InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Breaking of Dawn ❯ Enchanted Senses ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter three - Enchanted Senses

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When the tired and battered group finally reached the village, they went straight to Kaede's hut. The old miko was already awake, making breakfast and stirring the pot. When the group walked in the door she quickly dropped what she was doing and hurried over to the unconscious girl in the hanyou's arms. Sango was awake again and Miroku helped her over to the wall, where she could rest against it.

"What has happened here?" The old miko asked as she beaconed for Inuyasha to lay Kagome down on a clean futon. Miroku glanced over to the hanyou and decided from his expression that he should keep his mouth shut. Seeing that Miroku wouldn't interfere, Inuyasha turned to Kaede.

"Sango and Kagome were attacked by a youkai while they were bathing." He said simply. Miroku was amazed at how the hanyou made it sound so simple. Kaede didn't seem to buy it tough. She glanced suspiciously at the hanyou while she checked the wounds covering Kagome's hands. When she came to the cuts on her arm she abruptly stopped and tuned to glare at him instead. "What are you not telling me?" She asked in a tight voice. Signalling that she wasn't in the mood for half-truths or jokes. Inuyasha gulped and backed away at her expression. He didn't know how or what to answer her. "Wh… what do you mean?" he finally managed. Kaede sighed in irritation and tried to calm down.

"Why weren't you with her? You're always nearby. No matter what she's doing. Watching her bathe is certainly not something that's stopped you before." Miroku could barely keep quiet at the blush that began to cover the hanyou's face. Luckily Shippo interfered and stopped both the hanyou and the monk from saying something they would regret.

"Kagome… Kagome told me to stay behind and keep them from following her and Sango. I asked her why, but she didn't answer me." Kaede glanced down at the distressed kitsune and dismissed him. "So, they went to bathe, and you stayed behind. What happened after that?"

Inuyasha kept his head lowered when he answered. "I caught the scent of a youkai and followed it." He mumbled. "And?" The miko urged. "… I don't remember." Inuyasha finally said, even lower then before. He could clearly feel the piercing gaze from the old miko, searching his soul. It was uncomfortable. He felt naked and vulnerable. And the stretching silence didn't help one bit. Wasn't she supposed to help Kagome? She was the one wounded and in need of healing. Finally the old miko said something.

"You don't remember?" "No!" Inuyasha exploded. "I don't remember anything after I ran, following the scent. When I came to myself I was in the clearing by the lake and the youkai was dead and Kagome was like this." He pointed at the shaking girl.

Miroku decided that he should interfere before the hanyou did something he would regret.

"He… he threw away the sword and turned into his youkai form. Shippo and I ran after him when Shippo informed me on the situation. When we arrived at the lake, Sango and Kagome were unconscious and the youkai was killed. Inuyasha was… he was still in his youkai form and he was…" Miroku stopped and glanced once at the kitsune before he continued. "Inuyasha was protecting Kagome. He wouldn't allow us to come closer so I talked him into accepting Tetsusaiga… When he did, he turned back to his hanyou form again."

There was no sound in the hut and Miroku glanced anxiously at the hanyou. Inuyasha seemed to be in a state of shock, and so did Sango. Kaede only looked mildly surprised and Shippo was too worried about his foster mother to care about anyone else.

After another second Kaede broke the silence again. "So, does anyone have any idea as to why the youkai attacked?" When she was met with blank expressions from all the boys, she turned to look at Sango. Sango was beginning to feel better after sleeping nearly the entire night and shook her head slowly, trying to clear it. She stopped immediately when sharp pain shot through her. "Um, I'm not entirely sure." She began softly. "The whole encounter was pretty weird. The youkai didn't defend itself the way it should when I attacked it. It was only an accident that led to me being knocked out. It seemed as if the only thing the youkai was interested in was Kagome." She stopped and looked curiously up at Inuyasha. Finally the hanyou couldn't take the silent stares anymore so he offered the answer they were waiting for. Trying very hard to keep a blush from entering his face. "She's in heat." He simply said. Kaede nodded as if she had known all along. "I figured as much with the way you've behaved around her this week." Sango continued. Nothing on earth could keep the blush from his face now. "Keh! I don't know what you are talking about." Sango ignored him and continued.

"When I was knocked unconscious the youkai was walking towards Kagome. I don't know what happened after that until the houshi woke me up. Please Kaede-sama. What is wrong with her?" She indicated the black-haired girl.

Kaede sighed before she continued. "Do any of you remember what the youkai looked like?"

