Author's Note: Yeah...I'm back. I finished this chapter like two days after the last one. Thanks to this intersession, I don't have to stress out about school so I tried to get my chapters done now before I couldn't get them done at all. However, I didn't post this up until a week or so after I finished this. Mostly because I needed a little more reviews and I didn't want to post this up soon when the others will be posted up so late. But this one is a long one but you're in for a treat!
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha...
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Chapter 25- Training With Demons
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Lunch bell rang and kids came out of their classrooms, overcrowding the hallways. Girls chatted amongst themselves and giggled their way to their destination and cars were rolling away as students went out to grab some lunch. Inuyasha and Kagome sat at the table and waited for the others to arrive.
"So, Inu, did you write a song yet?" Kagome asked after sitting down.
Inuyasha dropped Kagome's books on the table and sat next to her. "No. Who said I was?" he asked, looking at her confused.
Kagome just sighed as she turned towards him. "Don't act dumb, Inuyasha. You know that you're supposed to write something."
"I'm not supposed to write something," he said, interjecting to get the facts straight. Inuyasha watched as Kagome shook her head and he slipped his hand across her waist, bringing her closer next to him. Kagome just got comfortable next to his side, burrowing herself further in his comfort.
"I know you want to. I can tell." Kagome waited a moment to make sure that he knew he could interject at any moment, but he didn't. So Kagome continued. "I know that the others see you as their leader, or at least band leader. I know you can do it Inuyasha. I have faith in you."
Inuyasha scrunched his eyebrows, not really liking Kagome putting so much faith in him. He was just some high school boy, not doing outstanding in school, just well. He wasn't good enough for the spotlight, for organizing and making a band and to lead the band. Inuyasha, however, started to relax. He found strength in the person next to him. Kagome believed in him and she believed that he could do all the things that he thought he couldn't do. A small smile appeared on his lips, while his eyes showed a different emotion, one unbeknownst to even himself.
"Thanks, Kagome."
Kagome smiled as she heard him. 'I know you can do it, Inuyasha.' Kagome closed her eyes and calmed as she felt the wind hit against her face to comfort her worries. 'You can do anything you want… and I will always be by your side.'
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It was a Saturday and the kids were bored out of their minds. Miroku had called Kagome and Kikyo to let them know that he was going to go over Inuyasha's with Sango to hang out. So the two girls agreed to go and now the four of them were on their way to Inuyasha's house. They finally made it to the gate and Shin's face popped up on the monitor.
"May I help you?" he asked through the speaker.
Miroku looked at the computer surprised. He hasn't seen a house with this kind of technology at the front gate. Usually there would be a real person standing guard, but it was just a computer screen. Somehow, this man always seemed to know when a car would pull up to the gate. Miroku became curious and started to wonder on how this computer in front of him worked.
"Hello?" Shin asked.
Sango slapped Miroku's arm and he finally snapped out of it. "Oh. Sorry." Sango just sighed as she looked back at the computer. "We're here to see Inuyasha." Miroku said.
Shin nodded. "Your name, so I can let him know you're here."
Kagome then popped out from the back. She made her way between the two seats and got comfortable to see Shin on the monitor. "Hey Shin."
Shin's eyebrows arched and he smiled. "Hi Kagome. Coming to see your ignorant boyfriend?"
Sango and Miroku chuckled as Kagome laughed and nodded. "Yes. But you know, if Inuyasha ever heard you say that, he'll 'pound you to a pulp'." Kagome remembered all the times Inuyasha would threaten Shin and want to kick his butt.
Shin just laughed and shrugged. "Yeah. If he can."
"Can you not tell him we're here? I don't want him to know," Kagome said as she had a mischievous smirk on her face.
Shin smiled and nodded as the gate opened in front of them. "Sure. See you later, Kagome."
"Bye, Shin." Kagome said as she moved back to sit down and Miroku started his way towards the home of the Takahashi's. He made his way to the front door and parked his car next to the stairs. Everyone got out and walked towards the door.
Sango pressed the button to ring the bell. The kids waited for a while until the door finally opened, however, it wasn't a Takahashi. A girl wearing a light blue apron and a white dress stood in the door way. She had a merry smile and a mop was in her right hand. "Hello." she said.
The girls smiled to her in greeting. "Hi," Kagome said. "Is Inuyasha home?"
The young woman nodded and made way for the guests to enter. "The males are in the dojo and Ms. Izayoi is out." The group made their way inside the house and the maid closed the door behind them. She led the others through the living room, intending on going to the backyard.
