Chapter 11: Transformation
Kagome looked around nervously, still selfconscious about this. Kaede had promised protection from prying eyes, but the still she worried. When she had first begun this insane quest in the Feudal world, she had utterly resolved, no matter what was said, that she would never complete her miko training. She had grown up in a shrine; she knew what was entailed, and she had decided that, modern woman that she was, she did not need to endure that ordeal. The fateful confrontation with Sesshomaru had changed all of that. It had broken her idealism, shattered her into realizing the danger of this world, her own fragile mortality, and the utter folly of the belief that this was all some dream or crappy TV show where the hero is always stronger, is always invincible, and is always, always right. She knew now that she would have to complete the ritual, no matter how arcane or mortifying it was. It was the only way she would survive.
The training was brutal, made more so by the effort of keeping it hidden from the keen senses and keener instincts of Inuyasha. She didn't know quite why she worked so hard to keep it hidden from him, besides the immediate mortification. Even in the face of his constant degradations, it was a stone wall inside her, bricked with bitter pride at her accomplishments in the face of her sense of uselessness, and mortared with and unwillingness to have an audience until she was sure of her success. So she watched warily, only going out with Kaede to train when she either had a very good excuse, or when she was sure that he wouldn't notice.
What she didn't realize is that even without knowledge of her training, the sharp-eyed hanyou still observed many changes in her. Her body language changed, becoming more self-aware and assured; her muscles became more toned; she looked healthier, brighter; her aura was more controlled, less given to flares and spurts, though still open, flowing. She still acted the same, kind, compassionate, given to fits of anger, and naively friendly to everyone, but she stuttered less, was more composed, and her voice shifted, became less shrill and more full, more river than bubbling stream. Inuyasha didn't know what was causing it, but he feared it, feared it changing his first true friend, and so he tried to undermine it by taunting, being derisive, trying to convince himself that she did need him, that she wasn't strong enough to leave him, and for the most part, she let him. Slowly, though, resentment, fear, and secrecy were picking at the gap in their bond, the hole that was there, created by the inherent mismatch of their souls' edges. The wheels of Fate began to turn.
A/N: As you can see, the storyline is starting to branch further off the canon path. Next chapter will give more details of the actual training and rituals that Kagome is undertaking. WARNING: The rituals I describe will be totally and completely fictional. I am making no attempt to follow the actual Shinto belief system, and no one should be offended by any misconception of the faith that is mentioned in this story. If anyone has real authority on the religion and would like to point out deviancy from any of the basic principles, I am more than happy to hear them, and I will try to be faithful to them if they do not interfere directly with the plot. Beyond that, please do not spam me with complaints. I am completely aware that there is no such ritual, it is simply something I created to enable the plot to develop.
Prompt: Secret