It's dangerous," Inuyasha surprised her, her azure orbs snapping back up to his serious golden gaze. "You almost got hurt...or worse..."

"But I didn't," Kagome pointed out.

"Next time it might be different," Inuyasha shot back at her, his voice an echo of her own thoughts. "Next time you might not make it out unscathed...or alive." She could see the worry lurking in his eyes as he spoke.

"You don't know that," Kagome argued, knowing it was a weak arguement. She knew he was right.

"Maybe not, but I'm not willing to risk it," he replied evenly.

"What are you saying?" Kagome asked, her voice soft. She knew exactly what he was about to say- he'd pulled it three times already...

"I think you need to go back to your time," Inuyasha spoke the words she didn't want to hear. "Just for a few weeks, until things calm down again. You always come back in better condition than you left in." Kagome visibly slumped before them, her eyes falling to the ground again. 'What happened to the days when he threw fits when I only mentioned leaving for a few days?' she asked herself silently, feeling her body heave a heavy sigh. She knew what had happened to those days, though. They'd grown up (she was nearly eighteen now- almost three years had passed from the start of their adventures) and grown apart (Kagome had realized that Inuyasha would never see her for only herself and Inuyasha seemed to realize the same thing after Kikyo's second death- it was their mutual decision to drop any romantic relationship they might have had for a more platonic one), but they still quested together for the return of the Shikon shards and the demise of Naraku. 'What happened to the days when my powers were reliable and I didn't have to worry about carrying my own weight? At this rate, all I am is a burdon...' That thought hurt. A lot. She had gotten used to being a strong independant member of the Inu Tachi; she'd gotten training from fellow mikos along the way and she had learned a lot of important things that had made her into the powerful priestess she was today...or, rather, the powerful priestess she had been a few scant months ago before her powers decided to start fading in and out on her...

"...Alright...," Kagome gave in without a fight. She knew that she would lose the battle if she tried. She didn't want to waste her energy fighting a pointless battle. "Kilala?"

"No," Inuyasha halted before the nekomata had a chance to leap down from her perch on Sango's shoulder. "I'll take you." Kagome blinked in surprise. It'd been a long time since he'd carried her anywhere... She could only nod as he stepped away and turned around, kneeling down for her to be able to get onto his back. Kagome stepped up behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck as she hooked her legs around his waist, his hands holding her legs firmly in place. He stood with her then, looking back at the curious and slightly worried taijiya and monk, Kilala mewling from Sango's shoulder. "I'll be back in a while."

"Goodbye, Kagome," Miroku inclined his head. "See you later, Inuyasha."

"Take care, Kagome," Sango chimed in, the worry she held for her friend glinting in her dark eyes.

"I will," Kagome replied softly as Inuyasha inclined his head to Miroku. "Bye guys." Without further ado, Inuyasha leapt into a nearby tree and began hopping through branches to get to Edo faster. Kagome had to really hold on, the weight of her quiver and backpack pulling her back a bit more than she remembered them doing in the past. Maybe it was just because she hadn't ridden on his back in over a year...she wasn't used to it anymore. Kagome held tightly to her hanyou friend as he swiftly made his way through the surrounding forest, towards Edo, which wasn't very far away. Beyond that...was the well.

"You still don't know what's causing your power to do this?" Inuyasha surprised her, his voice showing a hint of his worry.

"No...I'm afraid not...," Kagome sighed out near his cute dog ear, the girl knowing he would hear her.

"Hmm...," Inuyasha hummed thoughtfully. He didn't say anything for a long moment, the hanyou seemingly deep in thought. It was odd to see him so thoughtful...and yet not. He was changing in his own ways...

