From The Ashes

A/N: I know, I know....I'm working on my next one shot in the kagome series, and my IY/YYH crossover, along with other fics. If I didn't have to work, writing would not be a problem, hehe. Ok, please read and review. They make me happy happy and make my muse giddy.

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It was a beautiful morning that greeted Kagome when she opened her eyes. Stretching, she yawned loudly and proceeded to roll to her side, off of her bed, and onto the floor.

Shaking her head, Kagome glared at the hard floor, mentally cursing herself for not remembering that she was no longer in the feudal era, but rather in her home, and on her bed. It was going to take some getting used to, but it would be nice not to have to sleep on the cold ground.

Standing up, Kagome heard her mother walking from her bedroom, and smiled. Since it would take a while for breakfast to cook, she could begin her day with a nice, hot shower and then would probably go shopping for some new clothing.

As she stood in the steaming shower, Kagome hummed to herself, and did not notice that Midoriko had as of yet to speak to her. Once all of the conditioner was out of her hair, Kagome closed her eyes and allowed the hot water to spray on her back, working out the sore muscles from the previous day's activities.

However, when her eyes closed, Kagome could hear her words, and then the scream of a frightened woman. Images flooded her mind, causing Kagome to gasp in horror, and when her eyes flew open, she reached over and quickly shut the water off.

For several minutes, she stood there, dripping wet, and tried to remember what had happened the night before. However, all she could remember was going to bed, and then waking up when the sun hit her eyes.

Kagome bit her lip and called out to Midoriko. When the miko answered, Kagome timidly asked, “Um, can you tell me what in the hell happened last night?”

Midoriko didn't know how to answer. She didn't exactly know what happened, nor did she know what it was that held her back from Kagome. So, she simply said, 'It would appear that your abilities as a phoenix are growing and are eager to protect your family, even when you rest. You killed an intruder last night, Kagome.'

Kagome's eyes narrowed, and an image of her standing outside came to her mind. She could not hear what the woman was saying, but she could feel her rage and the thrill of watching the woman burn. It was as if that woman's life didn't matter to her at the moment, and for an instant, she gloried in the kill.

'Kagome, you are going to work yourself up. Let's not worry about it, at least not for now. Someone sent that woman here, and we got the bare minimum as to why. Now, we need to find out more about this Chyjoko she worked for and deal with him accordingly.' Midoriko murmured, her tone soothing.

To be honest, she didn't want Kagome upset. If the previous night was anything to go by, Kagome could do some major damage with little effort.

Kagome nodded, and began to dry off. It pained her to know that she took a life, but the question in her mind was why did she kill the woman? What did she say that would be a reason for her to meet her death?

Once dressed, Kagome grabbed up her baseball cap and quickly piled her long hair up into it. She didn't want to attract any unnecessary attention, so it would be to her benefit if she dressed up to look like a boy.

Because he was now taller than her, Kagome went into Souta's room, grinned at him as he sleepily gazed up at her, and grabbed up his jacket.

“I'm going to borrow this, ok?” She asked, knowing full well that her brother wouldn't care. When he nodded, she began to walk towards the door, but his voice stopped her.

“Kagome, shut the door and come here, please.” Souta said, his voice now holding proof that he was no longer a little boy.

As she shut the door, and turned, the look upon his face reminded her of their father. Both father and son were dark and handsome, and now that he had just turned thirteen, his face was changing into an identical image of their late father. It dawned on her, as she walked towards him, that she missed out on so much of his childhood, due to her commitment in the feudal era, and it saddened her.

When she sat down beside him on the bed, he gave her a once-over before reaching up and pulling off the hat. Her long hair tumbled down her shoulders and pooled behind her onto the bed. Souta gently grasped some of the length, and brought it up close to his eyes to examine it. When he was done, he let go of her hair and softly said, “Mom hasn't wanted any of us to take about it, but I'm your brother, and I am worried about you. You seem different, Kagome.”

Kagome studied her hands and then sighed. “I'm fine, Souta. Honest.” She replied, her voice just as soft.

Reaching over, Souta covered her hand with his larger one. When her eyes lifted to meet his, he repeated, “I'm your brother. I love you, and know you. Something is going on, and this time, I am going to be with you. I know that those guys who came here and told us that you were dead were telling the truth. So, explain to me how it is that you are here, and don't bother to lie. We both know that you are horrible at it.”