"If you don't mind me asking, who are you?" Kikyo asked. She didn't hear anything about Inuyasha having a sister, and judging from this girl's clothing, she has to be a maid. But she has never thought that they would have a maid, at least not this young girl.
"My name's Keisha. I work here and I clean the Takahashi's home." she said, ever so cheery. Everyone seemed content as they found out who they were following and what she was doing in this home. Keisha made her way down the hall. "Are you all friends of Inuyasha?" she asked, without turning around.
"Yeah," Miroku said, looking around as he tried to find something interesting to look at. He was still trying to memorize his way around Inuyasha's house and he doubted that he ever will remember which way was which.
"I see. Inuyasha is one lucky guy. He never did have friends who would come over to spend time with him," Keisha said. Kikyo scrunched her eyebrows and wondered about this girl and if she has worked here for a long time. 'Maybe she has been working for them for a while. I'll just have to ask Inuyasha.'
They finally made their way to the opposite end of the house. Keisha opened the back door for them as the others made their way outside into the cool breeze. "The right side of the house is the dojo." Keisha said, leading them off the stairs and onto the stone path. "It's a little ways in the thicket of trees but you should see it as you make your way into the trees."
After a few minutes of walking and sightseeing, they finally spotted the dojo. It was huge. Kagome began to wonder on how such a huge building can be kept so secluded and unobtrusive. The dojo seemed it reached to the middle line of the trees so the trees could hide it easily. It was made out of wood and there were no windows on the front side. They made their way to the door and Miroku opened it up for the girls.
Kagome walked in first, after Keisha, with her sister right behind. They were met with steps, so the group climbed the steps to hear a loud sound, like metal hitting metal. It could be heard so sharply and the girls wondered if someone was fighting to the death. They made their way down a small hall with one door on each side and daggers hanging on both walls. Miroku looked around and was marveled at the number of weapons there were, especially of one kind. 'These must be old…' He continued to look at the designs on the handles of the daggers. 'Grandfather would love to see these.'
Keisha finally stopped as they got to the end of the hallway and entered this huge, empty room. The group could still hear the clashing but they couldn't see where it was coming from. The room was built with bamboo sticks for the side walls and there were windows on the roof for the light to spill through and square holes were made in the bamboo walls to let air spill through. There were no carpet on the ground and there seemed to be another room at the far end of this main room.
Sango looked around as the noise continued, so did the others. They were wondering where it was coming from. "They're fighting."
Miroku looked towards Sango and seemed confused. "What do you mean, Sango?"
Sango seemed to be following something as her head moved from left to right. "Inutaisho, Sesshomaru and Inuyasha are fighting each other. That's what's making the noise of metal hitting metal. But they're moving so fast…I can't tell where they are." Sango's face looked strained as she desperately tried to locate the fighting demons, but to no avail. She finally gave up and looked to the others. Keisha had a smile on her face. 'Why is she still smiling?' Sango cocked her eyebrow at the girl's weird personality. She wondered how close she could be with the Takahashi's and her relationship with them. Maybe she was just an old friend. Who knows.
After a moment, the noise stopped. Everyone looked around and saw three figures on each side of the room. Inutaisho was directly in front of them, at the far end of the room. Inuyasha was to the left, near the wall and Sesshomaru was to the right. Both of the boys were looking at their father intently. They seemed to be waiting for him to move. They all had no shirts on, just a pair of red shorts, but they were sweating a lot. Inuyasha had his hair braided, while Inutaisho and Sesshomaru just had their hair in a high ponytail.
Kagome looked back and forth at all three of them. They held their swords with such effortless, like they have been holding a sword forever. Also, their posture was calm as they regained their control of their breathing, making it more slowly. Kagome was marveled at how well they could fight. 'I don't remember Inuyasha being good at fighting when we were younger. It seems like he had to have learned long ago to fight, in order to fight so well now.' Kagome smiled at all of them, finding them impressive and she envied their strength, wishing she could have what they had. Kagome suddenly frowned, her mood suddenly changing and her aura darkened with her.
Inuyasha's ears twitched for a moment and he took his eyes off his father to turn around. He saw Kagome with her head down and Inuyasha threw his sword down, making his way towards her. Sesshomaru side-eyed his brother to see what he was doing and realized that they had a huge audience, but also, Kagome's aura had somewhat changed. Sesshomaru looked back to his father to see that even he felt the change. Inutaisho soon ridded his fighting stance and walked towards the group of teenagers near the entrance.
