Human Like Me by Reishii-Chan

Ain't No Rest for the Wicked

A/N: So this story was inspired by the famously written novel, Black Like Me, by John Howard Griffin.

Now one important thing: this will not be the basis of this story. This is merely a plot that has been inspired by these events, and thus it will have its own plot. I do suggest that everyone reads Black Like Me, since it is insightful and inspiring.

This will also be told in some random drabbles, so don't always expect long chapters like this one. Originally posted on fanfiction.

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Inuyasha.

xXx

Human Like Me
Ain't No Rest for the Wicked

Inuyasha swung his Fang Sword above his head and cleaved the arm of the lizard youkai in one clean sweep. The lizard yowled and flailed on the ground in tiny spasmodic bursts, its yellowed, scaly skin turning a deep crimson in its agony. Its tongue peeked out of its mouth, tasting, its eyes ballooned out of its head almost comically.

It wasn't a very powerful youkai, at least not by the hanyou's standards, but it had been causing enough trouble by terrorizing the nearby villages by stealing their livestock and tampering with their gardens. Though just as always they had received a plea of help from the village elder who knew a great deal about Inuyasha and his companions, and how they traveled all throughout the lands to aid people in their dealings with troublesome demons.

Sometimes, Inuyasha wished it would always be a bigger challenge than the last. He stared sulkily at the dying demon before him, figuring the demons were becoming weaker and weaker with each village they visited.

"Finish him now, Inuyasha," Kikyou said, singling an arrow and notching it in the bow. "Do it or I will."

"Okay, I will." He scowled, holding Tetsusaiga aloft in one hand and delivering the final sweep of his Wind Scar. The pained screech of the lizard demon echoed painfully within Inuyasha's sensitive ears, the sound rebounding off of the nearby mountain walls in a terrifying way.

The villagers came bounding from their huts and toward their saviours, offering packages of rice and fruits and dairy goods. Kikyou accepted them all graciously, ignoring the way Inuyasha scoffed at the idea of taking things from the already struggling villagers. After all, it wasn't like she would be the one to carry it back home. He hefted the supplies upon his back and waved farewell to the villagers.

The hanyou fell into step beside the undead miko. She looked straight on, her shoulders squared. Inuyasha's ears flattened on his head, not wanting to ask the miko what was bothering her, in fear that it might have to do with him. The last thing he wanted was a scolding.

He had been travelling with Kikyou since the completion of the Jewel and the ultimate defeat of Naraku, almost out of pity, if anything. It was evident amongst his other travelling companions that she was not quite yet welcome in their circle, even if she had a hand in slaying the evil hanyou that had been tormenting them for five years now. It was even clearer the gap that Kikyou shared between Kagome; Kagome had been assigned to be keeper of the Jewel until either of them ever found an appropriate, unselfish wish to ask it. This decision has been made on a group vote; Inuyasha had been the only one to vouch in Kikyou's favour. This had stuck with Kikyou since, which had been more than three weeks now, and she refused to breathe a word to the younger miko if she didn't have to.

Unfortunately for Inuyasha, he received the brunt of Kikyou's hatred and jealousy while out on errands such as these. But the miko seemed peculiarly quiet until recent, and this worried him even more. The love they had once shared never quite reached this time period for either, but Inuyasha still knew and understood her better than anyone else did.

"Kikyou," he began. He tried not to notice the pointed look she gave him in return. "Uh, is there something bothering you?" Aside from the obvious, he neglected to mention forthright.

They continued walking in silence, as the breeze began to pick up from the West, and dark cloud patches roamed overhead. He smelled rain and something that tickled his nose.

"There's going to be a storm," commented the miko for the first time. She craned her head back and observed the obsidian sky. "But this is a youkai made storm, not by nature. It is heading towards my sister's village."

"Who do you think could be causing this?"

"I am not knowledgeable of all youkai, Inuyasha. I have just as much of an idea as you do," she sniped, petulance gracing her tongue. Inuyasha stifled a sigh.

The two unlikely pair continued to walk the path, both preparing for an encounter of sorts, though neither of them really understood what they were tensing for. The shift in the air's turbulence picked up a trace of hostility, something only Inuyasha could distinguish between based on the scents in the air.

