Words: 7,386
Disclaimer: I owned a dog once (RIP Koko) but I definitely don't own Inuyasha.
Notes: My inspiration for this story was (a) see the team actually training, physically and spiritually, during their journey, and (b) bonding between Inuyasha and Sango, and Kagome and Miroku, instead of the default InuKag/MirSan interactions. One of the biggest reasons I fell in love with the show is the team's dynamic together, all six of them.
The Kids Are (Gonna Be) Alright
「Sengoku Jidai, Present Day」
"What the f–hey, that was dirty!"
The incredulous shout rings fairly loudly across the plains at such an early hour, but the mismatched group of teenagers and their fox-demon and nekomata companions are far enough from the village that any noise is carried off by the wind in seconds. They're very much alone and isolated in this particular valley, and that's the way they want it.
"Oh, please, you're getting excited over that?" a steady voice fires back tauntingly before the first voice yelps again in pain.
"Would you stop that!?"
"Inuyasha, your footwork's getting sloppy again," the composed voice scolds, ignoring her partner's complaints.
A few feet away from the sweating pair, Kagome and Miroku exchange exasperated smiles and return to their training.
"Well, she keeps him on his feet," Kagome reasons, settling back on her knees and trying to regain her focus. Miroku chuckles his agreement and shuts his eyes.
"Now, where were we?" Across from him, Kagome sighs with a touch of frustration.
"Reaching deep within ourselves so I could learn to better focus my reiki," she offers helpfully, albeit sardonically. Miroku breathes out a laugh at his friend's minor distress.
"If it's of any comfort, my senses do tell me that your reiki is far less scattered today than it was two weeks ago," he says, keeping his eyes closed. Kagome peeks open one eye to study Miroku, who's become something of her spiritual mentor these past few weeks. When she notices that he's clearly still focused on meditating like she should be, she quickly squeezes her eyes shut and presses her lips tightly in determined concentration. Behind her closed lids, she misses the way the edge of the monk's mouth lifts in an amused smile.
He hadn't been lying – the girl really is improving but she still has a long way to go.
x-x-x
「Approximately 32 Days Ago」
About a month ago, Kagome and her friends had run into a little snag in their journey, just a little one, but still a hindrance from finding the Sacred Jewel shards nonetheless. It had felt a lot more foreboding and alarming for Kagome around the time of the actual attack and during the days that followed, but with a little bit of time to recuperate and a lot of scolding courtesy of a certain hanyou, she'd gotten over it.
The party had just left another village they'd spent the night in, thanks to Miroku's admittedly useful fake exorcisms ("I wish you'd all have more faith in me; there was a real evil spirit this time!" "Keh, yeah, sure, bouzu.") and were heading down the road in search of Naraku and any stray shards. The group had been walking for no longer than fifteen minutes before Inuyasha's ears started flicking left and right at an almost frantic pace.
Inuyasha? Kagome asked, immediately noticing her companion's anxiety. She didn't need to ask again because in the next second, Inuyasha grabbed Shippo off of her shoulder with one hand, tucking him tightly against his chest, and reached over with his other arm to pull her down to the ground with him.
Get down! he yelled instantly, and Sango didn't hesitate to drag Miroku and Kirara, who'd also been perched on her shoulder, down to the floor with her. They barely hit the deck in time before a streak of pale orange lightning zoomed past their heads, almost singing Kagome's bangs, which, frankly, she would've been pretty pissed off about, given the amount of time she spent perfecting their volume and length.
The rest of the encounter went off swimmingly in Kagome's honest opinion. Shippo kept his distance from the fight as soon as he wriggled himself free from Inuyasha's protective hold. Kagome vaguely heard him yell something about "being too damn young for this crap" as he scurried away to safety and made a mental note to scold Inuyasha about his influence on the young kit's language. Inuyasha and Sango held their own quite well against their opponent, who turned out to be a spectre-like demon whose biggest advantages were its inhuman speed and, of course, the orange lasers it could fire from its hands. She and Miroku only entered the battle when necessary in order not to interfere or mess up their chances of subduing the demon.
Kagome quickly identified the demon as a scavenger, or a demon that had no shards and had attacked the group to try and take the ones in Kagome's possession. After revealing that piece of information to Inuyasha and Sango, their task was much clearer and a lot easier from that point – or so they thought.
Apparently that particular lightning demon had just as much patience as Inuyasha and after a particularly close swipe from Tetsusaiga, gave up all pretense of a proper battle with the hanyou and taijiya and revealed what it probably considered its secret move.
In the blink of an eye, Inuyasha was thrown aside with one blast of lightning, Tetsusaiga immediately shrinking down to its dormant form, and in the next second, he and his friends were surrounded by not one lightning spectre, but over twenty, and the numbers were only climbing.