"Hi Inuyasha," Sango said as Inuyasha came closer to them. Inuyasha spared each of them a glance and arched his eyebrows in greeting.
Inuyasha got in front of Kagome and stopped, tilting his head to try and get a better view of Kagome's face. Kagome knew that the three demons could tell her aura changed so she tried to cheer up, think of happier thoughts. She raised her head and brightened at Inuyasha.
"Hi, Inu," she said with a cheery smile on her face. Her eyes shined at him and Inuyasha became confused on her change of personality. He wanted to know what happened to that other Kagome, the Kagome that needed him. He could feel her distress and it ate at him, but now, Kagome was smiling at him like nothing happened. Inuyasha felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked to see his father standing next to him with Sesshomaru next to his other side.
"Good morning everyone," Inutaisho said, holding the sword by the handle so that the tip of the sword was facing behind him.
The group smiled at him as Keisha nodded. "Have fun, you guys," she said as she made her way back towards the door and out to the house to continue with her cleaning.
Kikyo smiled at Inutaisho and chuckled. "Is this what you guys do every morning?"
Inutaisho let his hand fall from Inuyasha's shoulder and he shook his head. "No. Although I wish this could happen every morning. But Sesshomaru and I don't have to go in to the office today so I figured that we could do a little training." Inutaisho turned around and they all could see the sweat that glistened on his back. He walked towards the other end of the room. "We all know that these two boys need it." he called.
Sesshomaru growled at his father's words. "This Sesshomaru does not need training. It is Inuyasha who can't guard well."
Sesshomaru moved towards where his father was going. Inuyasha spun around and growled at his brother's back. "Yeah right. I almost had you, Sesshomaru."
Sesshomaru stopped in his movements and turned his head to look back at Inuyasha. "You did not almost have me, Inuyasha. You can never almost have your enemy. It is either you have them, or they have you. Either way, one of you will die." Sesshomaru continued towards his father.
Inutaisho turned around with a towel in his hand as he wiped his face from all the dripping sweat. "Your brother is right, Inuyasha. However, killing each other does not have to be the result." Sesshomaru made no sign of his father's views as he made his way to grab himself a towel.
Inuyasha turned around from the two and looked back towards Kagome. "What are you guys doing here?"
Kagome just smiled. "We wanted to bother you." she said with an added giggle.
Kikyo just giggled too. "We were bored and Miroku was coming to visit anyways, so Kagome and I followed."
"But it seems like you're already busy," Sango said.
"Nonsense," Inutaisho said. He had to speak a little loud for the others to hear on the other side of the room. There was an echo in this hollow room but humans will be humans. Yet, with the demons' hearing, Inutaisho could hear what they were saying perfectly. "Why don't you all join us? It should be entertaining."
Miroku chuckled at the thought and scratched his head. "Entertaining? I don't think that I'll make a nice punching bag for you all."
Inutaisho just arched his eyebrow and chuckled. "That was not what I had in mind. Maybe you all should join me and my sons. We all could train together and teach each other new things."
Inuyasha nodded and grabbed Kagome's hand. He led her towards his brother and father as the group followed behind him. They made their way at the far end and Inuyasha took them into the back room. He opened the door and they were all greeted with many different kinds of weapons. Thousands of them were hanging from the wall, placed in their sheaths on the shelves, placed in buckets; everywhere.
Sango looked around, interested. She was impressed at the number of weapons the Takahashi's had, and the various kinds too. She saw many different weapons, many of which she hasn't seen before. Some were also uniquely shaped that made her awe at their design. Miroku walked into the room after the girls and walked along the walls to thoroughly inspect the weapons. He hasn't seen so many amounts in one place, and this room was huge with many weapons stored inside. Miroku saw numerous amounts of swords, staffs, bows, katanas, and even small daggers. The weapons ranged from small, to big.
Kagome stayed by Inuyasha's side with her hand in his. She looked around and was marveled at all the weapons. She looked towards her side at her sister and could tell that even Kikyo was impressed. The sound of Sango's gasp brought them all out of their stupor and they all turned their eyes towards Sango. She was currently staring absentmindedly at the far wall. Kagome looked behind Inuyasha to see a huge boomerang hung up on the wall. It had its own little spot with two swords underneath it. The swords were fairly small in their sheaths and they had golden rope connected to its handle for tying to the waist.
Inutaisho made his way in the room and stopped behind Kagome and Kikyo. "Do you recognize that?" his deep voice asked, making Sango aware of her surroundings but she couldn't take her eyes off the weapon.