The hanyou's ears sprang up as warning signals impaled his gut. He had to get to the village. He scooped Kikyou up onto his back and took off like a freight train, barreling past anything or anyone that was in his path. Inuyasha recognized it now; the smell that had burned his nostrils was the crackling of concentrated youki in the sky, just as Kikyou claimed. But why would it be targeting Kaede's village?

The two were close now, approaching the steep grassy hill that would lead them to the top of the village. At first Inuyasha heard the sound of a cry coming from his right, to where the Bone-Eaters Well resided safely within the crux of trees. The sound was like a howling of wind, which was now blowing hard enough to steer him slightly off kilter. He confirmed the voice the second time he heard it, stopping abruptly and almost smashing Kikyou's nose into his hard shoulder.

"Inuyasha!"

Kikyou stiffened at the sound of her reincarnation, and was dropped unceremoniously onto her feet. She rubbed the back of her head glumly. Inuyasha had taken off.

"Kagome!"

xXx

Kagome hefted the large yellow bag onto her sore shoulders, wincing as the bag's straps dug into the bruises along her collarbone. She reminded herself to next time bring Advil, or some other pain medication.

"Will you be back soon this time?" asked Shippou. The fox-kit glanced warily at the hut's door. "You won't wait for Inuyasha?"

Kagome shook her head, noticing the exasperated expressions on the taijiya and monk's face. They knew just as much as she did that it was pointless to wait on Inuyasha any longer, but Shippou still couldn't quite grasp the concept.

"No, I'm not waiting for that goof," she said, feigning a humorous laugh. "Give him hell for me for not seeing me off, okay?"

Shippou bared his teeth and hunched his shoulders up, walking stiffly like an army soldier. "Of course,"

"Take care of the Jewel, Kagome." Sango requested. Her eyes wavered with unshed tears.

Kagome nodded, silently mourning her little brother who had to die in order for the Jewel to be completed in the first place. She hadn't quite gotten over that, even if it had been over a year since Kohaku had to sacrifice himself for their purpose. It still touched deeply within the miko's heart, but some day she would try to find a way to make it up to the demon-slayer.

"I will," was all Kagome had to say.

The younger miko waved goodbye to Sango and Miroku, not requiring any goodbyes from them. She trekked to the edge of the village's pathways and steered left up the hill, tying her hair back as she climbed. The winds battered relentlessly against her body, swaying her off balance once or twice. Even to her weak human nose she could still smell the brewing storm, although the crackle and spark of demon energy pricked at her flesh along with it.

She ignored it, instead trying not to focus on the ache in her back or the pull in her empty stomach. She would eat two servings of her mother's supper when she got home, and take a nice long bath to soothe her aching muscles. She had been here far longer than she'd intended, and it was time to return home.

The storm continued to culminate strength and power overhead, the thunder rolling through the dense atmosphere. A few trickles of rain speckled her nose and forehead.

"Could a demon be making this?" she wondered aloud to herself, finally clearing the top.

The brush of the demonic energy was too obvious for her to assume anything else. The storm was definitely not natural, so the caster had to be around here somewhere, just out of touch with Kagome's finely tuned senses.

Steeling herself, she approached the tree line. It appeared ominous to her, as if concealing something dangerous behind it. But it was absurd, wasn't it? She would have sensed long ago if there had been a demon waiting for her on the other side of the throng of large trees that protected the well from both view and most predators. This was the one time she did not feel safe within its enclosed space.

She dropped her pack and slung her bow off her back, notching an arrow and approaching cautiously ahead when finally she did detect energy.

As she drew closer she felt two powerful youkai ahead, causing her skin to prickle despite the humid wind battering at her. She faintly recognized the first, mainly because the demon was attempting to somewhat conceal himself from her. The name automatically clicked into her memory.

Sesshoumaru? She asked herself doubtfully, telling herself that she must be mistaken. What would he want?

The clearing divulged itself in front of her, and to her surprise she saw no one within it. Of course they were not too far off by her estimations, so she remained where she was, unwilling to step out in the open and become vulnerable.

The Jewel that was secured in the back of her jeans pocket warmed considerably with each passing moment, to the point where it was singing the material. She hurriedly removed it and clutched it tightly in her grasp, willing it to cool down. She felt blisters forming on her hands, and she averted a wince of pain. It seemed to be calling out, she noted, because she no longer could feel the energy centered upon her own miko powers.