"I plan on looking into it when I get home," Kagome revealed to him, the hanyou slightly turning his head so that one golden orb caught her serious blue eyes. "Maybe mom or Ji-san know something...maybe not. Maybe I can find the answer in Gramp's shed or at the library. I intend to figure this out..." He gave a small nod, a look of understanding in his eyes as he completely faced forwards again. 'Is this how Inuyasha felt when he lost control of his demon blood?' Kagome asked herself silently. Not that she had demonic blood in her veins nor could she be sent into a bloodlusted rampage and accidentally kill innocent people, but...her lack of power could cause catastrophes all its own. It could put her out at the wrong time, as it nearly did in that battle with the bear demons, and allow evil demons to kill her friends and innocent people...it could potentially lead to her own demise. 'I have to figure this out fast...before Naraku finds out and uses it against us fast.'

"We're here," Inuyasha grunted. Kagome blinked out of her thoughts as she realized that they were in front of the well. He stood erect and she let herself slip down from his grasp, her feet hitting the ground and her arms releasing his neck. Kagome re-adjusted her pack as she stepped away from the man, Inuyasha turning back to face her slowly. "Kagome..." He dropped off hesitantly and she waited patiently for him to continue. "I'm worried about this...this whole issue with your powers. I'm worried about what could happen to you if this continues..."

"I'm going to research it, Inuyasha," Kagome repeated herself. "I'll figure out what's going wrong...if it's just me or what. If I don't find out by the time I come back, maybe someone here might know something..."

"Kagome...," Inuyasha spoke again, the almost pleading tone in his voice halting her nervous rambling. "I can't risk it." Kagome swallowed hard at the implications of what he was saying. "Without your power...you're a normal human girl. You've been lucky in the past, and you haven't had any sort of formal training to fight. Even with something under your belt, you're not up to facing what Naraku has in store."

"You don't have any sort of training, either," Kagome pointed out heatedly, hardly believing what she was hearing.

"Yeah, but I'm a hanyou, I can deal with things, myself," he growled back at her. "If I get speared through the stomach, I'll live to see another day. If you did, you won't." He paused, calming himself. Kagome hissed through her teeth as she looked away from him, her eyes heating unbearably. It wasn't fair! The comparisons he made were unfair. She had held her weight...up until now... 'I won't cry in front of him,' she assured herself silently. 'I won't.' Kagome intook a deep breath and let it out, feeling a bit defeated as she wiped at her watering eyes, very much aware of the golden eyes on her. Kagome let go of her anger. 'I hate what he's saying...but I know it's true. It stings. It hurts. But...I can understand it, too. If we were in reversed situations, I think I would probably do the same thing...' Her shoulders slumped a bit. So much for being a proud, powerful miko. "Look, I'm just saying that we don't want to lose you, Kagome. It's too rough right now and you can't fight like we can. Besides...taking those damn jewel shards home with you will help ensure that Naraku won't get his greedy paws on them." That, she could agree with. 'If all I can do for the time being is prevent Naraku from gaining power...I should do it.' Kagome sighed as she faced her old friend once more, weary blue orbs locking onto worried gold. 'I want to be useful...not a burdon. Not like before...'

"I can't argue with your logic," Kagome managed to reply after clearing her voice. "If this is all I can do..." Her left hand drew up to capture the miniature jar filled with ten shards of the Shikon that rested on a silver chain beneath her school uniform shirt. With Kaede's help, she had put an enchantment on the bottle so that no one, demons nor spiritually-inclined humans, could detect the jewel. "...then I want to do it. I...I guess I'll return when my power is stable."

"Permanantly stable," Inuyasha reinforced what she had feared he would say. Words eluded her and her throat felt thick. Kagome could only nod once in understanding. He gave a little nod back. Kagome forced her stiff limbs to move her to the well, the girl climbing onto the lip with practiced ease. "Kagome..." She turned back to see the hanyou a mere foot away, hesitating in his stance. She knew he hated to see her go, despite his words. "Hurry back." A small, strained, smile tilted her lips.

"I'll try to," Kagome found herself attempting to reassure him. "I'll work as hard and as fast as I can."

"I'll check in on you if you haven't come back in about a week," Inuyasha promised. Kagome felt her spirits raise a little. If he was coming to check in on her, she felt a little more hopeful about her situation. Maybe by then she will have had a lead...

