The next morning Kagome was up before the dawn, stupid Inuyasha. Because of him, she could no longer sleep any later than just before sunrise. She crept quietly from her room to see that all of the Dwarves were still asleep. She decided to make breakfast for the lot of them and went to the kitchen to begin breakfast. After a while the smell of food had the Dwarves trickling into the kitchen. The first to arrive were the blonde she pushed off the table and a brunette. They sat down at the table. Kagome places two plates full of food in front of each of the two attractive young men. They both looked at her and gave their thanks.
"Sorry I shoved you off the table last night, but that was no way to be acting," Kagome said to the blonde.
He took a drink of his tea then answered. "That's alright, my lady. You were completely in the right, our mother would have killed me had she seen the way I was behaving. By the way, we haven't been formally introduced. My name is Fili and this is my younger brother Kili, at your service."
At the mention of his name, Kili looked up from his food only to smile having his mouth full of food. Kagome laughed. He looked like a hamster with all that food puffing his cheeks out.
"I'm Kagome Higurashi, but you can just call me Kagome." Both men inclined their head and answered at the same time.
"It's nice to meet you Kagome."
She gave them a devastating smile and bowed. "Nice to meet you too." And she continued to cook.
Kagome continued to make breakfast and chat with Fili and Kili. "So you're coming with us on this quest?" Kili asked between mouthfuls of food.
Kagome laughed, for some reason, Kili, reminds her of her little brother Souta. "Yes, I'll be going, if of course, your leader allows me."
Fili and Kili look at each other and smile. "Uncle said last night that you could go, so I guess you're all set."
Kagome frowned a bit. "Oh, so you're related to what's his name." Kagome puts a finger to her lip to think. She snaps her fingers. "Oh right, Thorin Oaken- whatever."
The boys look at each other and burst out laughing. "Oakenshield," Kili says between gasps. Their laughing is so contagious that soon Kagome is laughing along with them.
Their laughing dies down as the other Dwarves begin to make their way into the Kitchen. "What's so funny?" Nori asks as he enters but the other just wave him off.
"Nothing Nori, you had to be here," Fili says still chuckling.
Kagome comes and sets a plate in front of Nori. "Thank you, lass." Kagome smiles at him.
"And thank you for putting back everything you stole last night. But be sure to put back that container of tobacco you have in your pocket before we leave please."
Nori and the others were dumbstruck. "How did you know that?" Nori asks as he puts the tobacco on the table.
"I can see it in your aura. You're not a bad Dwarf, you just have some sticky fingers that sometimes gets you in trouble." Kagome says.
As they are talking more Dwarves are drifting in, she served them as well until Bombur came into the kitchen.
"I'll take over from here lass you sit yourself down and eat something." Bombur handed Kagome a plate, she thanked him, then went and sat between Fili and Kili who had made room.
Once she sat down the conversation continued. "Like I said I can see your aura. I'm a priestess you see and as a priestess, I have spiritual powers that give me the ability to see and feel the auras of other people. Whether they are good or evil people."
The Dwarves found this information interesting and began to talk amongst themselves until Bofur finally asked. "Lass, have you really killed a great many dragons in your world?"
Kili added, "And are you really that skilled with a bow?" His eyes shining as he asked. Kagome glared at both men causing them to shrink back into their chairs.
Then she laughed.
"To answer your question, Bofur was it?" Bofur nodded. "Yes, I killed a lot of dragons in my world, but I had help from my friends. The dragons were of all shapes and sizes but the biggest one we had faced was named Ryūkotsusei. He was a great Daiyokai meaning Great Demon."
The Dwarves gasped. "Did he breathe fire?" Asked Dori as he brought a tray of tea to the table.
"No, he breathed a sort of energy blast that destroyed everything in its path including mountains."
That left the Dwarves speechless. "How did you destroy such a monster?"
"Well, in this case, I didn't, my friend Inuyasha did. Using his sword he was able to send the energy ball back to Ryūkotsusei and destroy him with his own energy." The Dwarves were very impressed.