"Ah, yes, the Jewel at last!"

The voice materialized from above her—Kagome barrel-rolled just in time to avoid the war axe that was going to cleave her head clean off her shoulders. She tumbled into the clearing, hitting the well with a sickening crack to her back. Her hands still protected the Jewel, although by now she must have burned away the first layer of tissue.

The youkai who had attacked her appeared from the tree line, a wicked smile painted upon her face. She was a petite red-head who wore traditional green robes, similar to Inuyasha's garments, with the ballooned hakama pants and the long sleeves. A gleaming axe three times the size of her head was held at her side.

"It took a while to find you, Kagome," the demoness hissed. "You're difficult to sense when that Jewel is protecting you,"

Kagome swallowed thickly, stretching her limbs out but finding the pain was too much. She sat there, helpless, momentarily paralyzed from the blow on the back of her head. The demoness knew it, too.

"Give me it," the youkai growled. Kagome barely summoned enough energy to create a corona of pink light around her. Willing the barrier to remain stable, she scooted backwards until her back touched the ancient wood of the well. Her plan was to jump down the well before the demoness attacked, or before the barrier dissipated, making for a hasty escape.

The demoness lashed out with her axe and struck the barrier head-on. She was resisted minutely before the barrier dissolved beneath her touch almost too easily. Kagome cried sharply when the axe came plummeting down upon her, stopping short just below her chin. The youkai held her gaze steadily.

"You touch me, and I'll purify you!" Kagome threatened, forcing as much confidence into the statement as possible. The truth was she wasn't sure if she could; not if the demon had little trouble breaking through her barrier. Although pitiful, most demons could not even stand to be near its presence without being singed to death.

The youkai laughed outright, digging the edge of the axe's blade into the miko's tender jugular. "As if that puny miko power of yours could touch me,"

The Jewel cupped within Kagome's hands began to pulsate in time with her heart. Badoom. Badoom. It ceased to burn her, but the pull of its ancient magic was nauseating. The youkai grinned madly. "If you give me the Jewel, I will spare your pitiful mortal life," she bargained, though Kagome had little reason to trust her barter.

"What do you want with it?" Kagome gritted. The axe's sharp edges cut a thin line across her tender flesh. Blood seeped into Kagome's gray sweatshirt.

"What do you think I want?" the youkai sneered. "I wish to become more powerful than I am. And right now there is only one in this very land that is the strongest. I wish to attain his power as my own and rule whatever land I choose."

Kagome resisted the urge to roll her eyes—she'd been there, and done that, already. But who could this demon possibly want the power from? Naraku was long dead, and only a hanyou. She could think of no one, at first, until the name slipped from her mind and through her mouth. "Sesshoumaru…?"

The youkai nodded. "Yes. He is the strongest of all the youkai. I have been pursuing you and the great inuyoukai for months now. I am finally able to get what I deserve!"

The axe shot out directly in front of Kagome—by pure luck the miko had managed to shift herself to the left, far enough away from the deadly blade that whizzed by where she was just a second ago. She scrambled to her feet, the pain in her hip and back hindering her running, but she took off. Kagome didn't even clear the circumference of the trees before the youkai appeared before her once more.

Out of instinct, Kagome screamed the one name she'd screamed a thousand times. "Inuyasha!"

Just as the name slipped from her lips, a white flash came shooting from the trees. It tackled the demoness, grappling with her on the ground. The axe was successfully ripped away from her grasp, but she seemed to have more tricks up her sleeve. She punched the other demon square in the solar plexus with a brilliant flash of youki, sending him nearly hurtling to the other side of the clearing.

Kagome yelped and dodged as the white youkai was sent hurtling straight to her. The body connected with the trees, rebounding off and falling to the ground. Upon closer inspection Kagome recognized Sesshoumaru. She tried to help him to his feet, but he growled and sat straight up, inching away from her slowly.

"Do not touch me, miko," he growled, standing but wobbling. He seemed to be in a daze, save the grimace on his face.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded, aware that he was again engaging in battle with the female youkai. He had drawn his sword and took carefully crafted swings in her direction, but each time his attack was reflected by powerful bursts of youki. She scampered out of the way just as the demoness sent yet another powerful, concentrated burst of energy that was supposed to hit Sesshoumaru. The dog demon had leapt out of harms way, sailing over the other youkai's head. He landed deftly, swinging his sword straight for her throat.

