Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Blue Black Fur ❯ Chapter Three ( Chapter 4 )

I'VE UPDATED. CHECK IT OUT. IT'S HERE.

I know you all hate me right now. It's been so long. But I've finally found myself some steam. This chapter will be a sort of gateway for a bunch of other stuff to happen. So now I'm at a point where stuff will get a little more interesting. Summer vacation has started so hope against hope I will update quickly. This chapter isn't that long but I'll be getting other stuff out soon. While you read try to restrain from making fun of me for my sad attempts at humor.

Just to let some people know the Grandfather mentioned in this chapter has nothing to do with Kagome's grandfather in the actual anime. Him, her original mother, nor Souta exists. Just something to bear in mind.

'…' = Thinking

"…" = Talking human speech

<…> = Talking fox speech

ME: I hope you know who you are. As for looking like a skunk. I'm not offended. I see where you're coming from. If you can't help thinking she seems like a skunk just remember a couple things. Skunks have to broad stripes down their backs. Kagome just has a light strip of white on her back. Or you could just imagine it's not there. Thanks for the review and brutal honesty.

Sango132004: I will only be with her parents for some of her life. She will go shard hunting eventually.

gina: Sorry to say that this won't be finished for a while. And Youko won't be around for a while as well. I will definitely keep in mind your offer for ideas. If I'm stuck I'll send you an e-mail. But if you have an idea just go ahead and send it to me in an e-mail or review. I'll give you credit for it if I use it.

DemonShippou: Death threat? Now that's an excellent change of pace. I can't believe you almost got expelled for saying you'd kill someone. Dumb ass schools and all that. Well I've finally updated for you. So try to put your killing spree on hold.

kagedfox: Oh so you did change your name. Thanks for the vote of luck and for liking my story. Enjoy the new chapter.

ShadowObscurity: You really want a review don't you? Thanks for wishing me luck. And I'm pretty sure I won't be getting stuck for a while.

kuro-kasai-kitsune: You'll find out more about Kagome's power later on. Thanks for reviewing.

Kurama and Hiei's lovable hime: Cool I got another threat. I love getting threats. I'd just like to say I love your fanfics so it's awesome to know an author I like likes my stuff. Thanks for reviewing.

iowa chic: Three times? Was that because I wasn't updating or because you liked it so much? I've got stuff to work through when she's young that's important. But I didn't put it all in this chapter. The rest of her childhood should be coming out fast enough though.

Pizz: Thanks for the review. I like to know what my readers think of my stories.

Sanura: Thanks for the compliments. I like to pride myself on my descriptions. Ego and all. I'd be happy to help you find out about fox spirits. There a few fox legends at www.coyotes.org/kitsune/myths_japanese.html. Some excellent information and stories are at www.comnet.ca/%7Efoxtrot/kitsune/. I greatly recommend that one. If you don't mind sifting through a list of websites. Go to www.google.com and type in kitsune information and search. You'll get a lot of websites so it might take a bit to find some you like. Thanks for reviewing.

Zip: Thanks for the overwhelming compliments. Warms the heart. Thanks for reviewing.

Silent Miko Killer: Painful death? Thanks for reviewing. But you know if you want to kill me. You'll have to catch me first!

Chapter 3

Sasha was lying on her side waiting impatiently for Raid. Her mate didn't seem to think it necessary to show up on time…for a change. After a few more minutes he bounded up to her breathless. The female fox pulled herself up gracefully before walking away. The other fox breathed deeply a few more times and than followed. She rolled her eyes at his usual bouncy gate. His head was swung low between his shoulders while he walked with a sort of bouncy prance. It was totally unlike her who walked with her head held high and with a steady graceful step.