"But does that mean you'll need help destroying Smaug if you always had help in the past?" Fili asked.
"Oh, no, I destroyed lots of dragons on my own with my bow and my spiritual powers. And to answer your question Kili I'm not that bad with a bow."
Kili gave her a cocky smile. "Well, Kagome, I'm an archer too, care to compare skills?"
Kagome jumped at the chance, "You're on and you're gonna lose," Kagome said with a sly grin.
"Care to place a wager? Kili asked.
"I don't have any money."
"You don't have to. I'll bet you 30 gold coins you can't outshoot me in exchange that you do all the cooking for the next month, agreed?"
Kagome thought about it for a moment. "Agreed." She went to her yellow pack and got her bow and quiver. "Bombur may I leave you in charge of the rest of breakfast?" Bombur agree, but not before placing a wager in favor of Kagome.
They went out to the clearing where Kagome had been practicing and took their stances about 60 paces away. Kagome let Kili go first. With all the confidence in the world, Kili shot three arrows and hit the tree dead center. All the Dwarves cheered. Kagome took Kili's place.
"Very good Kili let's see If I can top that." Kagome took aim, took a deep breath and held it. Then shot three arrows in rapid succession charged with her spiritual powers. The arrows hit Kili's dead on, not only split his in two but blowing them up as well.
"Oh yeah, I can top that." She said jumping up and down then doing a victory dance.
"You cheated you used your powers!" Kili complained.
"I can do it again without my powers and it will still be the same results." So they shot more arrow, more bets were made and Kagome was making a nice pile of gold.
Thorin Balin and Dwalin had gotten up before the others to go down to the livery to check on the ponies and to see if any of the shop keepers were up so they could purchase supplies. When they arrived back at the smial they found it empty except for Bombur who was in the middle of cleaning up breakfast.
"Where is everyone else, Bombur?" Thorin inquired.
Bombur looked up from doing the dishes. "They have all gone to see the archery contest between the lass and Kili in a clearing not too far from here."
All three dwarves looked at each other and headed out. It didn't take them long to locate the others, what with all the noise they were making. What they came upon as they entered the clearing was not an archery match, but a fighting match between Kagome and Fili. And Kagome was winning.
Fili and Kagome were circling each other when Fili went to grab her. She easily sides stepped him. Grabbing his arm and using his own momentum, Kagome was able to flip him onto his back. Fili quickly got to his feet and attacked again. Kagome quickly swept his legs out from under him causing to once again hit the ground hard. This time he did not get up.
She smiled down at him. "I win again Fili."
Taking her offered hand to get up Fili asked. "Where in Middle Earth did you learn to fight like that, Kagome? That was incredible."
Kagome blushed. "Oh, I learned from the greatest Youkai in my world, Lord Sesshomaru. He was a merciless taskmaster and only expected perfection from me. He also taught me to use a sword, though I still prefer a bow." Thorin, Balin, and Dwalin looked on.
Dwalin was impressed. "Well, there you go. A powerful priestess that can kill dragons, who can also fight, use a sword and bow. She's the whole package, what more could you want Thorin?" Dwalin said and walked away. Thorin gave his friend an odd look.
'What is that suppose to mean.' Thorin thought.
Thorin stepped into the clearing and bellowed. "Alright enough games, all of you back to the Hobbits. Time to pack and be on our way." With that, he turned and left.
Back at Bilbo's house Kagome went straight to her room to recheck her pack. She really never unpacked it when she first arrived so everything was still in there, she just added a few more things. She then went into Bilbo's study, took a piece of parchment and wrote a note to Bilbo saying her goodbyes. She left the note on the mantle above the fireplace. Kagome took one last look around the place that had been her home for the past year. She hoped that one day she would get to return to this place but honestly, she didn't know. With a sigh and a heavy heart, she walked out of the smial.