"'Kay," Kagome nodded. "See you soon." With a nod of the silver-haired hanyou, Kagome allowed herself to fall down into the well. "Oh..." She sighed as she gently landed on her feet on the other side moments later, the girl instantly groping for the rope ladder. Kagome had so much to do, but she needed to do it quickly. Her power was needed on the other side...she couldn't afford to mope or dilly dally. "Maybe I should bring this up to mom and Gramps first...they might have heard something odd or read something similar to this in one of the scrolls or something..." Instantly setting her brain into work mode, Kagome hefted herself up over the lip of the well. She was quick to scale the stairs and exit the wellhouse. Opening the door, Kagome was slightly surprised to see her mother standing beneath the Goshinboku, just staring up into its boughs. 'It's almost like...she's waiting to see someone perched up there or something,' Kagome noticed with a blink. 'Or longing for someone to be there...' Neither of her thoughts made much sense. Instead of trying to figure it out, she decided to directly confront her mother. Kagome shut the door behind her and strode quickly over to mother. "Mom..."

"Oh...Kagome," Hikari, Kagome's mom, turned back to her with a dazed, almost sad, smile on her face. "You're back. How long are you staying this time, dear?" Kagome sighed. Time to get to work...

"If I can't figure out why my powers are going all hot-and-cold on me and fix the problem...Inuyasha doesn't want me going back," Kagome honestly responded, trying to keep a distance from her emotions on the matter. That was something she still struggled with, keeping her emotions at bay, but she did fairly well...most times...

"Oh, dear...," Hikari's eyes widened and filled with worry. "I'm sure he doesn't mean it Kagome. You know he just wants you to be safe." Kagome nodded to appease her, not ready to go into the severity of the situation with her yet. "You've never said anything about your powers wavering before..."

"It started a few months back," Kagome admitted softly, gazing at her left hand and flexing it. She tried to summon her power but merely got a flicker of it to caress her palm before it fizzled out. She sighed dejectedly. "But it's gotten worse. I don't know why it's happening..." She looked up at her mom with hopeful eyes, the older woman's eyes full of worry and...understanding? Confusion lit in Kagome's eyes. "I was hoping I could find something out here so I won't have to go far. You wouldn't happen to know anything about this kind of thing, would you, mom?"

"Actually...I think we need to sit and have a talk, Kagome," Hikari spoke suddenly, her voice very calm. It was the voice she used when she knew she had to tell Kagome something that would upset her.

"About what?" Kagome blinked up at her mom in obvious confusion and surprise.

"There are some things I've been meaning to tell you for a while now...and...you losing your powers could be attributed to it," Hikari spoke, her voice hesitant. Now Kagome was really confused... "Let's sit." She motioned back to a bench in the courtyard that faced the Goshinboku. Kagome nodded and followed her mom over to the bench, both of them sitting and facing the tree that had watched over their family for years. Kagome wanted to broach the subject as Hikari sat silently a long moment, but found she couldn't when she saw the woman staring up at the boughs of the tree once more. Kagome looked, but saw nothing, sensed nothing. No spirits, no demons (not that there were any in her time), no Soul Piper...nothing. 'A phantom memory,' Kagome finally decided to herself. After another long moment, Hikari seemed to shake herself out of it. "Kyota, your father...couldn't have children." Kagome's brow instantly furrowed.

"What?" Kagome asked softly, turning back to her mom. Intense, almost pleading dark eyes were on her, begging her to understand something she couldn't possibly understand. Maybe even something she didn't want to understand... "What do you mean?" Hikari sighed softly and nibbled her bottom lip before looking away, staring at the ground.