After walking a few feet Sasha turned her head slightly to the male beside her. <Now tell me how exactly you talked me into this.>

Raid gave her an open-mouthed fox grin. <Well I of course had you half convinced with my undeniable logic. Our cub is plenty strong enough to start her transformation training. After that she can start the Trial. Then when we go to the Birthing Ceremony Kagome will be plenty strong enough to at least defend herself to some extent.>

<No one starts trouble at the Birthing Ceremony. It's against our laws.>

He snorted derisively. <That won't stop anyone who wants to start trouble.>

She shook her head lightly. <Well beside that you said that was half of my convincing. What's the other half.>

Raid stopped walking. Sasha stopped and looked at him oddly. He brushed his paw back across his head in an oddly human way. <The other half was my oh so appealing male physique and undeniable sex appeal. You just can't resist.>

It was Sasha's turn to snort. <Male physique? Sex appeal?> He nodded and struck a pose, head high and chest puffed out. <I hope your sex appeal is water proof.> He looked confused for a moment. Then his mate promptly pushed him into the nearby river. The male jumped out quickly shivering and sopping wet. She gave a barking laugh. <You better dry off that male physique so that we can get going.> With another laugh she took off. Raid shook the water from his fur in an attempt to dry. He gave up on that attempt and simply conjured a strong, swirling wind to dry him off. It wasn't very comfortable but it was affective. He followed the same path his mate did.

When he arrived at their cub's usual play area he saw that Sasha was already talking to their cub. He flopped down on the ground nearby and relaxed. Raid could see that the two vixens were talking but couldn't hear what they were saying. Assuming from Kagome's happy expression the cub was being told of her new training.

Sasha relaxed next to the kit as they talked. <Guess what Kagome?>

The small spirit fox looked up at her mother. <What?>

<You will be starting a somewhat advanced training session. It will be to assume your human form.>

Kagome grinned and barked happily. <I get to start today?> Sasha nodded. <How long will it take to learn?>

<Surprisingly enough not long. You've already gotten meditation down well. And you can channel magic to some extent. At least when manipulating plants. You will have to use both to transform. The image of your human form is already imprinted deep in your mind. All you have to do is find it through some deep meditation. Than when you see it in your mind's eye you channel your magic to shift your body to that form. It will hurt at first and be fairly difficult your first time. But each time gets easier until it's fluid and effortless. Do you understand?>

<Yeah, I think so. But I've seen humans sometimes when I'm hunting with dad. They wear something to cover themselves.>

'I cannot believe he's been near those damned human villages with our cub. He's definitely going to get it for this.' Calming herself down Sasha spoke. <Clothing. The image will have clothing. It will be an extension of your own energy and magic. Your clothing in that form will act as a sort of light armor for protection. The stronger you get the more protection your clothing will give you.>

Nodding Kagome asked another question. <Will daddy be teaching me this. He's only taught me about the element magic.>

<I'll be teaching you this.> Leaning in close Sasha spoke in the kit's ear. <You know your father can be a little 'slow.'>

Giving her mother an odd look the cub answered. <What do you mean by 'slow.'>

Grinning Sasha saw an excellent opportunity. She took on an almost mournful look. <Well it means he isn't so smart. He can't understand things easily. It takes him awhile. Poor thing. It's very sad really.>

Kagome began to look sad as well. <How did you find out daddy was slow?>

<He doesn't know things he should. And when you talk to him he gets that confused look and says 'huh' a lot.>

<That's sad.>

<You should go pick up your dad's spirits.>

The cub nodded and walked up to Raid. He lifted his head and grinned at her. It faded a little at the unusual look on her face. She put her paw up to and patted him on the side of the muzzle. <I'm sorry you're so slow.>

He tilted his head looking confused. <Huh?>

Shaking her head mournfully Kagome sighed and walked back to her mother. Raid watched her go. He saw Sasha try to hold in her laughter. She wasn't doing a very good job. The spirit fox put his head down. 'Something just happened…but I don't know…what it is.'

***

It had taken nearly three days but Kagome had finally gotten the image of her human form. The only thing left now was to channel the appropriate magic to allow her form to shift. So this part of her transformation found her standing in her playing area concentrating. The image of her human form was in her mind. A mist of dark blue magic swirled around her form. Though only she was able to see it. Her strange power had finally become more understandable to her over time. Raid had never asked of it again after his first line of questioning. So the kit had trained it on her own. It had proved very useful.

Pulling away from her musings she concentrated again. Finally her body did start to change. Her mother had been right. It was painful. Her bones seemed to melt before shifting to harden and reshape themselves. As her fur fell from her body it evaporated on the surrounding ground. The now exposed skin stretched to fit the new form her bones created. New parts began to burst painfully from her body. Other appendages shifted to other places. To Kagome's great relief the pain stopped. The few moments of the transformation had felt like hours.