The demoness yelped and flitted from view, reappearing beside Kagome. The miko barely had enough time to dodge as the demoness lounged for the Jewel tucked safely into Kagome's palms; with one quick sweep the demon snatched the Jewel away. Kagome summoned her miko powers and purified everything in her path—except for the demoness. Sesshoumaru dodged her attack, sending a menacing glare in her direction.

"Do not get involved in this, woman," he snarled. "What do you intend to do with that, Azara?"

The youkai—Azara—grinned mischievously. "You'll find out soon enough, Lord Sesshoumaru." She wrung her hands together around the Jewel possessively.

"Stop her; she's going to make a wish!"

At the sharp cry of Kagome's request Sesshoumaru leaped toward Azara. She successfully built up a thick wall of youki that the dog demon nearly crashed into, her mouth moving as she made her wish.

"Take away all of Sesshoumaru's power away and transfer them—"

Azara never could finish her sentence—the purified arrow that pierced through the cylindrical youki barrier lodged directly into her breast, cutting off her wish. The barrier began dissolve like acid, purifying everything within its diameter. The demoness was now hunched over on one knee, still clutching the Jewel that pulsed with tainted energy and thrummed in time with the beating of her heart.

She sensed the approaching miko and hanyou just in time. She scuttled to the well and ruptured a fragment of the youki embedded within its ancient wood just enough to distract them from her escape. She was aware of Kagome's time travel, a knowledge not even Naraku had been aware of. Azara fled from the circular clearing with the Jewel before the two could come to once again.

Sesshoumaru redirected his gaze from the youkai to where the miko stood, her arms still aloft with the bow, although her eyes were clouded and unseeing. Slowly, she lowered her weapon, dropping it to the floor limply. He watched as she wobbled to her feet and collapsed on the ground face-first, twitching uncontrollably. Just as the taiyoukai began to question what had ailed the girl, he, too, found himself crippling under some unknown weight that he, the great dog demon, could not repel.

His breath fell short in his lungs as his massive body was forced to the ground. His sight failed as well as his sense of feeling. The last thing to disappear was his hearing. Convulsions ceased him thirty seconds later.

Kagome roused from the convulsions just as Sesshoumaru had collapsed, spittle hanging from her numb lips and liquid running down her cheeks from her eyes. She sat up steadily, stilling whenever she felt the tension of pulled muscles within her legs and arms. As she finally stood erect, there was a distinct difference to the world she had never had privy of seeing before. The world was dazzled with colours she could not name, with particles in the air and land that she hadn't even known were there before now. When she moved a foot out in front of her, suddenly she found herself three paces ahead instead, the sight around her blurring with her rapid movements.

She looked to the dog demon that had joined her in the convulsions, witnessing with unbelieving eyes as his hair bled to inky blackness. Kagome circled the taiyoukai, waiting patiently as his episode passed. She stood cautiously back when he began to slowly bring himself to his knees, his face shrouded from her vision from his ebony bangs.

Kagome elicited a soft cry in the back of her throat when Sesshoumaru peered up at her. He made a sound, too, without realizing that he did so upon seeing her as well.

"Sesshoumaru, you…" Kagome stammered, slowly inching backwards. "What happened to you…?"

Sesshoumaru wiped his face with his remaining hand, almost missing the fact that he lacked his trademark demon insignias upon his wrists. His claws had also been filed down. He got to his feet quickly, the still turbulent wind catching his hair adrift in front of his vision. His brown eyes widened far more considerably than what she had seen before as he touched his alienated hair. His eyes shot up to meet hers instantly.

"You…" he growled, without the usual rumble through his diaphragm. "What have you done, wench?" He started for her, arm distended to grasp around her throat like he had done so many times in the past. It startled him when she easily slipped out of his reach and appeared at his side, shocked just as much as he when she did so fluently.

"W-what's wrong with you?" Kagome questioned him, trying to ignore the way she had just circled him without moving her feet. She fought to keep her voice under control. "Why do you look so…?"

"Why have you stolen this Sesshoumaru's powers!"