"Remember when I told you that your father and I fought beneath the Goshinboku once, just before we were married?" Hikari asked gently. Kagome nodded when she peeked over at her. "Well...we had gotten into arguements before over what to do- I really wanted children and he had gotten himself tested for various things for work...a test came back that told us that he was infertile." Kagome's blood ran cold. She couldn't even begin to ask anything, though, because her mom kept going. "How were we to have children if he couldn't have them? I wanted to adopt, but he wasn't fond of the idea. He rejected all of my ideas and we finally had it out beneath the Goshinboku. I didn't think we were going to get married anymore... I still loved him, but I feared he hated me for my suggestions. As time passed and I sat beneath the tree, sobering, a man appeared in the boughs." Kagome blinked as her mom looked back up to where the man must've stood all those years ago. "He was...small-built, lean but muscular...and his hair was...different. Black locks that stood tall with a white starburst in the center. His eyes were crimson. I knew immediately that he wasn't human...or not completely, at least." Kagome's jaw dropped and a distinct low ringing resounded in her ears. Was this going where she thought it was going? "He asked for my name and I gave it to him. He told me that his name was Hiei. We talked some...rather, I got him to talk a little by asking a lot of questions. He had been by the shrine and had noticed me. He told me I had latent power, but I laughed it off. I didn't believe him...and he jumped down and showed me my own power..." Hikari's cheeks heated and Kagome felt her stomach roiling at the implication.

"Showed you how?" Kagome asked the dreaded question after a moment of silence, the girl shocked her mom'd had any sort of power at all.

"He came close and focused his youki in his hand against mine...," Hikari reminisced dreamily. "But it didn't work so well, so he came closer...and closer, still. His body was against mine by the end...and, before I realized what was happening, we were in the throes of passion..." Kagome felt her own cheeks heat as her blue eyes widened considerably. Her mom and a demon had...a demon in her time! They had...and Kagome was...but how...

"I was concieved," Kagome spoke up, her throat thick again.

"Yes," Hikari confirmed, looking over at Kagome with a twinkle in her eyes. "You were concieved that spring day beneath the Goshinboku." 'Waaay too much information!' Kagome groaned in her mind.

"I'm not a hanyou," Kagome pointed out, swallowing thickly again.

"That's because your Ji-san and I sealed your youki away," Hikari surprised her. "Ji-san had to sacrifice his power for the sealing. I sacrificed mine for Souta."

"Souta is his child, too?" Kagome asked, not sure what she felt about all of this.

"Yes," Hikari, again, confirmed. "Hiei came by a few times over the years, watching over the shrine and such. We coupled only once more...and Souta was concieved at that time."

"Did dad...I mean Kyota...know?" Kagome asked softly, feeling weird calling what she'd thought was her dad her whole life by his first name.

"No...," Hikari answered, a guilty look in her eyes and hesitation in her voice. "I never told him before he died...he always thought it was a blessing from the kami and I was hesitant to tell him otherwise. I still loved him. I also had a thing for Hiei, though I realize now that it wasn't love. I thought I had loved them both..."

"Does he know we're his?" Kagome manged to get out. "Does he still come around?"

"No...," Hikari replied contemplatively. "I don't think so, at least. You lacked youki to be his, so I think he thought you and Souta were Kyota's. He umm...I haven't seen him in the last few years...the last time was a few months before you fell into the well." Kagome nodded slowly, taking things in. "I'm almost expecting him to pop up out of thin air." Hikari laughed softly, almost giddily, to herself.

"Okay...," Kagome attempted to keep her thoughts in order. There were things she needed to know. This could definately be upsetting her power... "You said you and Gramps sealed my youki and Souta's away. Why? Is the seal breaking now? Is that why my miko power is fading in and out?"

"It could be...," Hikari nodded contemplatively. "We sealed your youki away because your conflicting energies were...were killing you as a newborn. Inside of me, my power probably levelled you out, but once you were out... Gramps is a lot more skilled at spells than you might realize, Kagome...he really was the guardian of this shrine...he came up with the spell in time to save your life. Luckily enough, Kyota was fighting traffic at that point in time and hadn't come home yet. We cast the spell together and he sacrificed his power to seal away your youki. We did the same when I had Souta, but I sacrificed my power that time. I don't know what would weaken the seal...maybe it has a time limit. I'm not sure...but I know that Ji-san had once told me that, if the seal had broken for any reason, you would be alright now. You have conscious thought and you've had training...you can control your powers." Kagome nodded again, unsure of what else to ask. Questions bubbled just under the surface, as well as uncertainties and fear. It was quiet for a moment, Kagome idly trying to picture this short, lean man with spiky black hair, a white starburst in the middle of it. Red eyes made the picture in her head look menacing.