Kagome bit her lip and felt Midoriko settle down within her mind. Taking a deep breath, Kagome began to tell him what happened, and when she was done, she could see that her brother was whiter than his sheet.

“So, who brought you back?” He asked, curious. He watched as a gentle smile formed upon Kagome's lips and she said, “His name is Shikon, and he is the essence of the jewel. He gifted me with special abilities, and allowed me to come back. But, I have to watch out for someone that Shikon says is pretty bad.”

Souta blinked but then shook his head. “I see.” He murmured. Now he knew why Kagome omitted several details to their mother and grandfather. Grandfather would probably have a massive stroke when he learned that his most powerful sutras failed.....again. And their mother, well, there was really no telling what their mother would do. “So, does that mean that you are some kind of youkai?”

“No, I'm human, but Shikon said that my abilities make me more powerful than a youkai. To be honest, I'm not really sure about how all this works, either. But, I'm learning as I go, so I'll be fine.” Kagome said, a grin lighting up her pretty face.

Souta smiled and shook his head. For several moments, neither of them said a word, but when Kagome placed her hand upon his, he looked back up at her.

“You know, you were too young to remember him, but you remind me so much of daddy. His hands always covered mine, and now, yours do too. You also have his eyes and his coloring.” Kagome murmured.

“Yeah, and you have all of mom's breath-taking features. Both of us got lucky in the looks department, and Kagome, no matter what, I love you, and if you need it, I'll protect you from anything.” Souta said, his eyes trained upon hers.

Kagome felt her eyes prickle with tears and she sniffled. “You know, you're a great little brother, when your not being a pain in my ass.” She giggled, and then grabbed her hat and darted to the door and was down the stairs before she heard her brother's outraged yell. “HEY!”

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“Well, he took the news well.” Genkai said, looking over the damage that was done to her courtyard. Koenma sat in a chair with his head in his hands, and groaned as his father's angered words echoed in his mind.

In all of his life, he had never seen his father so angry as he did the night before. The lord threw things, shouted curses, and threatened death to anyone who dared stand against him. Of course, no one dared to stop his tirade, and only moved from their collective placed after the lord called for Botan and snapped at her to get him the hell out of there.

Now, as everyone worked to clean up the debris, Genkai sat down and began to look through several of her old scrolls for clues as to who it was that could have helped Lord Enma so long ago.

She came up with several candidates, but none of them had ever been known for the kind of power that Lord Enma described. She was about to give up, but a scroll that she had simply pushed to the side, due to its tattered condition, caught her eye, and she carefully unrolled it.

Stunned, her eyes widened and she snapped, “All of you dimwits get your asses over here.”

When the others stood around her, Genkai looked up at Koenma and asked, “Is it possible that your father had some help from a phoenix?”

Koenma looked stunned, but allowed his eyes to move down to the scroll that the old psychic was holding. He began to read about the creature that had been thought to live only in legends, and then shook his head.

“Phoenixs were not real, at least I've never encountered one, and I've encountered many legendary creatures. Sorry, Genkai, but I seriously doubt it.” He said, giving the woman a tired smile.

Kikyo coughed and motioned her head and then glared over at the stairs. All eyes turned and were soon greeted with the form of Onigumo approaching them. With him was Bankotsu, Jakotsu, and Suikotsu, and all three of the assassins looked smug. When they got closer, Onigumo said, “We have discovered that after the group from the park left, a large group was seen approaching it. A barrier was formed, and after several minutes, the barrier disappeared and the park was empty. We snooped around, but without my abilities as a hanyou, I can't detect any smells that would give us a clue as to what was there.”

Yusuke swore, and then stood up. “See, this is why we need fucking guards stationed all over the place. We could have had the little fucker last night, but you assholes were so damn concerned with a pile of ashes that you just had to trot back and tell us about it.” He snapped.

The youkai growled, but Hiei calmly said, “We were not so much concerned with the ashes as we were the strong about of power that had been there before we decided to investigate. Besides, it was at the miko's shrine that we found the ash, and it can be assumed that they are being targeted. Let's be grateful to whatever stopped that fool from doing whatever it was that they were there to do. I'm sure that they were not there looking for a blessing.”

Yusuke glared over at the smaller youkai, and could not help but sneer at Hiei's sarcasm. He was about to give a retort, but Kurama stood up and got between them.