The soothing sound of the kit's mother Sasha pulled her from her thoughts. <Try to stand up.>

Wobbling horribly Kagome tried to stand on her new hind legs. It was an unusual feeling. After stumbling around like a newborn she could at least stand still without falling. The kit heard a chuckle and looked up. Both her parents were in human form. Allowing them to make the usually impossible noise.

"Go take a look at yourself." Raid spoke this time. The young fox was glad for her father's insistence to watch the human villages. She could understand and probably speak human tongue. Nodding her head she stumbled clumsily over to the river and examined her reflection.

She had the average size of a human cub her age of seven years. Her skin was fairly pale but healthy looking. The hair that fell midway down her back was the same color black as her fur. It was ruffled almost spiky looking. The bangs fell down almost over her eyes. Two fox ears stood out on her head from the hair. Though the color was reversed. This made the ears silver with the right one having a black tip. She had sharp fangs but they could only be seen when she opened her mouth. Her nails were black and ended in sharp points. She had human like feet that were bare like her mother. Of course her tail was still visible and was silver as well. The unusual blue eyes she had as a fox were exactly the same in human form. But in her human form they didn't look so odd. The now human looking kit though momentarily on the fact that she looked more like a fox spirit in this form than when a fox.

Kagome did wear human clothes that had come with her new form. The pants were black and very loose with a dark red sash to hold them up. She wore a sleeveless shirt made from fur that was the same kind as her fur as a fox. Over that was a long flowing robe like garment made from the same material as her pants and ended at her knees. It was black and trimmed with a border of dark red. When she took it off to examine it better she noticed a pattern on the back. It was two large circles, one within the other. In between it was cut off into five sections that had a symbol for each fire, water, wind, earth, and plant. The middle of the smaller circle showed a nine-tailed spirit fox.

Putting the garment back on she turned to her parents. Kagome seemed at a loss for words. Literally. She wasn't sure if she should try and speak fox or human. Human tongue seemed the better choice. But she'd never spoken it before. Fortunately for her she was saved the embarrassment of trying to talk by her father.

"Confused? Fear not I'll be teaching you the workings of a human body. Come on now." Wobbling horribly Kagome tried to walk to him. Failing she just dropped down on her fours to lope to him. Shaking his head he just led her out into the forest. Sasha with her burning hate for humans had no desire to be anywhere near them. The village was too far from their territory for her tastes anyway. So she resumed her fox form and took off in the opposite direction to do some hunting.

***

Raid had a very different attitude of humans than Sasha. Where she found them to be on par with cockroaches. He found them to be if nothing else interesting. It was common for him to wear a heavy cloak with a hood and walk around the village, watching humans interact. Or be in his fox form to move around out of sight, usually in the nighttime. Besides watching them he would come to acquire certain herbs. There were certain plants that couldn't be maintained in his territory. Especially since neither him nor his mate were masters of plant manipulation. Their elemental talents lied elsewhere. And Raid had found that humans would brave the long, and sometimes deathly, missions to gain rare herbs.

So while Raid was showing his cub the inside of the village he would get some herbs. Since his stock was low and he was a healer. His skills were only second to a very old spirit fox known as Grandfather. Fox spirits as well as others were known to visit him on occasion for his expertise. They couldn't visit the better healer, Grandfather, because no one really knew where to find him. No one knew much of anything about him.

The village was new to Kagome. Especially when observing from inside. He had only previously allowed her to skirt the outside of the village to watch from a distance. Only once previously had he brought her inside under the disguise of a rare pet. He'd never done it again as it had required Kagome to wear a leash. And it seemed the kit was deathly afraid of being trapped. Even though the leash had been loose and easily escapable. She had shivered uncontrollably whining, clawing and biting anything that she could reach. It sort of scared Raid to see his cub acting like a rabid animal so he'd left, apologized, and never done it again.

Taking the kit in human form through the village she was better able to learn. By the end of the day Kagome would undoubtedly be able to move properly and speak human tongue fluently. Probably against his better judgment he left her with a group of children to play. His cub insisted it would be all right and she wanted desperately to get to know the young ones. He hoped that people was just assume she was a half demon and ignore her. The human cubs didn't seem to mind her. They seemed to find her fascinating so he left her there to play.

