Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Feelings for a Fox ❯ Chapter 8

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Shiori's POV

~~~Chapter 8~~~

I was only slightly younger than my son is now when it all started. I remember that day very clearly. It was the day of the New Year's festival. I was trying to get away from all the bustling clamor, I wanted to be alone and so I went to a small park. The place was thankfully deserted. I remember sitting down leaning against a tree. It was such a pleasant day, so peaceful and quiet.

Suddenly he was right there in front of me, a stranger in black with long ebony hair. I couldn't see the lower part of his face past the mask he wore. I didn't recognize what he was, all I knew was that he was very, very dangerous. And on a level that I could never hope to understand.

I was frozen.

I started screaming at myself in my mind to run. But I just couldn't. He walked towards me slowly, and he seemed to be calculating just what he was planning to do me. I remember his cold violet eyes caressing me. I felt violated by his very presence. That more than anything terrified me.

But then she showed up.

I didn't even see how she got there; it was as if she had appeared out of thin air. A strange woman with long blue-black hair that was pulled across her right should in a loose ponytail. She was wearing the robes of a miko, only instead of being the traditional red and white she wore black and white. Her back was to me and there was a black dragon that twined between the shoulder blades of her top. It was almost as if the dragon was staring at me with it's glowing jeweled eyes. She spoke to me over her shoulder without looking away from the strange man, that I later discovered to be a demon. Her voice was kind but there was a hint of steel underneath her words, a warning to him when she addressed me.

"Shiori. Run along home now. I will deal with this."

I never questioned how she knew my name or whether she would need help. There was such a commanding air about her and the air positively crackled when she turned her attention back to the dark youkai. I didn't dare disobey her.

I ran.

When I arrived home, I ran to my room and locked the door. I'm not sure how long I stayed there curled up on my bed hugging my pillow. Eventually I fell asleep. I don't remember actually doing so but I woke up to someone tapping on my window. When I jerked awake I was so relieved to see it was her. I hadn't even realized that I had been worried. I quickly opened the window and let her in.

"What happened?" I asked as she closed the window behind her and proceeded to remove her shoes.

"We fought. I injured him, but he escaped before I could purify him," she responded absently looking around. I gestured her toward the bed and she inclined her head in thanks.

"Purify him? Are you trying to tell me he was a youkai?!" I demanded as the strange woman settled herself in the middle of my bed. I finally got a good look at her. She didn't look to be more than eighteen with those features. That is until you looked at her eyes. Ancient eyes that held wisdom far beyond what her appearance implied. At that instant she could have told me that the moon was made of jam and I would have believed her.

"His name is Karasu. A crow demon that specializes in explosives. He's very dangerous, not only because he can draw energy from the air around him into his mouth to create very specialized bombs, but also because he can steal power from the people or other demons and then use that power for his bombs, or for other special attacks." She grimaced, "The problem is the method he uses to steal energy is rarely pleasant for the person on the receiving end of his attention. He's quite sadistic."

"Why was he after me though?" I stood there wringing my hands. Vaguely I wondered if I were really asleep and this were all a bad dream. The miko looked at me with an 'Are you serious?' expression.

This reminded me, I still didn't know her name.

"You have a strong spiritual energy, Shiori. He wants that. If he can steal it then it will boost his power, at the cost of your life. He is the worst kind of thief."

"So where do you come into all this? I mean, who are you?" I asked helplessly. It is one thing to realize that you are different from everyone. It is another thing entirely to suddenly realize that because of the aforementioned difference someone is going to try to kill you in a potentially unpleasant manner.

"That's right. How rude of me, not to introduce myself to you before now. My name is Kagome Higurashi. I am involved because I have no desire to allow Karasu to grow any stronger, especially considering the cost of his gained power."

"How do you know my name, about my powers? No one outside of my family knows about me," I tried to insist. She patiently stared at me, waiting for me to finish. She waited a beat before explaining.

"I am very old Shiori. How I acquired this information is of no concern to you. Be grateful I do know these things, or the crow would even now stealing your soul and trapping it within a flower. As to how I recognize your power, that is quite simple. They are the same ones that I myself once learned to deal with. I had to search out teachers to help me gain control. I have chosen to come to you however because you will be one of the few who are in the greatest danger. There will be a price for providing you the skills with which to protect yourself and your loved ones."

"How much do you want?" I demanded. I admit I thought she wanted money for her services. For an insane moment it even crossed my mind that she had hired the creepy guy to scare me out of my wits.