Wh–Inuyasha started voicing out his confusion before deciding to hell with it, it didn't matter why or how the thing could suddenly multiply so quickly. His mission was still clear: annihilate the damn thing before it hurt any of his friends.
Of course, the task was easier said than done, especially when the group discovered immediately that the demon's clones were precisely that – clones in every way possible: in speed, strength, and ammunition. It was all Sango and Miroku could do to dodge the demons' lightning attacks and even more to protect Kagome, whose combat experience was still embarrassingly minimal. Bolts of lightning were coming from literally every direction and Kagome and her friends were eventually forced to a standstill from within a spiritual dome Miroku had summoned that shielded the group from the spectres, plural. The monk however was not unharmed and was only losing his focus and strength with each hit his shield took.
I'm done hiding behind this barrier, Inuyasha snarled. Take this damn shield down, Miroku.
But Inuyasha–
Take it down! Inuyasha snapped with such heat that Miroku faltered, the barrier flickering dangerously under his distress.
Isn't that a laugh? a deep, throaty voice spoke up then. It was a strange voice, like the timbre of a man mixed with the velvety lull of a woman. It chilled Kagome straight to the bone, sending shivers up to the base of her neck as the group frantically searched all of the clones for the real spectre.
Can't even take charge of your own pack, can you, half-breed? the voice taunted. Kagome narrowed her eyes in annoyance at the demon's deliberate jabs at something as superficial as Inuyasha's race. At her side, Inuyasha released a low, frustrated growl.
Why don't you show yourself instead of laughing like a cowardly idiot? he yelled back, trying to buy the group some time, but they were all fully aware that no matter how much time they had, Miroku's barrier was growing weaker by the second and there was no way to tell which demon was the real one. Against her leg, Shippo, who at some point had run back to Kagome's side in a terrified state, shivered and clutched at her sock.
Kagome... the young fox-demon whispered, seeking her comfort and tightening his grip on the leg of her white socks. Kagome leaned over just enough to place her hand on his head gently but kept her eyes on the armada of lightning demons outside their barrier.
We'll be okay, Shippo, she whispered back to the kit, glaring daggers at their current enemy.
Are you sure about that, girl? the strange voice said in its voice like liquid electricity. In the back of Kagome's mind, she found it curious how a demon with lightning powers commanded such a thick and viscous voice. The thought would stick with her for days after the encounter, the peculiarity and eeriness eating away at her conscience.
I'd say your chances are pretty slim, with your immature fox-kit, that old nekomata, a wounded monk, a female human, and your useless hanyou. What do you expect to do? the spectre enunciated its rhetorical question with a smash of lightning to the top of the group's protective dome. The impact was hard enough that one of Miroku's knees almost gave out under the pressure and he was lucky that Sango reached over instantly to steady him from behind.
Thank you, Sango, the exhausted monk gasped. Although I only wish we were in better circumstances to experiment with a position like this. As soon as the words left his mouth, Miroku sucked in an unexpected lungful of air when Sango squeezed his chest hard enough to bruise.
Houshi-sama... she threatened while Shippo looked at the perverted lech incredulously.
Enough crap! Inuyasha snapped. Drop the fucking barrier, Miroku, so I can cut down every single one of these bastards!
Do try, hanyou, the demon sang, and the blatantly derogatory tone made Kagome's nose twitch and her heart clench in anger. Your futile attempts will only make your deaths all the more enjoya–
What is so wrong about being a hanyou, huh?! Kagome yelled then, something deep inside of her snapping. It just means he's half-human and half-demon! Why do you and every single other demon always have to point out that Inuyasha is half something and half another thing when it doesn't even matter!?
Kagome... Inuyasha muttered in shock, their other companions regarding the girl with just as much surprise. She probably didn't even realize that she was practically shrieking her voice raw, but all she could comprehend in that moment was the word hanyou, hanyou, hanyou and it echoed around her head, clashing with images of Inuyasha, Inuyasha, Inuyasha.
Kagome marched right up to the edge of Miroku's barrier and kept yelling at the demon clones, who collectively backed away from the barrier, surprised at the miko who was turning out to be a rather loud tempest.
You think you can just ambush us and attack us for the Sacred Jewel shards and say hurtful things about Inuyasha being a hanyou and get away with it?! You don't even know him and how strong he is. You have no idea how he's much stronger than you and all of the enemies we've fought in the past! Being half demon makes him strong but being human makes him a true fighter and if you're too stupid to see that, then he's just going to have to show you! Though the miko hadn't realized it, with every word Kagome yelled during her scolding, her clenched fists had grown brighter and brighter, surrounded by a white hot aura of pink light that her friends eyed warily. When she suddenly thrusted her fists down against her sides in angered determination at her last words, dozens of thin, solid pink beams fired from her fists, instantly shattering Miroku's battered barrier and incinerating the first line of lightning demons in front of them. Unluckily, in Kagome's distress, her spiritual ammunition hadn't been targeting anything and had burst from her fists in a scattered frenzy, hitting demon clones, thin air, trees–
–her friends.