Kagome flinched at his roar, at first not comprehending his statement. She happened to tuck a piece of hair behind her now elfish ears, and catch the magenta strips criss-crossing her wrists. Suppressing a squeal, she closely inspected her body now, noting that she distinctly felt her nails—claws—sliding along the fabric of her clothes. She grabbed at a tuft of her once jet-black hair, only to find that it glistened like silver dollars in the light. Kagome stared at Sesshoumaru for a long while; the two now coming to terms with what had just took place.

As Kagome talked, she could not mistake the sharp edges jutting from her canines. "I think that youkai switched our powers. Does that mean you're a houshi now?"

Sesshoumaru ignored her question. He was too preoccupied with studying his features to the extent that he could; he believed himself to be under some sort of illusion. He studied his sword Tokijin intently, noting that the demonic energy exuding from the weapon was tainting him and threatening to possess him. He fought it off with some effort and regarded the miko, now great taiyoukai, before him.

"I shall not stand for one such as you to wield and possess my powers. Return to me this instant."

Kagome sighed. "I don't think it's going to be that easy,"

"Well then I suggest you find a way to fix it right now."

Kagome bit her lip, wincing when she drew blood with her sharp teeth. "I don't know how to do that exactly, okay? What we would need to do first of all would be to find her. But first I need to grab m—"

She let her guard down too quickly; he snatched the opportunity and pinned her over the Bone-Eaters Well securely. For a human he was abnormally strong, and without prior knowledge on how to use her new powers effectively she was trapped beneath him. His large brown eyes seared into her soul.

"You will find a way, miko. Or I shall take your life,"

Kagome felt the bark press into her back annoyingly. She slipped into a position which allowed her more room between him and the well easily enough. "You're forgetting," she began haughtily, "that if you kill me there might be a chance that you will never regain your powers again. How about we just work together and try to—"

"Silence, you insolent woman!" He gripped her wrists tightly, probably not as tight as he wanted it to be. Kagome prepared to take a trip down the well in case he decided to get even more hostile. "You shall not dictate what I do. You will follow my orders promptly, and I shall not slay you now. Your tongue insults me."

With a swift, fluid movement Kagome maneuvered Sesshoumaru around her. She had meant to reverse their position and chew him out with a piece of her own opinion, but somewhere, someone had misplaced their footing. Kagome squeezed her eyes shut as they tumbled down the well's pillar, too caught up in her panic to notice the shroud of pink that engulfed them both before hurtling them five hundred years into the future.

xXx

"Kagome! Kagome, where are you?"

When Inuyasha and Kikyou arrived on the scene, the battle had been fought and lost. All that remained was Kagome's yellow backpack, her weapons, and large patches of upturned grass where the youki had been manipulated into barriers and projectiles.

Kikyou approached the well and touched the rim, sensing a disturbance of the flow in energy. "Kagome had ventured to her time period." The elder miko stated blandly, moving to inspect the remainder of the area for clues.

She had been certain that she had sensed the Jewel being manipulated, but now it was no longer sensed. She was certain it was tainted, and that another youkai had been involved with this ordeal along with the younger miko.

Inuyasha smelled the air. "My brother was here," he said, more of a question than a statement. "What was he doing here so close to Kagome, anyway?"

Kikyou picked up the remaining arrows and the forgotten bow. Her face was devoid of emotion. It unnerved Inuyasha more than it should have, he realized.

"I'm going to try going through," he said, perching on the edge of the well and staring down at the black void.

"You will most likely not be able to pass through."

Inuyasha looked toward Kikyou. "I have to try, right?"

She said nothing as he hopped down, preparing himself for the fall that eventually came. His knees buckled under his weight as he hit the bottom nearly twelve feet down. He stared at the top, jumping back up in defeat.

"What's wrong with it?"

"That demon might have been a youki manipulator," Kikyou said. "It is possible that she altered the well's magic just enough to cause them trouble. Although why she would choose to do so is beyond me—Kagome's time-travelling ability isn't well known."

Inuyasha's ears flattened against his skull. He peered down the well one last time before following Kikyou out of the clearing. "We have to find that demon," he stressed. "Kagome will be stuck there without the Jewel."

"You forget that she is not alone," Kikyou raised a delicate eyebrow.

"What do you mean? She's the only one aside from me that can go through the well."