Once outside she noticed a long line of ponies already weighted down with provisions or with riders. After doing the count Kagome realized something. "Uh, there aren't enough ponies. What I'm I suppose to ride?" Kagome said glaring at Thorin.
"You can ride with one of us," Kili said
Kagome smiled at Kili. "Thank you, Kili but I don't think that's very practical or comfortable for either of us. I want my own pony, Thorin." Kagome demanded.
"Well, you're not getting one to make due," Thorin tells her in an arrogant tone. Kagome narrowed her eyes at Thorin and was charging her spiritual powers in her hands to zap him again when Gandalf came to the rescue.
"No need for that, Kagome, I brought you a horse instead and an extra pony," Gandalf said handing her the reins. Kagome thanked Gandalf and swung up onto the horse. Giving Thorin a smug smirk as she now looked down at him. Thorin bristled at the look she gave him, but at the same time, his heart skipped a beat. Oh, how he hated these strange and annoying reactions. Bofur was puzzled over the extra pony.
"What's with the extra pony, Gandalf?" He inquired.
"Let's just say it's a precaution master Dwarf," Gandalf replied a smile touching his lips. With that, the Company of Thorin Oakenshield headed out of the Shire.
Kagome heaved a sad sigh. They weren't more than two miles away from Bilbo's house and she already missed her friend. Gandalf looked at his friend with concern. "My, dear girl, whatever is the matter?"
She sighed again. "I miss Bilbo, I realize we just left but who knows when I will ever see that little Hobbit again."
Gandalf reached over and patted Kagome shoulder. "I think you will be seeing Bilbo sooner than you think, Kagome."
Thorin overhearing their conversation, gripped his reins even tighter until his knuckles turned white. His actions did not go unnoticed by Dwalin, who could only smirk. The rest of the Dwarves also overhearing began making bets as to whether or not the Halfling would join them.
Kagome was shocked that the Dwarves would do such a thing. "It's the way of Dwarves, Kagome. We bet on practically anything." Gloin informed her.
She was even more shocked when Gandalf as well as placed a bet. "What? If you noticed I placed a bet in favor of Bilbo joining us in the end, my dear." Kagome shrugged and decided to bet as well, also in favor of Bilbo.
Not a ten minutes later did they hear a voice yelling for them to stop. Kagome turned around and to her great delight did she see Bilbo running towards them.
"I signed it," Bilbo said handing the contract to Balin.
Balin examined the contract. "Everything seems to be in order. Welcome, Master Baggins to the Company of Thorin Oakenshield."
Kagome squealed and clapped her hands. Bilbo gave her a smile. Thorin had a sour look on his face.
"Give him a pony," Thorin said as he turned and headed out.
"No, no that won't be necessary, I'm sure I can keep up on foot. I've done my fair share of walking holidays." Bilbo babbled. Suddenly he was lifted and put on the extra pony that Gandalf had brought.
Almost right off the bat, Bilbo started to complain about his allergies and needing a handkerchief. Bofur ripped a piece of dirty cloth and tossed it to Bilbo, much to his disgust. Kagome rode up and snatched it from Bilbo handing him a clean handkerchief.
"Thank you, Kagome." As he blew his nose.
Kagome laid a hand on Bilbo's shoulder and quickly healed him from his allergies without anyone noticing except for Gandalf, who only chuckled. After that, the gold was tossed around paying off those who had bet in favor of Bilbo joining the Company.
"And you two how did you bet?" Bilbo asked.
At that moment purses of gold went whizzing by Bilbo effectively be caught by Gandalf and Kagome. "My dear fellow, we never doubted you for a second."
Kagome nodded her head in agreement. "I am so happy you decided to come along on this Journey, Bilbo. It would have been a lonely trip without you." Kagome said reaching out and squeezing Bilbo's shoulder. He blushed and patted her hand.
"Thank you Kagome, I too am glad you are on this Journey. You will make it more bearable, my friend."
Thorin glance back as he once again heard their conversation then faced forward glaring ahead.