Shippo ducked just in time before a beam of spiritual energy could hit him. Inuyasha's demon reflexes saved him by swinging Tetsusaiga in front of his body to absorb the blow. But caught in such a spontaneous and unpredictable situation, Kirara was only able to curl herself around the remaining two members of the group, cocooning her massive form over Sango, who unconsciously shifted her body to protect Miroku's. Kirara's body spasmed as she took several of Kagome's spiritual bullets, the air immediately around the nekomata rising with the smell of singed fur and burnt flesh.
Kirara! Sango's cry snapped Kagome out of her enraged daze and she spun around, realizing what she'd done. Inuyasha, on the other hand, didn't waste another second and took total advantage of the opportunity to use one well-executed Wind Scar on the clones, including the original lightning demon, who perished in an explosion of electricity and a wail of disbelief. With the original spectre gone, the rest of the clones vanished, leaving only a sizzling air of smoke, sweat, and the demon's dying breath.
Kirara! Kagome rushed over to her friend's demon companion, who shrunk down to her domestic size and was breathing at an awfully rapid pace, as if she were having a hard time getting enough air to her lungs.
Oh, Kirara, I'm so sorry. It felt like a knife was being driven into Kagome's heart at the sight of Kirara's bloodied and battered body, and the knife only twisted on the knowledge that she was the cause of Kirara's injuries. But nothing could have shattered her heart more than when she tried to approach Kirara's trembling form and Sango didn't allow it. The taijiya picked Kirara up gently but quickly before Kagome could come close enough.
Kagome swallowed the lump in her throat as best as she could, trying to catch her friend – her sister's – eye, but Sango adamantly refused to look her way, and she didn't bother to hide it.
She knew what she was doing, Sango said quietly in a tight and empty voice.
Sango, I don't know what – I didn't mean to – Kagome tried to apologize and explain but Sango would have none of it and turned away as she cradled Kirara in her hands. She hadn't said another word for the rest of the day.
Shippo took the awkward silence as an opportunity to scramble to Sango's side – Kagome winced slightly when she noticed that Sango didn't turn away from him – and inspect Kirara's injuries. Being the more medically experienced individual in the group, the older members held their breath during his quick examination, their hearts finally dropping when Shippo turned to them, shaking his head.
She won't be able to so much as move for the next few days but if we patch her up using your magic box, Kagome, it'll definitely help her heal faster, he informed the group, who collectively breathed heavy sighs of relief, even Inuyasha.
S-so she'll recover? Kagome asked tentatively.
Sure looks like it to me, if we just give her time, Shippo assured her. We can turn around and go back to the village we were just in. I'm sure the headman won't mind us staying another few days to rest and, um, he paused, glancing towards Kagome for a brief second, a small action Inuyasha didn't miss, figure things out.
Keh! Inuyasha scoffed, catching everyone's attention. Then we might as well head back to Kaede's now so we can have an actual healer work on her. No point wasting time when we can get there before the sun sets.
And how do you suppose we get back, Inuyasha? Shippo asked, nudging his head towards the group's normal mode of transportation, who was obviously currently out of commission.
Idiot, you, Sango and Kirara are gonna hitch a ride with me, what else? These roads aren't too dangerous for Miroku and Kagome, right, bouzu? Inuyasha looked at Miroku, daring the monk to disagree with him, but Miroku had no plans to do so, though he wished Inuyasha didn't always resort to throwing his weight and harsh words around to make his point.
Kagome and I will be just fine, Shippo. Inuyasha is right - this is the best way to get Kirara to the village as fast as possible. Besides, Kaede-baa-chan will need your expertise to diagnose Kirara properly, Miroku added, and that seemed to settle it.
Then what are we waiting for!? Shippo exclaimed, clambering up the hanyou's leg, who clicked his tongue in annoyance and shook his leg wildly, much like a dog would, to remove the fox kit from his leg.
Little squirt, Inuyasha mumbled before turning to Kagome, who'd been quiet during the entire exchange.
Kagome, he said, catching her attention. She raised her previously lowered chin and looked him in the eye curiously. She wondered for the first time what Inuyasha thought of her sudden but brusque show of spiritual power. She was sure it had caught him off guard because, frankly, it had caught everyone by surprise, even their demon opponent and especially herself, but she couldn't get a grasp at that moment of what he thought of her and the implications of her newfound abilities.