"Lord Sesshoumaru has passed through as well. Didn't you sense this?"

Inuyasha froze, staring at the undead miko in abstract horror. "No, how could I? His scent, it literally vanished!"

"It was there, Inuyasha." Kikyou began walking again even though he remained cemented in place. "He has lost his demonic powers, and thus does not share the same scent of a youkai any longer. I am certain he has passed through the time-well with Kagome."

"Sesshoumaru… a human…? But how is it possible that he went through the well, when I cannot?"

"I am not certain as to why that is yet, but yes," a rare smile graced the miko's lips. "Kagome is now a full-fledged demon."

xXx

Kagome landed ungracefully on her rump. Something landed on top of her two seconds later, and soon she was being tossed into the well's wall by Sesshoumaru. His eyes were enlarged as he scrambled to jump up the length of the well, failing to do so, only jumping a few inches off of the ground. Kagome peered up the well and noticed the ladder had been removed. She frowned, thinking she must have been away that long for them to remove the ladder.

The miko stood and bushed the dust off of her clothes, watching as Sesshoumaru continued to grasp at roots and haul himself up. Kagome took one long look at the length of the well, judged the distance, and leapt into the air. With a rush of air that was knocked from her lungs, she was sitting on the edge of the well almost twelve feet up. She glanced back down at the fuming taiyoukai, but he refused to say a word.

Kagome jumped back down, barely feeling the impact. "Here, I'll help you up." She offered him a striped hand, but he hissed away from it. He backed up until he was flush with the wall. She sighed, leaping back up. Over in the corner sat the ladder. She grabbed it and lowered it until she felt it hit the ground, calling over her shoulder to Sesshoumaru as she left. "You can get up when you feel like it,"

She crossed the area from the shrine to her home almost too quickly. The wind whipped furiously about her, lifting up the nearby autumn leaves and sending her now silver hair about in a messy halo. The scent of the wind carried pollution and decay. She scrunched her nose. Was this what Tokyo always smelled like? Before she could remember it being fresh and scented with the autumn leaves, but now she could barely contain her repulsion.

She could smell something human inside of the house—how she knew to identify the scent of humans was beyond her, but something inside her internal memory had clicked. She then could scent out her brother and her grandfather inside of the house, and a second later picked up her mother. Is this how they always had smelled before?

What an odd sensation, Kagome thought to herself, to be able to recognize people based on their smell. She always thought it would have been convenient for animals such as dogs and cats to use their sense of smell for nearly anything, and now that she was actually experiencing it (not yet having realized it was because she was a taiyoukai now) was a special moment. She had to bet that if the wind wasn't howling within her sensitive eardrums that she could hear sounds miles away, sounds that were too miniscule to pick up before would become clear in pitch.

She stepped into the house and shut the door quietly behind her, hearing the sounds of her mother in the kitchen and her brother in his bedroom. She could even hear him flipping through the pages in his textbook! Her grandfather was sitting upon the couch and drinking something, his slurps from the straw discernible to her.

The hallway lead straight to the kitchen and rounded into the living room. She followed to the kitchen, catching from the corner of her eye a glint of light. She stared straight into the oval mirror, reality crippling her of movement. When she held her breath in surprise and fear, there was no pain. She felt like she could hold her breath forever. Slowly, in transfixed fascination, she raised her hand to cup the side of her cheek, anticipating the image to vanish from her sight. But the magenta strips on both cheekbones stayed there, as did the crescent navy moon above her brows. She laughed quietly, more in hysteria than in humor, catching the fine points of her teeth as her mouth parted.

She backed up into the other wall, giving herself a fuller look at her body. Though she was still clad in her jeans and sweater, her hair flowed like silk down her shoulders and to her waist like silver diamonds. Her yellow eyes were wide in abstract horror; she felt the need to scream but it never surfaced entirely.

"Hello? Is someone there?"

For an unknown reason Kagome clamped a hand to her mouth, stilling herself in response to her grandpa's question.

"What did you say, dad?" her mother asked from the kitchen. Kagome could hear her setting the sponge she had been cleaning with down as well as the pot.

"I thought I heard someone come in," he hefted himself, too slowly for Kagome's liking, from the couch. His footfalls reached the bend to where she was. She squeezed her eyes shut and turned her body away when her grandpa peered out into the hallway. "Holy… a demon! In this very house! Souta, get down here quickly."