Walking on he met his usual seller. An old woman that probably defied the laws of nature by still existing. For surely she was ancient. He bought the things he wanted and put the full sack, attached to a rope, around his waist. Even in human form his senses were almost as good as when he was a fox. So when he left the dank shop he immediately recognized the sounds of a mob. He'd heard a great number of them in his time. Throwing caution to the wind he changed into a fox and slipped between the closely built houses. Moving swiftly he came the spot where at least half the village population seemed to have gathered.

In the middle of the angry crowd was the frightened form of his Kagome. Now in fox form. The cub probably having been scared so badly she'd transformed on reflex. The pain had undoubtedly made her momentarily crippled. Seeing the dire situation Raid jumped straight in the middle of the crowd. He cursed his own stupidity. Even thinking the cub a half demon they would scare her. After being revealed as some kind of fox the humans would immediately be in a panic. They feared any kind of foxes, be they demon or otherwise. Thinking them dangerous tricksters that did nothing but seduce humans from their spouses, and even kill them with their tricks.

Shaking himself from his thoughts he growled menacingly. Even the humans were not as stupid as to not realize who he was. His cub was only a fourth his size. Whether they thought him the father or mother they were scared. The group backed away quickly allowing a space to open. Grabbing Kagome by the scruff of the neck he ran full out. Raid didn't even bother to look back when he heard the angry shouts of the mob trying to follow him. Having gained back some of their courage. He kept running until he found himself back in his own territory. The familiar feeling of home calmed him enough to stop and relax.

He put his cub down gently to lick her vigorously as a way to calm her. Kagome just shivered and pushed herself deep into her father's thick ruff. It was something the kit tended to do when she was nervous or scared. Lying there he comforted her until she fell asleep. Raid once again picked her up in his jaws to walk back to the den. He hoped he wouldn't have to tell Sasha but knew that was impossible. Getting into the den he brought Kagome to her sleeping chamber. Being seven she was old enough to sleep on her own. But the cub did still sleep next to her parents on occasion.

After settling her down he left the room to go to the chamber he shared with his mate. Some might think it funny how nervous and almost scared he looked to face Sasha. In fact many did laugh at the fact. Mostly because he was stronger, bigger, and male. But he was far more pacifistic than she was. Her horrible temperament and fearless way of expressing it made him careful around her. Even with that fact it didn't mean he was afraid of her or let her always have her way. He was known to establish his dominance when the situation called for it.

Raid was starting to doze off when his mate did arrive. Sasha bypassed their chamber entrance to get to their cub's own chamber. Only a few seconds later she was right in his face snarling. Jumping up he backed into the dirt wall pressing his back flat to it. His mate was still snarling in his face.

<What…happened?!>

He was at a momentary loss for words. She of course knew something went wrong. Their cub would have the heavy smell of humans and fear. <I l-left her for a m-moment to get some things.> Starting out shaky his words gained some steadiness and strength. <When I got back humans surrounded her. So I scared them away and escaped with her.>

Sasha narrowed her eyes but she'd stopped snarling. <You know what makes me wonder.> Not waiting for an answer she continued. <Why you wonder why I hate humans. How could you be so stupid?! I don't like our cub in that damned village and you know it.>

Only the fact that Kagome was sleeping kept her from yelling and than attacking him. Raid counted himself lucky. <I won't leave her unattended in the village again.> Seeing that she wasn't placated he continued. <And she won't have to go back anyway. Cause she will know how to move and speak by now. So we can start her Trial.>

Nodding Sasha moved away. 'Good thing the fact that she could go into a village during the Trial seemed to have escaped her mind.' Raid sighed in relief. He got a hind paw in his gut for the trouble. Winded he curled up where he was to sleep. The female spirit fox was already sleeping on the soft moss bed. If the male even tried to get any closer. He'd find himself sleeping outside. So he counted his blessing and went to sleep where he was.

Raids in the doghouse. Almost redundant really. If you're wondering what the Trial is you'll find out in the next chapter. And the next chapter is already started so try to be patient. Now review cause even though it doesn't seem like it reviews keep me writing. And any ideas would be great. Even with my plans I've got plenty of room to work with.