Hm?
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes ever so slightly, the gold glinting in the light of the early afternoon sun.
Don't take too long, he said gruffly after a second before turning away to kneel down for Sango and Shippo to mount his back. They left without another word towards Kaede's village, leaving Miroku and Kagome standing in an empty, still-sizzling battlefield under an aura of smoke and unanswered questions.
Well, Miroku said, breaking the silence. Shall we set off ourselves?
Mm, Kagome mumbled her assent and they started off towards the direction Inuyasha and the rest had taken. Miroku glanced sideways at the young woman he'd come to think of as a younger sister and his eyes flashed with sympathy and worry before he carefully asked her what he'd been wanting to know since Kagome had broken his barrier without so much as flinching.
Kagome, forgive me for prying, but how exactly were you able to suddenly release so much spiritual energy earlier, more than you've ever achieved? He questioned his own tact when Kagome visibly winced but kept her eyes forward.
It's anybody's guess, Miroku, Kagome replied quietly, a hint of shame in her tone.
Kagome, it's not your fault that Kirara chose to protect us by getting herself injured, Miroku said, addressing the precise cause for her shame.
It's absolutely my fault! If I hadn't–
If you hadn't done what you had done, we may not even be here right now, Miroku stepped forward and turned to face Kagome, stopping her in her tracks. Sango's right, Kirara just did what any of us would have done and she–no, Miroku shook his head, we all know the kind of danger involved in this journey. To shame yourself and carry an unnecessary burden of guilt will only trouble your heart and weigh you down.
Miroku, Kagome sighed. Sango wouldn't talk to me, Shippo can't even look at me, and Inuyasha–
–Inuyasha treats you the way he always does. Shippo is worried about your well-being, and Sango is just ... shocked about how things have turned out, but she'll come around. Kagome glanced up at Miroku doubtfully but the monk rolled his eyes and reached up to rest his hand on her arm, a subtle gesture of his own support and understanding.
She will, he repeated confidently, resisting the urge to scold Kagome for not having enough faith in their mutual friend. Kagome shook her head lightly but didn't argue, instead stepping to the side to keep walking. Miroku sighed quietly but granted Kagome the space she seemed to yearn at the moment. They walked onwards in undisturbed if not slightly tense silence, pondering about their current predicament before Kagome was struck by an idea.
Miroku, I think I need to train, she spoke up suddenly. Miroku turned to look at Kagome questioningly but the words he'd been ready to ask her faltered when he quickly realized what she meant.
You mean train as in ... develop your miko powers? he asked.
And figure out the extent of my reiki! Kagome added.
That certainly would help your control if you trained properly, Miroku mused. And come to think of it, it definitely wouldn't hurt for you to be more prepared for future battles.
Kagome nodded enthusiastically and Miroku could feel her previous anxiety and shame melting away and being replaced rapidly by excitement at the prospect of a new goal to ultimately benefit the wellbeing of her friends.
In fact, I could use additional training myself, Miroku threw in, just to fuel his friend's eagerness. Anything was better than the guilt-ridden shadow they'd apparently left behind on the trail.
This is good, Kagome said, nodding as if in agreement with herself. I can train, figure out the true nature of my powers, you can make sure you keep up with your training, and we'll all be better off in the middle of fights!
She stopped walking abruptly and grasped the arm of Miroku's robes, halting their journey yet again. Miroku wondered absentmindedly how long it would take them to reach Kaede's village at this rate.
Oh, Miroku, you'll help me, won't you? You're far more experienced than any of us when it comes to anything related to spiritual energy. I could really use your help! Kagome exclaimed, her vice-like grip stretching the sleeve of Miroku's robes. He leaned backwards for the sake of personal space but despite himself, he chuckled at his friend's unexpected change in disposition.
You needn't even ask, Kagome, he reassured her instantly. As soon as we get to the village and can ensure Kirara's full recovery, we can talk to Kaede and begin your training immediately.
That settles it then! We'll be back on the road and stronger than ever in no time! Kagome exclaimed and with that, she released her hold on Miroku's robes – for which he breathed a sigh of relief – and resumed their journey with a skip in her step. The ends of her hair whipped by, brushing against Miroku's chin and the monk found himself standing still with a raised eyebrow, caught in a mix of admiration and amusement before cracking a small smile and jogging to catch up with his friend.
The others will be happy to hear of this new development, he told Kagome as he matched her pace. She looked up at him, wide-eyed as if he'd answered the question she was just about to voice.
I know, she smiled nonetheless to show her gratefulness for his words. Sometimes she wondered if she took enough time to let Miroku know how much she appreciated his wisdom and perceptiveness, not just for herself but for their entire group of friends. Compared to Inuyasha's and Sango's quick tempers and her and Shippo's own tendency to panic, Miroku's ability to think things through in the heat of the moment had repeatedly saved their lives. As she walked, Kagome vowed to make more of an effort to show her appreciation.