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When Kagome opened her eyes she was surprised to find out that she was indoors. The last thing she remembered was a piercing pain and two glowing green eyes, glaring down on her. She jerked upright, making her sit up straight on the futon she had been sleeping on. Looking around again, she realised that she was in Kaede's hut. The vision of the alien youkai over her had her heart pounding wildly in her chest. She looked down at her hands and noticed that the cuts on her palms had healed over and not a trace remained. The cuts from the youkai's claws however were red and swollen. The pain she remembered was gone, and only a dim throbbing from the cuts on her arm remained.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts and looked around again. She was alone in the room, but she could feel that there had been someone there recently. Someone that smelled of herbs and… some kind of spicy power. `Wait! Smell?' Where did that thought come from? She sniffed the air and to her surprise she was able to smell her surroundings. And now that she thought about it, she was able to hear heartbeats in the next room too. `What's happening to me?'

Rising from the futon, she made her way over to the drape that covered the opening into the next room. She strained her ears and indeed. She did hear slow breathing and slow heartbeats in there. From the steady rhythm, she guessed that they were asleep. Sniffing the air again, she caught several different scents. The first one was the same that she had smelled in her own room. The smell of herbs and power. The next was a distinct smell of the forest mixed with what she could only call human and a… youkai scent? Another one smelled of fresh fruit. And the next smelt of fresh earth and grass, again mixed with the youkai scent. The last was the smell of autumn. It was fresh and clean, as if it was the clear morning after a storm.

Backing quietly away from the door, she leaned against the wall. It felt like her nose was on fire. She was assaulted by so many different smells that it was difficult for her to decipher the information. And as if that wasn't enough, she could begin to hear sounds that came from the surrounding forest and the nearby huts. It was confusing for her and she was in a desperate need to get away from everything.

Looking down at her palms again she noticed the abnormally long nails for the first time. She turned her hands around and inspected them. She had seen something similar on another person. When she remembered who, she gasped and brought a hand up to cover her mouth.

The discoveries just seemed to go on end on. Her fingers grazed over her teeth and she realised that she didn't only have claws, but fangs too. `What did that youkai do to me?' She wondered as she began to move towards the door again.

Glancing in to check that they were indeed asleep, she moved soundlessly over the floor and exited the hut. The air met her clean and crisp and she could see the sun beginning to rise over the treetops. She must've been unconscious at least twenty-four hours since she was back at Kaede's village and the dawn was breaking. Growling under her breath she silently cursed the youkai that had attacked her, not realising that the low sound was registered by two white dog-ears.

She could smell a faint scent of blood covering her and decided to go to the nearby hot spring to take a bath. They had probably washed her since she couldn't see any blood, but the smell still annoyed her sensitive nose. Walking quietly out of the village and into the woods she made her way towards the familiar hot spring.

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Inuyasha's ears swirled around to catch the faint sound of a growl outside the hut. He quickly opened his eyes and looked around the room. After Kaede had told them what was happening to Kagome, they had been too tired to stay awake any longer and confident that Kagome wasn't in any immediate danger they fell asleep.

Inuyasha had been both excited and worried at what was happening to Kagome. Excited because of what it could lead to, and worried at how Kagome would react.

Shaking his head to clear it from the clouded veils of sleep he rose up quietly and made his way over to the drape hiding Kagome from curious eyes. When he peeked inside and saw that she wasn't there he was about to panic, but then he remembered the low noise that had woken him. Not wasting time on another thought he went outside the hut and began to follow Kagome's new scent into the forest. She still smelled of the familiar scent of flowers, honey and miko powers, but now there was an additional smell of youkai blood mixed in.

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Kagome walked slowly towards the water's edge. She was curious and at the same time afraid at what she would see. `Quit nagging yourself Kagome. Just get it over with.' She scolded herself as she bent over the waters edge.

She gasped softly at the reflection that met her. Her eyes were still brown, but they were streaked with golden rays, making it seem like sunrays piercing through her gaze. Bending lower to the water she examined her teeth, running a finger lightly over the two fags. Her ears had changed too. They now resembled the ears that she had noticed that Sesshoumaru had. Somehow it didn't look out of place on her appearance. Sighing she took off the miko clothes someone had dressed her in and waded out in the warm water. Letting her hair loose she noticed that that had changed too. It was longer and if possible it seemed blacker. Studying herself carefully in her reflection she went deeper into the water. She wasn't really sure what to think about how her appearance had changed. She didn't really feel different, as long as she counted out her hearing and her sense of smell. She guessed that there were other things too that had changed, but she had to figure them out later. Sighing, she ducked under the water and began to wash her hair and her skin, trying to get the smell of blood out.

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A/n: Thanks for all the reviews, you inspire me to continue the story.