“This is not helping our situation. Yusuke, you were not there. You did not feel the power that we felt. Whatever reduced that human to ash was more powerful than any we have ever encountered....even Toguro.” He said, his green eyes staring straight into Yusuke's dark ones.

Gulping, Yusuke turned to Genkai. “Well, granny. What do you suggest we do? I barely beat Toguro, and if what Kurama says is true, I don't know that I will be able to beat it.” He said, his tone serious.

Genkai ignored the 'granny' comment, but then said, “We will figure it out. For now, we have other things to worry about.”

“Indeed.” Sesshomaru said, his deep voice calm. “We will need to return to the park and wait. If needed, we will also station a guard, as Kouga suggested, at the Higurashi home. This time, we will be ready for anything.”

Onigumo nodded. “Bankotsu and Jakotsu are going with you. They are going to scout out the area, and need to get an idea of the layout, especially if this park is the meeting ground for Chyjoko.” He said.

Several glares were shot his way, but Onigumo simply shrugged. Who gave a damn if they didn't like his ideas. All he was here for was to supply information and to do enough to get himself reincarnated. Just because he died didn't mean that he gave up his ability to be a self-serving prick. He had to look out for number one, after all.

Sesshomaru growled, but then turned to the group. “The same group that was at the park will return there.” He said. Turning to the two assassins, he growled and said, “Just do your job, and don't screw it up.”

“Oh, sweet cheeks,” Jakotsu purred. “If you were my job, I'd screw it up, and down, up and down.”

Several groans of disgust were heard, and Sesshomaru turned towards the homosexual assassin. Slowly, he approached Jakotsu, who merely lifted an eyebrow, and allowed a smirk to form on his painted lips.

“Do not ever speak to me in such ways, fool. I am your superior in every way. Do not forget.” He growled, his eyes beginning to tint pink.

Bankotsu smirked and moved to stand in front of Jakotsu. “Don't listen to him, Jakotsu. From what I have heard, the mighty Sesshomaru prefers the company of little girls, to that of grown women or men.” He sneered.

The courtyard fell silent, and as Sesshomaru and Bankotsu stared each other down, no one dared speak or move. Finally, Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes and turned his back to Bankotsu.

“If you ever refer to my daughter again, I will rip you apart and there will be nothing left of you to reincarnate.” He said, his tone soft.

Bankotsu barked out a harsh laugh and shook his head. “Too bad that you didn't believe her to be your daughter when she was alive.” He snapped, his eyes narrowing dangerously as the taiyoukai's back stiffened. “Oh, yes. Even in purgatory, gossip runs freely. It seems that the wind youkai, Kagura, likes to talk about issues that do not concern her, and you were her main subject.”

As Sesshomaru's growl began to grow in its intensity, Onigumo sighed and shook his head. “You know, out of all of my creations, that bitch was the worst mistake I ever made. Even back in the feudal era, she didn't know how to keep her damn mouth shut.” He said, and then lifted his hand to rub his chin. “I should have made her into a mute. Not even Muso gave me that much trouble.”

Kouga snorted and snapped, “What you should have done was kill yourself off and put us all out of our misery.”

Onigumo simply shrugged and turned his back on the angered group. “Perhaps, but then again, where would the fun have been in that?” He said, and walked towards the stairs and disappeared.

Inu Yasha glared over at Kikyo and snapped, “This is all your fucking fault for helping him. You should have just left him to rot.”

Kikyo's face lost all traces of color and she felt her miko powers beginning to rise to the surface as she tried to control her anger. Taking a moment to count to ten, she gritted her teeth and said, “As a miko, I have a duty to those in pain to help them. I could not turn my back on a man who was at death's door. I didn't know what he would do, and if I had, I would have prevented it. Perhaps if you had taken better care of me way back then, I would not have lost my life and we could have defeated him together, before he gained any kind of power, but you were too greedy to see anything besides your own desires.”

Hiei glared over at the arguing couple and snapped, “As entertaining as it is to watch the both of you pass the blame, we don't have time for it. Both of you need to pull your heads out of your asses, and concentrate on the problem at hand, not on who is to blame for what. Besides, if you were a true miko, as you claim, no matter how it was that you came back, your duty in helping those in pain should have been directed in your reincarnation's direction, but I guess she didn't count for much back then, did she?”

Inu Yasha stepped towards the small youkai, but stopped when he felt Hiei's power rise. A soft glow appeared beneath the bandanna that shielded the jagen from view. A smirk formed upon Hiei's face as he took a step towards Inu Yasha, causing the hanyou to step back.