Sango dumbly nodded as Miroku walked over to her side to give her support. The two walked closer to the wall because Sango seemed to want to touch the boomerang. Inutaisho watched as his old friend's daughter recognized her mother's boomerang. He remembered what Amaya had told him when he obtained that weapon.
Flashback
Inutaisho stood in a barren field of grass. The wind played with his hair as it brought the smell of fresh death deep into his senses. His whole body reacted to the smell and his senses reached out to find his mate, making sure she was still safe. Inutaisho then felt a presence behind him. He turned around to see a woman wearing a short, dark green kimono with a red obi. She had her hair in a high ponytail and her face shown signs of weariness. Her eyes held so much knowledge and courage, a woman of no fear.
A huge boomerang was slung around her shoulder with her left hand holding it. The woman stood her distance for a moment, watching the inu-yokai. Her eyes suddenly darkened, falling to a deep sadness and her aura radiated with fatigue. The woman finally started to walk towards Inutaisho, her steps long but slow. She took every step with caution, knowing that her body was so fragile, afraid that a rock could break her. However, through all her weakness, she firmly held her weapon with such strength and her senses desperately searched the area for signs of demonic disturbances.
"Amaya," Inutaisho said, making his way towards the woman. She stopped her steps as Inutaisho finally approached her and they were just a foot apart.
"Inutaisho," Amaya said, her voice sounding scratchy. She hadn't had a sip of water since two days ago and her body was exhausted. Still, she would not back down. Danger was around and she couldn't let her guard down. She was taught not to.
"What has happened to you?" Inutaisho knew that if he tried to offer help and take that huge weapon off her back, she would deny him. That's just how she was. He knew her to be such a courageous and unafraid woman, but sometimes, being too much can take its toll of the person.
Amaya felt the wind against her face and it was as if she could hear the voices of the demons screaming at her through their rage. It wasn't over. "I stopped most of them up north. It seems like they're coming from underground."
Inutaisho nodded, not understanding how or where the demons are coming from, and their purpose. This has been going on for a week and the demons had not stopped their appearances. "However, it is over. The demons have seemed to retreat back into some sort of portal. I could not track them down and their scent perished once they went through some sort of gateway."
Amaya listened intently, taking everything in. It was over? The demons left and she can finally rest. She can let her guard down, take a breath, she can stop fighting. However, Amaya did not show her happiness. Her face was still plastered with weariness but determination. She wanted to make sure that everything was safe. "Your mate. Is she safe?"
Inutaisho nodded. "Yes. I have reached her and there seems to be no demonic energy near her. Nor can I feel it anywhere else. Wherever those demons have gone, they are not in Japan anymore."
Amaya nodded, her fingers on the boomerang loosening a bit. "Inutaisho." Inutaisho looked towards her with care and worry. Her voice suddenly turned to almost a whisper floating in the wind. It held such exhaustion but Amaya did a good job on not showing any signs of her weakness too much.
"I want to ask you a favor."
Inutaisho looked to her expectantly. "Anything."
"I want you to keep this for me," she said, bringing her weapon to the front of her and sticking one end in the ground so she didn't have to support all its weight. It was finally taking its toll on her. "I want you to have this."
Inutaisho looked at the boomerang and reluctantly shook his head. "I cannot, Amaya. It is your family's possession. I cannot take it from you."
Amaya shook her head. "No. You must. I feel that I cannot fight anymore. I don't think that my body can take it." She felt a tear fall from her eye and wondered when she started to cry. She couldn't tell, everything was numb to her. This fighting was too much. "The Hiraikotsu has been in my family for years and it has been passed down to me. But I feel that I don't have the strength anymore to wield it. I'm tired Inutaisho."
Inutaisho nodded, understanding what she was feeling. "I know, Amaya. This week has really taken its toll on you. You must feel weak as ever after fighting all those demons for this past week. If you wish it, I will hold your weapon for you. I will keep it with me until you feel like you can wield it again."
Amaya smiled to him in thanks. "Thank you. I'm getting old." Inutaisho arched his eyebrow at her and she smiled even more. "I'm a human, Inutaisho. I grow and age faster than you. I want to live. I want to stop this killing and fighting. That's all I was taught to do. I feel ashamed that I can't make my father and mother proud of me for doing what my family has been doing for ages. But I can't do this anymore."
The wind played its last dance with the two occupants on the barren field. The field was plagued with disturbing images that happened a couple of days ago. It will forever be remembered as a place of taint and destruction.