"Does...does my father have any other features...? Ones that are more...demon-like?" Kagome asked hesitantly, wondering if she would soon be facing her father. Her mom said he used to pop up here every once in a while and it was almost like she was expecting him to show up again...

"Well...," Hikari mused a moment, her eyes finding the Goshinboku again. Kagome purposely looked away, unable- and unwilling- to comprehend that she had been concieved under the tree about eighteen years ago. "He has slightly longer ears...kind of elf-like in appearance...and he has a third eye on his forehead." Kagome blinked in shock. Was she going to suddenly sprout a third eye?! That was a seriously disturbing thought... "He kept it covered with a white headband. He always wore a black cloak with two black belts, a white scarf- or, at least, I thought it was a scarf...-, black pants, and black boots, and he always keeps his katana at his side...or close, at least. Other than that...he appeared normal."

"What about me and Souta? Before the seals?" Kagome asked curiously. The seals would have probably cancelled out any of their demonic attributes...if they'd had any. She prayed they weren't very prominant, if they had them at all.

"Oh...," Hikari looked over at her with a blink. "Well...both of your ears were extended, much like Hiei's...and you both have a bit of white in your black hair..." Kagome noticed that she was hesitating. So much for Kagome's hope...

"And?" Kagome questioned knowingly, wanting to know but not at the same time.

"And...," Hikari hesitated a moment more. "You were born with an extra eye on your forehead..." Kagome let out a breath and slumped back against the wall of the house. "Souta was born with two." Kagome's gaze snapped back to her mother, the woman giving her a small, nervous smile.

"Two? As in two extra eyes?" Kagome prodded. Hikari nodded.

"They're just above his eyebrows," she motioned with her hand. "Curiously, all four eyes are different colors. His lower left is dark brown, like mine...the lower right is crimson, like Hiei's. The upper left is blue like your normal eyes are, and his upper right one is black like Hiei's third eye." Kagome blinked, trying to imagine Souta looking so...odd. It was hard to picture.

"What color are my eyes?" Kagome asked hesitantly.

"Both your normal eyes are blue...though they're a bit more intense than they are now," Hikari noted softly, as though trying to remember as she stared at Kagome. "The third one in the center of your forehead is red, like Hiei's." A shiver ran down Kagome's spine. After seeing Naraku's crimson eyes for so long, she associated bad guy's eyes with crimson...now she had one of her own. Or would.

"Hm...," Kagome hummed and nodded, no further questions bubbling to the surface. She knew all she could know for now...at least until she talked to her Gramps...but her brain was already overloaded. She needed a small break, at least, to be able to breathe before she went after the answer to the rest of her problems. She'd gotten what she'd wanted much sooner than she'd expected, so she didn't think a walk to clear her mind would count much against her. Inuyasha would be happy if she popped up tomorrow in the Fuedal Era...so long as she didn't have that third eye. She involuntarily shivered. "Hey, mom..."

"Yes, dear?" Hikari asked expectantly, her brown eyes gazing at her daughter curiously. She was obviously wondering what else Kagome would ask.

"I think I'm going to take a walk...just to kind of clear my mind a little and think things through," Kagome surprised her. "Is that okay..?" Kagome looked back at her with hesitant eyes, hoping she'd let her go.

"Yes, of course," Hikari agreed immediately, Kagome letting out a breath she hadn't been aware that she was holding. "I understand that this is a lot to think through...go ahead." She gave Kagome a small smile and a nod as she patted her leg gently. Kagome nodded, letting her backpack fall from her shoulder. She kept her bow and arrows on, however, the notion of demons in her time making her wary. 'I'm one of them,' she mused wryly to herself. 'The irony...' "Aren't you going to leave your bow and arrows?"