Kurama knew that the situation had just reached a dangerous level. He stepped in between his friend and the hanyou and quietly said, “Let it go, Hiei. It's not worth fighting over. Besides, we are supposed to be fighting Chyjoko, not each other.”

Hiei pushed the jagen back and gave a sharp nod. However, the glare that he shot Inu Yasha promised that they would continue this matter at a different time, to which Inu Yasha simply snorted and said, “Keh.”

Sesshomaru motioned for his group to gather together and then called for Botan. When the ferry girl arrived, she smiled and opened a portal for the group. Soon, they were standing in the park, and when she was dismissed, the girl nodded, and allowed her eyes to travel over to Bankotsu, who was currently busy surveying the surrounding area. For a mass murderer, he was a hunk.

When she was gone, Sesshomaru turned to the group and said, “We will spread out and watch. Do not move unless I say so.”

As the group began to separate, Sesshomaru over heard Inu Yasha mutter, “Insufferable asshole.” A glare was shot towards his half-brother before making a mental memo to punish the insolent whelp at a later time.

Once everyone was in place, Sesshomaru's eyes moved towards the entrance of the park. When a lone figure walked through the gate, all eyes followed the newcomer's movements, and waited to see what this person would do.

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Humming happily, Kagome bounced down the stairs of the shrine and stopped to pile her hair back under then hat. She was about to walk towards the bus stop, but stopped when she noticed the large pile of ash at the bottom of the stairs. Kneeling down, Kagome allowed her index finger to poke at the pile and was shocked when a glint of silver caught her eye.

Picking it up, Kagome saw that it was some sort of coin, and when she turned it over, she saw what looked to be the images of a dragon and tiger, fighting. She brushed the coin off and turned it back to the front, where she saw the number three etched into the face.

Frowning, Kagome wondered if the coin had anything to do with the reason why the woman had come to the shrine the previous night, and if so, what did it mean?

As she stood there, lost in her thoughts, a car passed by her and pulled into the driveway of the house across from the shrine. The door opened, and soon loud voices caught Kagome's attention.

“So, I guess this means you want child support for the brat, huh?” The man snarled, his anger clear in his tone.

The woman simply shrugged and said, “That will all be decided in the courts. I have no real interest in anything you have, but this child deserves to have two parents support it, even if one of those parents is an asshole.”

The man took a menacing step towards the woman, but was stopped when Kagome asked, “Is there a problem?”

The two people turned to look at her, and despite the smile that was on her face, Kagome's eyes flashed and her body tensed. There was no way in hell he was going to strike at that woman, especially when she carried his unborn baby.

“It's none of your fucking business, bitch.” The man snapped and turned his eyes to his wife when she said, “Yes, do you have a phone. I'd like to have the police come here and escort him out of here.”

The man began to hurl insults at the young woman, but stopped when Kagome said, “I don't think that the police will be needed. In fact, I think that he and I can settle this right now. Why don't you go inside and take a nice nap. That precious baby is going to make sure that your sleeping days are numbered.”

The woman smiled and nodded. She turned and walked into the house, without a backwards glance at her soon-to-be ex husband, and shut the door. Kagome waited until she heard the door lock and then allowed the sunny smile to drop from her face.

The man eyed Kagome, and then said, “I told you before, this is none of your business.”

“But, it is my business.” Kagome said, stepping closer to the man. “Anytime I see someone abusing those whom they should be protecting, it becomes my business. See, I have a problem with you coming here and threatening her, and before you say that you didn't, just by stepping towards her with your fists curled can be viewed as a threat. That is my problem, and now, I am your problem.”

The man glared at Kagome, and then turned his back on her. Before he took at step towards his car, Kagome's voice quietly said, “Do not come back here. Do not contact her, do not do anything that would provoke me. She is under my protection and if you value your well-being, stay away. Now, be a good boy and go find your whore. This woman is no longer yours to hurt.”

The man nodded and quickly made it to his car. Without looking at Kagome, he started the engine and pulled out of the driveway and shot down the road. Her eyes turned towards the house and she allowed her senses to extend and found that the woman was now asleep. Good, let her have the sweet dreams that had been denied to her while married to that monster. But, before she pulled her mind away, a face flashed in Kagome's mind, and she gasped. She recognized that face.