"Maybe…maybe I can pass it down to one of my children. Maybe I can teach them to wield it, far greater than I could. Myself and the Hiraikotsu will take our eyes off of death for a while and I will see to it that my children will master its power."
"This was my mother's," Sango said, grazing her finger on the boomerang. She could feel several bumps here and there but she didn't mind that. Sango could feel the power radiating off this weapon and she could feel her mother's touch surrounding it, enveloping the weapon as if it was her child.
Inutaisho moved a little closer to the young girl. "Yes, it is Sango. Your mother was a strong woman. She had fought along my side in a battle. I thank her for her courage and willpower."
Sango turned around to look at Inutaisho. Her eyes sought for answers and her mind was reeling. "How do you know my mother? And why is her weapon here? When did you fight with her?" Sango blared out these questions without even thinking. She just wanted, no needed, answers.
Inutaisho put his hand up to stop her from asking anymore. He would answer some, but he knew that Amaya would want to talk to her daughter about it herself. "Your mother and I are old friends. I knew her from when she was about your age. We were great friends and there was a war that called for our assistance. We fought together, for a whole week. The demons outnumbered us but we held our ground, and so did our allies. However, at the end, your mother was so exhausted and tired. She looked like she had seem enough blood and death in her young years. Your mother was only twenty years old and she had told me that she felt old. The war had taken your mother's strength and determination in becoming a great demon exterminator. But, it also brought her to make other great accomplishments."
Sango took everything in, realizing things that she never knew true about her mother. Her mother hadn't told her anything about a war. She knew that she came from a line of demon exterminators but she didn't know that her mother was part of a war. Especially with Inutaisho Takahashi. Sango intended on going home and talking to her mother about all of this. She would get some answers, but for now, it felt like the boomerang was calling her. Sango turned around to gaze back at the wooden weapon.
"Your mother would want you to have it. She wanted me to hold it, right after the war ended. She wanted to give it to her children, and I believe she would want you to have it." Inutaisho watched as Sango moved even closer to the boomerang. She seemed hesitant to touch it and bring it down from the hook. Inutaisho moved beside her and brought it down for her. Sango watched as he brought it to her side and she finally got to support its weight. It was heavy, but she will learn how to use it, just like her mother did. "It's called the Hiraikotsu."
Sango nodded and looked towards Inutaisho. "Can I bring it home with me?"
Inutaisho nodded, not really having a saying in whether or not she could. He told Amaya that he would hold it, not be responsible on whether or not he could allow her children to take it.
Kagome smiled at Sango's happiness. She could feel Sango radiating with joy and anticipation at getting to try out the 'Hiraikotsu'. Inutaisho turned around to the rest of the group, who stood by and watched.
"So…is everyone ready to get some training done?" he asked.
Inuyasha smirked and turned towards Kagome. "You're gonna have to pick a weapon, Kagome."
Kagome looked at him and blinked. "Oh…yeah, I do."
Kikyo looked around and tried to spot something that she would like to use. She gazed at all the different swords but she finally fell for a katana. Kikyo walked towards the katana and picked it from its hook. The katana was as long as her waist down and the handle was nicely woven from leather. She went back to Kagome and smiled.
"This is nice," she said. Kagome looked at her sister and then the weapon in her hands.
"Yeah." she simply said. Inuyasha tugged on her hand to make her look at him.
"Pick something." Kagome searched Inuyasha's eyes for a way out of this. She wasn't a fighter. She didn't know how to use swords and fight. Kagome looked at the walls surrounding her with weapons. She saw Miroku walk up to a wall filled with many kinds of staffs. He picked one staff with a long base and at the tip, there was one hoop with some kind of symbol in the middle of the hoop. On either side of the symbol, there laid four smaller hoops, two on each side. Miroku spun the staff around twice to get a good measure on it and he found that he was comfortable with the weapon.
Kagome sighed, not finding anything that she liked. Inuyasha, however, started to get bored. "Okay Kagome. Anytime now."
Kagome glared at him and huffed. "I'll just sit out for this."
Inutaisho interjected, walking towards the pair. "Of course not. There has to be something that you like."
Kagome shook her head. "I'm not that good with weapons."
Inutaisho just shrugged. "Neither were we all. But as time went on, we soon developed a better understanding of how to wield one. I'm quite sure that you could be good at one weapon, at least."