And to keep a sharper eye on his wandering hand.
Miroku, just because I'm feeling better and the others aren't here, doesn't give you a reason to feel me up, pervert!
Kagome reeled back and punched the helpless monk in the arm as hard as she could to end its journey from her hip to her skirt-clad bottom.
To his credit, the damn monk backed off immediately at her fist's contact and didn't try to pursue her. He raised his hands in defeat and gave her a weak smile. Kagome only tightened her fists and glared at him in response.
I apologize, Kagome, it's going to be a long walk so I–
–so you'll keep your hands off of me otherwise I'll tell both Inuyasha and Sango, Kagome threatened. Miroku flinched at the very thought. He could hardly argue with her since he obviously didn't want Inuyasha, much less Sango, coming after him for his delinquencies. He apologized again for good measure and breathed out shortly in relief when Kagome sighed in exasperation and returned to walk next to his side instead of five steps away.
You're such a strange man, Miroku, Kagome commented bluntly and bitterly, but Miroku only laughed – actually laughed – in response. Him? He was strange enough for his inability to keep his hands off of beautiful women in a world where humans and demons of all types and ages struggled to coexist, where apparently girls like Kagome could travel five hundred years across time whenever they pleased, and where a couple of human teenagers, a hanyou, and two demons were sort of in charge of making sure the world didn't fall into the hands of an annoyingly persistent, tentacle-infested bastard villain. Perhaps it was true; yes, he was a strange one but the world they lived in and protected was far stranger and that in itself was an amusing comfort to the monk. He laughed like he hadn't laughed in months and Kagome stared at her friend helplessly in confusion and worry as they walked.
He didn't offer her an explanation and she didn't ask for one. After yet another exhilarating near-death encounter with yet another demon, his laughter was a welcome sound to both their ears.
x-x-x
「Present Day」
"Kagome and Miroku seem to be training quite well," Sango muses to herself and to Inuyasha, glancing towards the monk and the young priestess-in-training but watching her sparring partner from the corner of her eye.
"Where are you looking!?"
The young taijiya dodges Inuyasha's claws easily, dancing away from the frowning hanyou.
"The fight ain't over yet, Sango!" he calls over to her, cracking his knuckles in preparation for her next move despite knowing fully well that it isn't intimidating the demon slayer one bit. As if to confirm this, Sango gifts him with a delighted smirk.
"Sorry, Inuyasha, but it's not my fault sparring with you today's been so boring," she teases him. "You should really make things more interesting!" She rushes forward swiftly to launch a few quick but effective attacks, her smile still plastered on her face like she's really enjoying herself far more than she should be.
"What!" Inuyasha barks at her, affronted, while raising his arms and shuffling his feet appropriately to block her every move. "We'll see about that!"
In the next second, Inuyasha catches Sango's fist, which had been heading towards his sternum, and flips her successfully, if not sloppily, down onto the grassy floor, thrusting his knee into her stomach just to force the wind out of his friend's lungs. He knows fully well that he's fighting dirty straight from the book and that he'll have to pay for it later but he's also pretty sure she'll start taking the fight more seriously now that he's displaying that he's been practicing some of the new moves she taught him last week. Plus, she's the one who'd stomped all over his bare toes not even three minutes ago. If anyone's fighting dirty right now, it's Sango.
"A little sloppy," Sango grunts from beneath the hanyou, "but not bad."
"Hey, Inuyasha!" The boy's ears perk up as he and Sango look askance towards Kagome's voice. "Take it easy on Sango!"
The young priestess-in-training is clearly not as focused on her meditation as she should be – a fact the monk is fully aware of, if the annoyed twitch of his closed eyes means anything – and though she's still sitting in a meditative position, there's a pretty frown breaking the serenity of her features as she wordlessly scolds Inuyasha from a distance.
"You don't have to be so rough!" Kagome yells at him, and while Inuyasha throws her an incredulous look (he and Sango are sparring, they're supposed to be rough with each other) the only reason Inuyasha doesn't respond verbally is because he can practically feel the threat of the beads of subjugation on the tip of her tongue. Sango chortles underneath him, her laughter broken from their unorthodox position so he removes his knee, letting her breathe properly and throwing her another angry look. Nobody seems to be on his side today.