When she was back in the feudal era, back before meeting Miroku and Sango, she and Inu Yasha met a young girl named Nazuna. It was during that meeting that she learned about what happens to hanyous on the night of the new moon, and it was then that she realized that she had feelings for Inu Yasha.

Grinning, Kagome shook her head and moved down to the sidewalk. However, once away from the house, Midoriko quietly asked, 'What, pray tell, did you think that you were doing by threatening him?'

Kagome shrugged and replied, “I just wanted to make sure he knew that I was not someone that he was going to fuck around with and walk away without a scratch. If you ask me, he needs his own ass beaten.”

Midoriko was silent for a few moments, but then said, 'Kagome, listen to me very carefully. We've had the talks about you needing to keep in control of yourself. You can't be threatening people, even if you don't like them. Kagome, I think that perhaps the souls and I were mistaken when we believed that the original phoenix was gone. You are showing all of the aggression that it did, and that is not good.'

Kagome thought over Midoriko's words and then shook her head. “You know what? Who cares?” She said, stubbornly. “For the first time in my life, I don't need to be afraid. I'm not waiting for Inu Yasha, Sango, Miroku, or whomever is around to come and save me. I can do that all by myself, now. If that is because of the phoenix's influence, then good. Maybe it's time that the phoenix was allowed to come out and play, especially if this threat is as bad as you and Shikon have made it out to be.”

Midoriko did not bother to reply. Instead, she backed off, knowing that if she continued to speak, it would more than likely piss Kagome off, thus causing her to lose further control of her abilities. So, she decided that she would simply back off. She would speak to Shikon and demand answers.

Kagome smiled when she felt Midoriko's energy recede. Slipping her hand into her pocket, she pulled out the strange coin and narrowed her eyes. She remembered that youkai from the park the day before and wondered if it had followed her and then sent that human to her home.

Looks like her shopping was going to wait, and she turned on her heel and headed towards the park. As she entered the park's gate, she pulled the bill of the hat over her eyes and knew that unless someone looked very closely, they would simply think that she was a boy, and if someone got nosy, well, she'd simply have to pursued them to back off.

She walked to the center of the park, and extended her senses, searching out for the unknown youkai from yesterday, but was disappointed when she could not detect him, however, several other unknown youkai flooded her senses, and for a moment, she thought that she was going to pass out from the horrible stench.

Reigning in her senses, Kagome stood still for a moment to catch her breath. There were simply too many auras for her to search through and could only determine that this park was most likely the meeting place for this unknown threat.

She casually walked around the children's play area, a few times, scanning for anything suspicious, but when she didn't see anything, she sighed. So much for hunches.

But, when a glint of silver caught her eye, she hurried over to it and quickly picked it up. To her delight, it was an exact identical of the coin that lay in her pocket. Smiling triumphantly, Kagome turned and started to walk towards the entrance and was nearly there, until the sounds of running footsteps caught her attention.

She was so caught up in her little find that she didn't realize that someone was running after her, nor did it register that they had caught up with her until they tackled her from behind and threw her on the ground.

Oh, someone was going to pay.....dearly.

$$$$$$$

Inu Yasha watched as the newcomer walked around the playground. At first, the boy seemed to be looking for something, but when he didn't find it, he was about to turn and walk away, but quickly stopped and then moved towards the jungle gym.

He watched as the boy bent down and retrieved something and then smile. He could not see the boy's face, save for the lips, but he could tell that the boy was pleased. His golden eyes watched as the boy pocketed whatever he had found and then moved quickly towards the exit.

He looked over to Sesshomaru, who was also watching the boy, but when no signal came for them to stop the boy, he took matters into his own hands.

Leaping out from his hiding place, he ran after the boy. For a human, the kid was quick, but not fast enough. He watched as the boy came to a halt, and his back stiffen, and Inu Yasha took that opportunity to tackle the boy and bring him down.

Quickly rolling into a crouch, he looked up to see Sesshomaru, Hiei, Kurama, and the others running towards them, and he looked down to see that what he presumed to be a boy, was actually a girl, if the long hair was anything to go by.

“Ok, I want what you have. Hand it over along with any information that you have about Chyjoko, and you might live to see tomorrow.” Inu Yasha said, his voice low and dangerous.

The girl's head lifted and a pair of eyes that he thought lost to him stared into his own. At first, neither of them said a word, but then she softly said, “Long time, no see....Inu Yasha.”

The others were now directly behind them, listening, and all he could say was, “Kagome.”