Immortal Beloved by Lore

Consequences

FLASHBACK

Sango grinned proudly as her father presented her with her very own Hiraikotsu. Her own weapon. How she had longed for this day!

"You are 12 years old now, my daughter," her father said, smiling, "Old enough to join the others as a true Taijiya. Old enough to carry your own weapon." The aged Taijiya said as he placed the large weapon in his only daughter's hands. Forged out of the bones of youkai, it was a powerful tool and one that Sango had shown particular aptitude for, which is why he'd chosen it for her.

"Now that you are a Taijiya, it is time for you to know a bit more about your heritage. So that you can understand the gravity of your mission here, and how the Taijiya came to be." he seated himself on a large stone and waited for Sango to follow suit, and then he continued his story.

"Many years ago there lived a powerful miko by teh name of Midoriko. Her soul was so pure, it was said she could purify 100 demons with a single blow. She traveled the land, purifying demons and capturing their souls. It was a wonder that such a fragile looking creature could withstand the souls of so many powerful demons retreating into her body, but it was said that she posessed what we refer to as the Four Souls: courage, friendship, wisdom, and love. When all four of these qualities exist and unit equally within one person, they unite to form a powerful balance within the soul. A balance that Midoriko was able to use to strike down and purify her enemies.

"One day, however, she came up against very powerful demons. She fought bravely, and killed all but one. At this time, she was so weak she knew she stood no chance of winning. So, trapping the final demon's soul within her grasp, she gave up her life on this earth and became what we now call the Shikon no Tama. She became the Jewel, Sango, but so did the demon souls that she'd kept trapped within herself for so long. They are at constant battle with one another within the jewel, which means that the power of the jewel is also in a constant battle. It can be used for good if in pure hands, but it can be used for an equal amount of evil if in evil hands.

"This is why the Taijiya became what we are. I myself retrieved the jewel from the field of battle. Knowing how powerful it was and how terrible it could become in the wrong hands, I guarded it closely with my life. However, a mere mortal is hardly a fitting Guardian for such a thing as the Shikon no Tama. Luckily, I was able to find another powerful Miko, though not nearly as powerful as Midoriko had been. Her name was Kikyo. I gave the Shikon no Tama to the miko Kikyo to purify and protect against the taint of demons who coveted its power.

"I tell you this, child, because as a Taijiya you have a duty to make this jewel does not fall into the wrong hands. As powerful as Midoriko was, she fell to an equally powerful demon. And though she trapped his soul within herself as the jewel, a part of him still exists here today and longs for the power it holds. The priestess who guards it now is pure and good, but she does not posess the Four Souls as Midoriko did. I fear she will fall to the great looming evil that lies in wait for her. For until another who posesses the Four Souls is born, there will none pure enough to fully protect the Shikon no Tama from the clutches of evil."

END FLASHBACK

Sango stared at her friend. Could it be that Kagome was the one her father had spoken of, the new spirit of the Four Souls? It certainly made sense. Kagome was courageous, despite her humanity. She was a devoted and loyal friend to all, without holding grudges or anger against anyone. She was wiser than her mortal years would let on. And above all, she loved everyone and everything around her with a purity the likes of which she'd never encountered in another being.

She had purified the jewel, cleansing it of the malignance that Naraku and his minions had caused to grow within it. It was quite possible that Midoriko, sensing that someone powerful enough to wield her power had arrived at last, had simply surrendered herself as Shikon no Tama and allowed her power to pass to Kagome, causing this strange transformation. The power radiating from her friend was certainly greater than any the Taijiya had ever felt before. And yet, there was something more.......

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"What is it, Sango?" Kagome asked, eyed her friend's expression curiously. The Tijiya shook herself from her thoughts and shrugged.

"Nothing, I'm just...shocked is all.."she replied, not wanting to say anything of her thoughts until she was sure of what was going on.

"Where is the Jewel, Kagome?" Miroku asked suddenly, noticing that the shining pink object was no longer in the miko's hands. Kagome blushed and shifted nervously as she opened her mouth to speak, but a new voice stopped her.

"What has happened to change you, Miko?" Sesshomaru, after arriving a few moments ago, had been watching the scene before him with some interest. He recognized the scent of the woman before him as his brother's miko, and yet, it was not the same being. Of course, her appearance had changed as well. Her once girlish figured had been replaced by toned muscle and soft, womanly curves. Her long black treeses had grown even longer, reaching well past her hips now, and were shot through with streaks of white and pink. Her face, which had always been lovely even for a human, was now made even more striking by the silver stripes the drew from her ears to just below her eyes...eyes, he noticed, that were more than just the kerry blue that he remembered. They were bright and alive, timeless, like the oceans themselves resided within them. What in the hell had happened during that explosion?

"What are you doing here, Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha growled, jumping up with his hand on Tessaiga. His brother barely spared him a glance. His focus was concentrated on the strange creature to his side. Kagome met his eyes bravely, the silent challenge in her own causing a small smirk to lift the corners of his mouth.

"Do your friends know what you have done for them?" he asked, ignoring Inuyasha's narrowing eyes as he stepped slightly forward.

"Kagome, what is he talking about?" Inuyasha asked, his eyes never leaving his brother. Kagome chuckled nervously, afraid of what the hanyou's reaction would be especially considering how agitated he already was due to Sesshomaru's presence.