"No...I think I'll take them with me...," Kagome replied immediately, Hikari blinking at her in surprise. "I...ah...don't feel quite as safe as I did before...if anybody asks, I'll say I'm in the archery club." Hikari managed a small nod, the woman tilting her head to the side slightly. Kagome could see the slight surprise, confusion, and sympathy in her features.

"You know...Hiei says there aren't many in Tokyo in this day and age...and of those that are here, most aren't interested in harming humans anymore...," Hikari gently attempted to coax her from her weapons. Kagome didn't feel much better about it.

"Still, I think I'll keep them," Kagome insisted. "I feel...safer...with them on me." Blue eyes begged for the owner of the brown to drop it. Nothing was going to make her feel safer at the moment...she needed them. They were her crutch.

"...Alright...," Hikari finally agreed. "Be careful."

"I will," Kagome nodded, setting off immediately. She knew where she was going- the park near her house that Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi frequented with her when they were ten. As the others grew older, they lost interest in the mostly-deserted park...but Kagome still loved it. It was a quiet place where she could think...a safe haven. She needed that right now, that stability. Maybe it would help her sort out her thoughts. Before Kagome knew it, she was down the many concrete stairs that lead to her shrine home. Her pace was brisk and the park was near- five minutes from her house at a languid pace. She ignored the people around her as everyone stared at the odd girl with a slightly torn school uniform, a quiver, and a bow. They didn't matter right now. She was still wrapping her head around everything. Halfway to the park, Kagome paused in her step as a familiar feeling brushed against her senses. Azure eyes widened. There were demons...in the park. Her park. A battle was raging. Kagome picked up her pace, her grip on her quiver strap making her knuckles turn white. 'Three...four...five...seven...yes, there's seven demons...,' she noted silently as her eyes narrowed. The entrance to the park came and passed. 'One odd human energy in the fray. The rest are half-demon or more....' Her eyes widened again. 'Two helpless humans. Gotta help.' Without further thought, Kagome found herself weaving through the remaining trees to a clearing in the mini-forest. She waited there, behind a tree somewhat near the fight. Kagome was far enough out that she couldn't get hit, however. She easily located the humans, both of them unconscious beneath a bench.

Kagome observed the battle carefully. There were two red heads- one tall with an energy sword and a shorter one harnessing a thorny whip- and a guy with black hair she noticed that were together, forming a mini-circle around the bench and protecting the humans. 'I'm on their side,' Kagome idly noted, feeling oddly warmed to see part demons and a fellow human protecting the helpless. In the rest of the fray, she noted a black blur and four very different kinds of demons. One was scaly and green. He kept swinging his claws at the odd black blur. A burly bear-like demon was attacking the taller red-head, idly reminding Kagome of her battle earlier that day. She repressed a shudder. A very large demon was attacking the black-haired man, the man trying to keep him back. The demon was easily twice the size as the boy- hanyou?- and he had green hair with tough-looking gray skin. The last demon looked like a cat demon of some kind with its large fangs, feline ears atop his head, and cat-like tail, the agile being dodging the slightly shorter red-head's whip and taunting him. Things looked pretty evenly matched...

"I can change that...," Kagome smirked to herself, drawing on her power again. This time it answered her call without hesitation. "Yes..." She grinned to herself, drawing an arrow and sliding the bow from her shoulder. It was nocked without thought. "Let's see...the large one won't be able to dodge...let's go with that one." Drawing her bow string back as far as it would go, Kagome aimed...and released the arrow. She watched confidently as it sailed forth and hit its predestined target- the middle of the gray man's chest. It didn't immediately go through, her power lessening against his chest. 'Almost!' Kagome growled to herself, stepping out of the woods and aiming again. She was quick to fire the arrow. The large demon grabbed for it, but was too slow. The second aided the first and together, they pierced his skin and purified him away. Kagome sprinted towards the dark-haired boy, the boy looking suspicious of her. She couldn't blame him.