Her grandfather unstrung the tie from his shirt which contained a bottle full of various sutras. He didn't even notice the fashion in which the demon of his prey was dressed. Just as he was about to fling the sutras at Kagome and finish reciting a prayer, Kagome's mother stepped in and caught his wrist softly.

"That's no demon, dad," she pointed to her daughter with a knowing look. "It's Kagome."

Kagome slowly turned and peeked at her family through her fingers, shocked that her mother instantly recognized her, even in this state. "Mom?" she asked timidly. Her mother gave her a reassuring smile.

"I'd recognize my daughter anywhere," was all she said before Kagome leapt into her mother's embrace. "What happened to you? You're covered in strange markings, and your hair has gone shock white."

"It was an accident," was all Kagome said, hugging her mother fiercely. She could hear the beating of her mother's heart through her shirt, which comforted the miko. The sound of her brother travelling down the stairs had her head popping up from her mom's bosom. "Souta?"

Her brother paused. "Kagome?" he breathed, not yet believing what he was seeing. "You look like Inuyasha," the teenager observed.

She did a quick survey of her body before shrugging. "Something like that,"

"What happened to you?"

"I… don't really know, Souta." Kagome's mom moved her to the living room. When she sat down, she felt like she could finally order things out correctly. "We finished the Jewel and defeated Naraku, which is why I took so long," she apologized, though it still stung to know they hadn't anticipated her return at all this time. "And I was guarding it. There was a demon, and she took the Jewel away. She made a wish, and I can't really remember it now. But the next thing I knew I had Sesshoumaru's powers."

Souta's face screwed up. "Sesshoumaru?"

"Inuyasha's older brother. He was there at the time for some reason, just as I was about to go home. He's human now. We've swapped powers."

"I refuse to believe that I am a mortal at all, miko."

The Higurashi's all turned in unison to see the mighty dog demon standing before their living room, dressed in his normal regalia but bereft of his promotional markings. Kagome wondered how she had missed his presence at all.

"But you are, Sesshoumaru," she said, "and I have your powers, whether I like it or not."

"Such insolence! You will give me my powers back, human, or I will crush you."

"If you do that, you'll most certainly never get them back!" she refuted.

Sesshoumaru stilled minutely at her words. Kagome noticed that he had lost a measure of his self control, and it might be partly due to the fact that he didn't have his powers to call upon if needed. She realized sullenly that he was just as helpless as she had been, if not more so. How was he ever going to survive being a human when he did not acknowledge himself as one?

"We'll need to stick together," she said at last. His eyes pierced through hers. "You don't know how to be human, and I don't know how to be a demon. We could help each other."

"This Sesshoumaru does not need help from a pitiful human." He sniffed.

"But I'm not!"

She alarmed her family by the ferocity in her voice, and had scared herself in the process. She was aware of something stretching across her face, and a blinding pain behind her eyes. It faded soon enough once she calmed down, but she was left to wonder what that sensation had been.

"No, I suppose you no longer are," Sesshoumaru mused. He turned to leave the house. "But I shall find my own way back. I do not require your assistance."

"Wait!" She lounged from the couch with a speed she did not notice, but her family sure did. They stared after her in awe at what she had done before them.

She hadn't expected him to be such a fast walker when he turned human, but he was almost clearing the last steps of the shrine when she caught up to him. "Sesshoumaru, you can't just go out there!" she reasoned. "It's dangerous."

"More dangerous than the era we live in?" he retorted, his voice carrying on the wind. "This Sesshoumaru fears nothing." He drew his Tokijin in an act of intimidation, but was stunned minutely. His grip was lost on the demon sword; it clacked to the ground. He did not attempt to retrieve it, leaving it on the steps without care.

Helpless, she watched as he reached the last step and started walking along the sidewalk, carefully doing everything he could to avoid being touched by humans. At least he was on the sidewalk and not the road, Kagome thought in relief. How was she to convince such a prideful demon to listen to her? She figured she could have used brute force, but her strength and powers were so unknown to her, she couldn't even begin to think of how to use them.

She went and grabbed Tokijin from the ground, waiting for it to sting her like it had Sesshoumaru. But when nothing of a sort happened, she fled back home and kept it safely within her closet. She left her room, eager to be far away from the demon blade as possible.