"What is it, Kagome?" Shippo prompted, leaning forward with interest. Kagome sighed.

"Well you see," she began, "When I made my wish, I wished for the Shikon to always be safe from evil. I mean, I was only going to live for so long and when I was gone who knows how long it would be before another Guardian was born."

Miroku's brow furrowed. "Was?" he asked. "What do you mean 'was only going to live for so long"?"

Kagome shifted uncomfortably beneath her friends' curious gazes. At her hesitation, Sesshomaru smirked.

"Can't you smell it, even with that hanyou nose of yours, Inuyasha?" he asked, one silver brow raised in question. His brother's eyes grew wide, startled, before he turned to the miko. Sniffing the air lightly, his face puzzled, he moved closer to the girl before sniffing again. A slow dawning comprehension grew over his features and his eyes met Kagome's.

"You're no longer human," he said, his words almost accusing. Kagome frowned. She was still human....or at least she thought she was. She was just...immortal now. Right?

"There is still human left within her, " Sesshomaru answered, and Kagome breathed a silent sigh of relief. "But she is no longer mortal. The Shikon no Tama has united with her blood."

Inuyasha moved closer to Kagome, his face nuzzling her neck and collar while trying to sniff out what his brother was sensing. Kagome glared at him irritably and was surprised when she felt her blood leap within her veins.

"Inuyasha stop that, " she said softly, pushing gently at his chest. But the hanyou ignored her, still trying to decipher the different auras radiating off of the miko. "Inuyasha," Kagome said, a bit sharper this time, "Quit."

She had felt it, of course, ever since the woman had pointed it out to her. The humming in her blood. It had been a gentle, but powerful feeling that pulsed with her heart but wasn't overpowering. However, at Inuyasha's invasion of her person, she felt it begin to grow. A dull burning just beneath her skin that longed to burst forth and free itself into the cool night air. She pushed again against Inuyasha's chest, her voice urgent. "Inuyasha please!" she cried, her bright blue eyes darkening until to those that watched it seemed storms themselves had enveloped them.

"Inuyasha, I think maybe you should give Kagome some space," Miroku said gently, knowing that something was wrong with the miko but unsure of what it was. Inuyasha turned to him irritably.

"Keh, what do you know?" he said haughtily "I'm trying to-"

A low growl jerked his attention back to Kagome. Her eyes were swirling storms now, thunderous waves passing over them as she fought to control herself even as she realized she was failing. Inuyasha's eyes widened at the increasingly threatening growls coming from the miko. It seemed as if she were in the midst of some internal struggle.....

Instinctively, he moved closer. If something was happening to Kagome, he had to be there to protect her. Right?

Kagome fought against it. She knew that the hanyou was only concerned for her, that he was no threat. But the thing inside her didn't feel that way. It growled against the presence of the hanyou, struggling against the confines of her body as it fought to break free.

Her scream was deafening, even to those without sensitive, demon ears. It rang through the forest, loud, primitive, feral.

"Inuyasha!" Sango cried. The hanyou barely had time to leap back before Kagome lost her struggle. Talons, huge and lethal, burst forth from her body. Enormous jet black wings exploded outward as the body of the miko morphed into that of a huge, black bird. If it hadn't been for her eyes, Inuyasha would never have believed it was her. But those stormy blue eyes were there, desperate, in the face of the very menacing youkai.

The sound of thunder rolled through the forest when, with a great thrust of her wings, she took to the air. Her friends watched in horror as the creature they knew to be Kagome vanished into the night sky.

"What-what just happened?" Inuyasha asked, his haughty arrogance now replaced with concern and fear. Sango was the one that answered.

"She took more than just the Shikon Jewel into her when she made her wish, Inuyasha," the Taijiya said slowly. All eyes turned to her. "She took the souls of those demons that Midoriko held within her. They are battling still, just as they were inside the jewel. Only now they battle within Kagome. I fear that that Shikon no Tama, in order to safe-guard its protector, has given some of its power to our friend. And as much faith as I have in her power, I fear that she may not be powerful enough to control that power."

A hushed silence settled over the group, no one noticing as Sesshomaru slipped back into the shadows, his senses trained on the miko far ahead of him.

This was an interesting development indeed. It seemed that rather than simply absorbing the Shikon no Tama, the young miko had become it....and all that it held. Her soul was pure enough to not be corrupted by the demonic energy that now pulsed within her, and yet, that energy was so powerful that it manifested itself into youkai form when the girl felt threatened or uneasy. She was like a newborn inu-youkai; capable of shapeshifting to its true form but not yet capable of deciding when to shift. Her emotions brought on the change rather than a decision on her part to do so.

With a thrust of his powerful legs, Sesshomaru launched himself into the air, summoning a great ball of energy to envelop him and send him flying after the girl. A power like that loose in the wild was too temping to other youkai that would claim it. She was immortal, meaning she would never age or succumb to disease or plague, but she could still be destroyed by a youkai craving power that was powerful enough on its own to defeat her.

The sound of a loud screech coming from the direction of the miko jerked him from his musings, and he urged himself to fly faster. The screeches grew in intensity, deafening as they echoed across the sky. If he had been anyone else, the sound alone would have been enough to send him hurrying in the other direction. But he was Sesshomaru. And while he sensed an incredible amount of power within the girl, he knew that he could defend himself against her should she strike out in her confused state.

If she happened across some other lesser youkai however......

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