"Oh, don't give me that look, Inuyasha," Sango chides him lightly, sitting up and reaching over to give one of his ears a fond tug. He wrinkles his nose and yanks his head away from her reach like he always does but he doesn't call her out on it or slap her hand away like he used to. She's been doing that more recently, tugging his ears, and while Inuyasha is definitely the type who would never let anyone touch his precious and sensitive appendages (save perhaps his mother or Kagome for obvious reasons), he's finding that he minds less and less each time Sango does it. He figures it's one of Sango's few ways to show her affection - and it's very much like her, subtle but profound - and he won't lie that it fills the cave in his chest with a little bit of warmth when he thinks about the implications of her actions.
"I haven't done anything to her today, yet it still feels like she's itching to use the beads on me any second now," he mumbles to Sango, casting a quick glance towards Kagome only to whip his head back in fear after catching a glimpse of Kagome's piercing glare.
"I don't know what her problem is!" he complains as Sango smiles to herself and shakes her head, picking herself up off the ground and brushing stray grass and dirt from her legs.
"I wouldn't worry about it, Inuyasha," she reassures her friend placatingly. "You know she's just jealous."
Inuyasha snaps his head upwards and sputters at Sango from his seated position on the floor.
"Wh-what!? Jealous?! Of what? Of who? Of you? But–we're only–"
"Not like that, you moron," Sango interrupts the half-demon's blathering with a roll of her eyes. "I meant just in general, since she's been spending more time with Miroku and you've been with me." When Inuyasha can only respond with a wide-eyed and utterly flabbergasted look on his face, Sango sighs.
"She misses you, Inuyasha; you know how she is. Maybe you should do something nice for her, like find her a hot spring. I think it's been some time since she's had a proper hot bath," Sango suggests. Inuyasha quirks an eyebrow.
"Are you saying she stinks?" Inuyasha asks testily. Sango shoots him a disapproving glare with such heat that the boy starts to sweat. Man, these girls – why are they so angry with him all the time?
"What I'm saying is don't be mean to her just because she's acting jealous unconsciously. You know you've always given her plenty of reason to do so, it's probably second nature to her by now!" With every word she directs at the hanyou, Sango sounds more like she's scolding him and less like she's giving him advice. And bringing up even the vaguest mention of Inuyasha's issues between Kagome and Kikyo prompts him to flatten his ears against his head in shame, turning his nose down to avoid eye contact with the demon slayer.
"Okay, fine, I get it," Inuyasha says indignantly but with a little less bite to his tone. "I'll … I'll keep that in mind." Sango smiles at him gently. If it were anyone else, their words might not mean much, but for Inuyasha it's more than enough, and she's certain he'll make good on his words within the next few days.
"Good," she reaches down to offer her hand and Inuyasha allows her to pull him up. "I'd say we could use a little break, don't you? And I mean all of us." The demon slayer nudges her head discreetly towards their two more spiritually-inclined companions and at their rapidly declining collective focus. Inuyasha can practically smell Kagome's restlessness and Miroku's impatience without even turning his head, which can't be a good combination for either of them.
"Heh," Inuyasha scoffs, "yeah, alright, I'll get the other two. Start cooking up some food or something, I'm hungry as hell." Sango rolls her eyes at Inuyasha's unfailing show of chivalry and waves her hand at him to acknowledge his words and shoo him away.
"And see if Kagome's willing to make me some ramen, too!" Inuyasha adds, not even looking back at Sango as he bounds away.
"Ask her yourself!" Sango yells towards Inuyasha's rapidly shrinking figure before releasing an irritated huff and turning to cover the distance between her and her friends.
"Ask who what?" Miroku asks, looking up as Sango approaches. He seems to have realized that his and Kagome's training is coming to an end for the time being and has since dropped his meditative pose, opting for a more comfortable position on the grass and, at least to Sango, looking quite dashing for some absurd reason.
She blinks away any and all ridiculous thoughts of perverted monks and, ignoring his question, turns to Kagome instead.
"We thought we'd all rest and have some lunch now. Inuyasha's gone to get Kirara and Shippo from the field," she tells the younger girl, who nods and gets up to retrieve her backpack.
"I'm guessing Inuyasha wants me to prepare ramen for him?" Kagome asks Sango with a touch of annoyance, bending over to dig through the endless contents of her rucksack, sifting through spare uniforms, bottles of painkillers, and untouched books in search of one particular flavor of ramen.
"When does he ever eat anything else?" Sango calls back in response, taking a tentative seat in the grass next to Miroku, who throws her an amused smile at her last comment. It sort of elicits strange reactions out of Sango, so the demon-slayer clears her throat and looks at her hands awkwardly.
"Um … so how is your and Kagome's spiritual training going?" she asks conversationally. Miroku sighs and reaches up to rub the back of his neck, throwing a look towards Kagome, who manages to give him a sheepish grin before resuming tending the fire.
"Let's just say that things could be going much faster if some of us," Miroku narrows his eyes pointedly at Kagome, who adamantly refuses to meet his gaze, "could focus for longer than ten minutes at a time."