Without fully knowing where she was going, Kagome let her feet walk on their own, and soon ended up in front of the shrine. She stared from the top of the stairs at the Bone-Eaters Well, waiting for the tell-tale sign of it being alive by the cold breeze it always exuded. But there was nothing. Sighing, she headed back into her home; praying that Sesshoumaru wouldn't get killed—or worse, kill someone.

xXx

After trying ten boxes of black hair dye, with the heavy stinging scent of ammonia infiltrating her nose for two hours, Kagome finally thought her hair had turned black again. She stared at herself in the mirror, not caring that there were multiple smudges of black dye along her face, neck, and hands. The dye seemed to be sticking to the strands this time, making this attempt successful. She had long before pinched her nose together with a clothes hanger to protect herself from the reeking chemicals of the hair dye, but it still managed to clot all of her senses at once. She absently recalled a time when Inuyasha had been dyed completely in black ink and was all but incapacitated. She wondered if something similar was happening here.

She turned back to the mirror five minutes later, aghast when she saw the dye slowly receding from her hair line and down the tips. She thought for an instant that it must be evaporating, since there was never any mess left over by it. Sighing, she rummaged through her mom's makeup bag and retrieved a bottle of foundation. She dabbed it lightly over her crescent first, watching as it slowly disappeared underneath the makeup. She moved to her magenta strips now, pleased they were also disappearing as well. Lastly, she covered her wrists and filed down her long claws. Actually, she merely smoothed over the hard tips since whatever had created Sesshoumaru's fingernails were harder than steel.

She had noticed that there were also magenta strips upon her ankles, and her toenails were long and sharp as well. How he ever wore boots with those she would never understand.

Without the cacophony of her family amongst her, Kagome was able to refocus her concentration on herself. There was a distinctive, pressing urge on her chest that had yet to fade, like there was a spot within her that stored youki. She could hardly believe it, but there was always a faint crackling of energy surrounding her, whether it came about willingly or not. Was this the result of her being unable to tamper with this power, or had it simply always been this way?

Kagome stared at herself again in the mirror, pondering on what to do to hide her freakishly coloured eyes. She thought about contact lenses, but, like the rest of Sesshoumaru's body, they might be dipped in some acid. Downstairs she could hear the phone ring as if it were in the room next to her. She heard her mother's soft response.

"Hello? Yes, this is the Higurashi residence… Yes, I have a daughter named Kagome… you want her? Okay…okay… just one moment… Kagome, phone!"

Kagome sprang from the room and flitted down the stairs almost ghostlike. She was handed the phone by her mother. "Hello?" she asked the phone.

"Hello, Higurashi Kagome?"

"Yes?"

"We have a man here who says that you are his next of kin. He says his name is Sesshoumaru. Do you know who he is?"

Kagome's heart jumped to her throat. Oh, gods, he'd gotten himself in jail!

"Yes, I know of him. Is everything all right?"

"Well, I'm afraid he caused a bit of a disturbance within the city. He's been taken into custody until someone comes and bails him out. He's been charged with disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace. Would you like to talk to him?"

"Yes, put him on please,"

There was a pause, and then a gruff. "Hello,"

"Sesshoumaru!" she scolded. "What have you gotten yourself into? You're in jail!"

"I am aware of this, miko." He said surly. "And I wouldn't have been if I had been able to fight them off."

"I'm coming down there right now to get you,"

"Don't be foolish. I shall break out of here soon enough."

"This is not the Sengoku Jidai anymore, Sesshoumaru! You're in my era now, and you have to abide by the laws we make. And you cannot possibly break out of that jail in your current condition, you know, so I'm going to bail you out."

She didn't get a chance to hear his retort; the officer had reached for the phone. "I assume you will be down here shortly, Miss?"

"Yes, I'm on my way."

xXx

Wow! Twelve pages. Phew.

Hey, just a little footnote here. John Howard Griffin was a white man who masqueraded as a black man to gain an understanding of the way society reacted towards the black culture, and vice versa. He and his family suffered through trials of having his face posted all around Maine Street, as well as having a cross burned on the lawn of a black school yard. His family then moved to Mexico after those events. His adventures were transferred into a novel.