"Who the hell are you?" he growled at her, ready to fight at a moment's notice.

"Urameshi! It's a girl! Leave her alone!" the tall red-head scolded, surprising Kagome.

"I'm a friend to whoever is protecting those two," Kagome pointed at the two under the bench.

"Hah...well...thanks for the help, but this is going to be over soon," the man grinned at her. She couldn't help but be reminded of Inuyasha. With a wave of his hand, he sprinted off to help the tall red-haired man. Kagome looked to the other red-head.

"Can't let you guys have all the fun," Kagome snorted as she approached the area around the man, careful to stay out of the way of his whip. The cat drew near to her with a sly smirk. 'Sorry to dissappoint you,' Kagome apologized silently, raising her bow up a bit. 'My days of being a damsel in distress are over.' She waited until he came at her confidently, claws poised to kill.

"Miss!" the shorter red-head with more hair yelled at her, obviously shocked. Kagome raised her bow, concentrating her power into the bow in question, and she struck out at the shocked cat demon, nicking him and turning him into sparkly dust. His remains rained down on her, temporarily blinding her and making her cough. She tried not to breathe in the particals...

"Ugh! Damn...," Kagome managed to get out around her coughs.

"Are you alright, miss?" the red-head approached, though a bit cautiously, she noted.

"Yeah," Kagome waved off, rubbing her slightly-stinging eyes. "It's Kagome, though...not miss."

"Kurama," he exchanged his name with a bob of his head and a slight smile. She returned it. An odd noise...something like an animal dying accompanied by a loud thump made Kagome and Kurama turn back towards the other red-head and the dark-haired boy.

"Hah! Take that! ...Stupid bear demon...," the dark-haired one snorted as he kicked the corpse. Kurama sighed beside her, making her azure eyes turn back to the man. He glanced back at her with a more relieved smile.

"The man with darker hair is Yusuke, and the tall red-haired man is Kuwabara," Kurama introduced quickly as Kagome nodded, surprised. "The last member of our little group..." He turned back to where the black blur and the lizard had been battling. Kagome was surprised to see the lizard dead, his head lying a good ways away from his body. "...is Hiei." Kagome blinked. The black blur was now standing still, turning towards them as he sheithed his sword. 'Black jacket, white scarf- or is it a collar?-, black pants, black boots...two belts,' she listed off numbly in her mind. His crimson eyes met her azure orbs and she shuddered. 'Crimson eyes, black hair with a...white starburst...spiked hair...he's short-maybe my height- and lean...Hiei. ...Hiei.' She saw him, but she really wasn't sure if she belived it or not. Surely fate wouldn't be so cruel...

"Hiei...," Kagome repeated softly, her eyes on the now-glowering odd demon before her. 'He has a white headband, too,' she idly realized, hesitating as she also realized that his third eye had to be under there.

"Yes...have you heard his name somwhere, by chance?" Kurama asked gently but with an edge to his voice. A protective edge. They were friends. "You seem...familiar with it..." Kagome allowed herself to stare at the crimson-eyed man before her a minute longer than necissary.

'Fate has a very cruel, very twisted sense of humor,' Kagome noted to herself, unaware that she had a- very confused- guest in her mind at that very moment.

- Chapter 1 - End -

- In one of the movies, Kagome's mom tells Kagome that she and her father had a fight before their wedding day, under the Goshinboku. I wanted to incoporate that into the fic. Nice, eh? :P

- Please Review!

FAQ - Do you have questions? Ask and I'll post what I can in the FAQ

- Why do Kagome and Souta have extra eyes? I can understand the hair and the ears...but...the Jagan is implanted. They shouldn't have inheritted it. Under normal circumstances, no, I agree. But! Hiei went so far as to alter his own body, evolving to a green form with many eyes to help the effects of his Jagan, thus further intigrating it into his body. That combined with some still-lingering mysteries about the Jagan have made it possible for Kagome and Souta to inherit extra eyes. Do they have another form with even more eyes? I don't know...why don't you keep reading to find out? XD