"Well, I think we could make a lot more progress if we spent less time meditating in unbearable silence and more time actually experimenting with my powers!" Kagome fires back boldly. Miroku's eye twitches in an attempt to reel in the remaining slivers of his patience.
"Kagome, both Kaede and I have been telling you for over a fortnight now that the key to complete control over your spiritual powers is–"
"–complete control over my thoughts, my feelings, and my inner self first, I know," Kagome recites impatiently, placing the kettle back on top of the fire with more force than necessary before turning to her spiritual mentor. "It's just hard to concentrate when we're stuck practicing humming and breathing exercises while Sango and Inuyasha get to spar and sword-fight!" she exclaims, unable to stop the words from rolling off her tongue and flinching when Miroku frowns in response, a crease of hurt in the furrows between his eyebrows.
"I–I'm sorry, Miroku, I really do appreciate everything you've been doing for me and being so patient whenever I have to go back to my time, but it's been over a month and I still feel so useless when it comes to my powers!" Kagome says helplessly, flinging her hands up before letting them drop back down to her lap carelessly. Miroku grimaces and turns to share a familiar look of concern with Sango, who tilts her chin back towards him expectantly. He sighs, says a quick prayer to the Great Buddha, and puts his own impatience aside.
"…I was not lying, Kagome, when I mentioned that your reiki has improved greatly. Frankly, your progress in just a month is astounding compared to that of normal priestesses," he tells Kagome honestly, leaning down to meet her eyes.
"Forgive my impatience earlier. I know you've been pushing yourself with your training and studies back in your own time. I meant you no harm," he says earnestly, looking truly apologetic. Sango feels a surge of pride rush through her, wondering why the stupid monk can't be this sensitive and sincere all the time.
"Oh, you don't have to apologize! It's mostly my fault we're making such slow progress, anyway." Sango arches an eyebrow at Kagome's words.
"Kagome, nobody's at fault. However slow it is, progress is progress. You should see how long it's been taking Inuyasha to pull off a proper flip," she says consolingly, a hint of a smile fighting its way onto the edge of her chin.
"I can hear you, you know!" The eager smirk breaks out fully onto Sango's lips as the three teenagers look up just in time to see Inuyasha leap down to join their little group with Kirara and Shippo hanging onto each shoulder. Letting his passengers drop from his shoulders, Inuyasha watches Kirara make her way over to settle in Kagome's lap and a split second later, bends down just in time to catch Shippo, whose foot had caught on a fold of his fire-rat on the way down from his shoulder. After placing Shippo safely on the grass next to him, Inuyasha directs an angry glare towards Sango like it's second nature.
"I was aware," Sango replies easily, raising an eyebrow, daring him to argue with her. Inuyasha curls his upper lip in annoyance but he doesn't say anything (she's not exactly wrong about the whole flip thing) and settles with growling at his sparring partner under his breath.
"Hey," Shippo interrupts suddenly, sniffing the air with his petite nose, "I smell something funny."
The rest of the group also takes a sniff of the air out of habit, though they're all aware that only Kirara and Inuyasha would be able to detect what Shippo's smelling.
"Hey, nice catch, kid," Inuyasha says after a second with a pleased smirk, ruffling Shippo's auburn hair with his foot before his lips turn down in an unpleasant grimace and his eyes turn to look pointedly at Kagome.
"Oy, Kagome," he says in a flat voice. "Just what flavor of ramen did you bring back from your time?"
Kagome blinks once, then twice, before breaking into an innocent smile.
"I'm not sure what you mean," she replies weakly. "I brought all your favorite flavors, and Shippo's, too!"
"That's funny," Inuyasha says with dangerously narrowed eyes, approaching the young girl slowly. From the corner of his eye, he can see Miroku and Sango rolling their eyes and moving to ignore him and Kagome, opting to prepare their own food instead of listening to the same old banter.
"Why is that funny?" Kagome asks, reaching behind her back slowly, her eyes darting left and right and anywhere but at Inuyasha, who scoffs at her pathetic attempt at lying.
"Keh!" One corner of his mouth turns up in distaste as he folds his arms. "Since when was curry one of Shippo's favorite flavors of ramen?" he finally says with an accusatory tone. Next to him, Shippo snickers but this time at Kagome's expense, an incredibly rare occurrence.
"Shippo!" Kagome reprimands the young demon, who scrambles backwards a few steps closer to Inuyasha.
"What? I can't believe you were going to try to feed him curry ramen," Shippo says defensively. "And he hasn't even done anything bad yet today!"
Inuyasha flinches at the implications of the "yet" but lets it slide because, for once, Shippo's on his side.