"How much?" She laughed at me. "No dear. This is not a matter of money. You'd be surprised how much of Japan a person can acquire after a couple of centuries. No I will teach you how to use your powers, and I will help to defend you against Karasu until you are strong enough to do so yourself. In return I would ask you to use those powers in such a way that all will be benefited by your skills. But that is something that can be left for later."

"In the meantime," she raised a softly glowing hand and waved it in my direction. I felt a sense of quiet contentment, the kind of feeling that you might get from being held by someone surround me when I became enveloped with a matching blue light. "This serves the double purpose of protecting you and it will shield your powers as well. Tonight is the New Year's Festival and your family is coming home now. You will be safe this night, so do try and have fun ok? I'll be back tomorrow to start your training." With that she stepped through a portal, and disappeared mere seconds before my mother called up the stairs, looking for me. That night I shoved everything to the back of my mind and enjoyed the festival for all it was worth. By midnight I had almost managed to convince myself it was all a big hallucination caused by the sushi.

The next day, as promised Kagome returned to begin my training. I spent months working with her in secret. I joined the archery club so that I could start working with a bow and arrow. I even convinced my parents to allow me to set up my own targets in the back yard to practice. I spent countless hours going over old scrolls and learning how to harness my abilities. The woman was a slave driver. Not that I could complain. Well actually I could complain and did so frequently, but the simple fact of the matter is I knew why she was pushing me so hard. If I ever forgot all I had to do was think back to that day when I first saw him. Also aside from my miko training she would frequently help me with my homework. Although her view points on certain things were a bit unusual at times, I learned a lot.

Karasu still would periodically try to attack me and as promised, Kagome was always there to protect me from him, although he somehow always managed to escape. I got better at protecting myself after a couple of years, but I always felt better knowing she would be around. Then I finally decided how I would use my powers in order to repay her. I became a servant of the Spirit Realm, one of those known as a Guardian. My function was to help protect the barrier from attacks. That is how I met my Shuuichi's father. He was on the team of Spirit Detectives at the time. Eventually we married and I had our son. And the rest is, as they would say, history.

Now I sit at my kitchen table calmly speaking of these things as if it were nothing. I wonder if my son will think me insane after this? Or maybe he will think that I am making everything up? Perhaps, it doesn't matter.

I have no way to prove what I just told him, nothing except for my old miko clothing and bow. I lost most of my powers with the birth of my Shuuichi. For some reason all of my powers transferred into him. It probably has something to do with that youkai who entered my body when he was still inside me. A miko cannot use her powers when she is with child without risking the life of her baby. And so I had no way to prevent it, nor could I remove it from my baby after he was born without endangering my son's life, even if I still enough of my power to do so.

Often I have watched my son, wondering exactly what that demon did to him. Underneath the sweet surface of his eyes there is something quite dangerous at times when he is lost in thought and thinks no one is watching. I wonder what it would be like if that power within him rose to the surface. Would my son be lost to me forever? It's my greatest fear. The only one I have ever had for my son.

But even if he is, I know I have been blessed by his presence in my life. No matter what, he is mine and I will protect him always. Only this time I am not sure I will be able to protect him. It would seem Karasu is free, and my son may become a target because of the power coursing through his body.

Perhaps the little youkai who sleeps in the tree outside my son's window will be willing to help protect him? I will ask him the next time he is around. The demon boy rarely drops his guard enough for me to be able to sense him, but he is Shuuichi's friend. I wonder if he would like to have the spare room. What was his name again? Hiei? I think I will have my son ask him if he would like to stay with us. He seems so alone at times. Yes, I think it would be good for the two to be close.

Oh dear. It would seem I have startled my son with my story. I don't think I've ever seen him look so… overwhelmed. What he is muttering. Something about me knowing all along about the demon? Oh yes of course I knew. Although if he is aware of the demon then that means it is still inside of him, a part of him now. I hope he's planning on introducing me to him one of these days.

A fox demon?! And a silver one at that! Those are quite rare aren't they? His name is Youko Kurama? Wasn't he a thief?

Well that's alright then. I was worried it would be something dangerous. Well I'm sure Youko can be very dangerous, it's just foxes in a generalized sense aren't what I would consider high on the list of predators. Not that they aren't perfectly capable of killing. They are after all demons. But if you ask them, running around slaughtering thousand of helpless humans isn't typically high on their list of things to do this Saturday. As far as I'm concerned kitsunes are like the youkai equivalent of… hippies, or something. Shagging, stealing and communing with nature is pretty much what you're going to get from them.

If you want to be a demon, there's really nothing I can do about that. You are after all old enough to be whatever you want. And the simple fact is, he's been living in this house for nearly eighteen years. My knowing won't change that. As long as you two don't start growing any Makai drugs or anything I don't really mind having him around.

Why are you looking so shocked?