"Okay, fine!" Kagome finally exclaims, bringing out the cup of still unopened curry ramen that only Shippo, Inuyasha, and Kirara's noses would have sniffed out so easily. With the offending package out in the air, Kirara hisses at the ramen cup (and at Kagome too, probably) before jumping off of her lap at lightning speed and rushing over to Sango for protection. Kagome rolls her eyes at the nekomata's dramatics and tilts the cup towards Inuyasha and Shippo, who've suddenly retreated a good few feet away from Kagome, cowering at the styrofoam.
"Is this what you boys smelled?" she asks sarcastically.
"Jeez, woman, put that away!" Inuyasha cries out, stumbling backwards even more.
"Don't stop there, burn it!" Shippo adds, clambering up Inuyasha's leg to smother his nose into the fire-rat – anything to block out the smell. Kagome watches the two carefully, a completely deadpan expression on her face.
"What if I just," she reaches down to the cup with her other hand, "did this?" Pulling the tab, Kagome rips open the top of the cup, releasing the full effect of the ramen's smell, not bothering to fight the giggles bubbling up her throat as Inuyasha chokes, grabbing his nose with one hand and pressing Shippo's head against his fire-rat, unknowingly suffocating the boy.
Sango chuckles pleasantly at her younger friends' antics, shaking her head at their silliness. She reaches down to smooth out Kirara's fur, the nekomata purring delightfully in her lap, the soothing sound adding to the already comfortable and familiar atmosphere the group had subconsciously built around themselves. She looks towards Miroku with an unexplainable urge to smile at him or to see if there's already a smile on his face but when her eyes find his, they're focused on the depths of the forest with an ominous intensity and she immediately feels the sudden shift of the very earth she's sitting on.
"Miroku?" she asks worriedly in a hushed tone. He doesn't respond to her immediately but she knows he acknowledges her from the way his fingers twitch in her direction.
"Everyone!" he calls out suddenly, the severity of his tone putting an abrupt end to Kagome's gleeful laughter and Inuyasha's and Shippo's loud whining. "Kagome, I must ask you to put that infernal cup away."
Before Kagome can so much as even look insulted, Miroku swiftly makes eye contact with Inuyasha to communicate the gravity of the situation, a message the hanyou understands instantly, before turning back towards the forest, a look of fierce concentration in the monk's eyes.
"I have a feeling Inuyasha's going to need his nose for this."
His words send the pack into a flurry of action. Kagome closes and seals the lid of the ramen cup, shoving it into the deepest confines of her backpack, its cleanliness be damned. A single small jump brings Inuyasha right next to Miroku's side, rattling Shippo, who climbs up the rest of the way to latch onto his shoulder. Kirara doesn't hesitate to transform into her demon form, her ears flicking this way and that to detect the source of Miroku's aggravation. Kagome and Sango hurriedly pick up their respective weapons before joining Inuyasha and Miroku to face the forest.
"Well?" Sango asks both the monk and the hanyou. "What do you detect?"
"Kagome," Miroku speaks up, his grip on his staff tightening. Kagome meets the monk's gaze questioningly but he only offers her a friendly smile. "Looks like you'll get to try out your new powers after all."
Logically, Kagome knows that she should probably be terrified as hell or nervous to bits at the prospect of having to use her new powers so suddenly on an incoming threat, but she feels none of that. Instead she feels a surge of adrenaline inspiring her to nod confidently at Miroku, reaching behind her to retrieve an arrow from her quiver in preparation. She knows that, logically, however this impending fight will turn out, she'll probably execute most of her spiritual attacks poorly and imperfectly, but even that's hardly bothering her, barely even tainting the courage flowing in her bloodstream. Looking around her, Kagome finds Sango giving her a small and encouraging smile; Kirara snarling excitedly, head rearing back, ready for the fight; Shippo throwing her a nervous but determined grin while rubbing his hands together to prepare his fox-fire; Miroku nodding back at her with complete trust; and Inuyasha – Inuyasha in all his reckless bravery, grinning delightfully in excitement, fingers dancing over Tetsusaiga's handle in anticipation just as they all start to hear an earth-rattling pounding in the distance, steady and quick, getting closer by the second.
"Time to see if all this training's been paying off," Inuyasha says simply. He takes off at a running start, his friends following instantly, and together they launch into their next fight, fists ready, powers crackling, and voices loud and strong, just as they always do.
fin
Notes: I actually started writing this before under this blessed rain and it was painful, frustrating, and difficult for me to follow through with this whole stupid thing. It's another "exercise piece" of mine, in other words, a story to help me get back into the flow of writing after months of not publishing, finishing, or even starting anything. I do hope it at least made you laugh at some parts!
P.S.: I tried the curry-flavored instant ramen once in my life. Just once. Never again.