Kagome shook her head. She didn't want to let them know that she had experience with swords before. That was her personal information that she didn't want to tell. Inutaisho, however, knew that she must have some kind of experience with at least one weapon. 'I know that the monks back at Naiku Shrine must have taught her how to use some kind of weapon.' Inutaisho didn't know the circumstance with her spiritual powers, however. He knew that Kagome did possess those ancient powers, he felt that surge in her when she was but a little girl. "Do you know how to use ofudas?"
Kagome nodded. "Yes." She hesitated, already knowing that Inutaisho must know where she had gone where she was a little girl. Her mother had told her that Aunt Izayoi kept calling everyday after they left for Hiroshima, and asked about Kagome's welfare. Kira couldn't lie to Izayoi any longer and told her that Kagome was sent to a spiritual school in Ise. However, Kira hadn't relayed any deeper information than needed be. Izayoi just figured that Kagome was sent there because she had spiritual powers, and also, to keep a great distance between Inuyasha and Kagome. However, Kira never had a problem with letting the Takahashi's now about her spiritual powers.
Kagome sighed, knowing that she has to come clean sooner or later. It was only obvious that Inutaisho would know she had some experience in at least one weapon, especially the bow. Kagome smiled to Inutaisho. "I do know how to use the bow."
Inutaisho smiled and nodded. "Alright. The bow it is." He walked towards the door back out into the main room. "Find one of your liking and then we all shall start." Inutaisho walked out with Sango following behind him. Miroku stayed in the room until Kikyo walked out with Inuyasha. Miroku followed behind the two and Kagome was left alone to look over the different kinds of bows.
The bows were nicely decorated with many different carvings on the wood. She was fascinated at some of them. Some of the bows had ancient kanji symbols on them that gave the bows even greater power if used the way it was inscribed. 'Amazing.' Kagome smiled, wishing that her brothers were here with her to see the different kanji symbols that their ancestors wrote. She finally settled for a less decorative one, however, it had no kanji. It was just a plain, wooden bow with a string and the handle was made of black strap. Kagome grabbed a quiver of arrows and walked outside to meet with the others.
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An hour later, the group was finally finished with practice. The girls were exhausted. Kagome fell to her butt and laid the bow down. She gasped for air and laid her arms on her bended knees. Kagome looked around to the others. Miroku was next to Inuyasha, both leaning against one of the walls. The two seemed worn out but they still had their hands clasped around their weapons. Kikyo was next to Sango sitting on the ground. They were sweating probably more than she was as she saw lines of water glide down their faces to fall off their jaw line. Kagome smiled, really having outdone herself, but she felt good. She felt like she just exercised for a week and now her body was aching, but it was calling for a break.
Inutaisho had one towel hanging from his neck and one in his right hand. He bended down towards Kagome and offered the towel, gratefully taken from her. She eagerly wiped off all of the sweat from her face and regained her breathing to a slower pace. "You did well, Kagome."
Kagome turned to look Inutaisho in his eyes. "Thanks Uncle Inutaisho."
Inutaisho smiled, revealing her his demons fangs. She arched an eyebrow at the look he was giving her, and in a way, she saw a sense of playfulness in his mature features. Kagome genuinely smiled and wondered about her past with this family.
"I must say, the monks at the shrine must have trained you well." Inutaisho offered her a hand and Kagome gratefully too it. She got to her feet easily and Inutaisho held her for a while so she could get her footing.
"My brothers did teach me well and I thank them for their knowledge that they have passed down to me," she said, looking at Inutaisho with a certain gleam in her eyes. Inutaisho was speechless at what her eyes spoke. Kagome's young eyes shined with knowledge of one far more older than she. He was surprised at this and wondered what Kagome had gone through for the past 10 years. 'This young woman… what have you learned in your life for you to have such wisdom?' he wondered.
Inutaisho smiled at Kagome and bent down to pick up her empty quiver. "Come. Let's go retrieve your arrows and you can help me with putting back some of the weapons." Kagome smiled and nodded, following behind him as they walked towards the archery target imbedded with her arrows.
Inuyasha walked towards the entrance hall to grab some towels. He walked into one of the rooms and got some small hand towels for he and Miroku. However, he turned around and bumped into Kikyo.
"Sorry," they said, mumbling it at the same time they hit each other. Kikyo giggled and looked at his sweaty form.
"You smell like a dog, Inuyasha," she teased.
Inuyasha glared at her and sniffed. "Don't be thinking so highly of yourself, stinky."
Kikyo just gasped as if she was hurt. She playfully hit him and grabbed a towel of her own. She dabbed her jaw line with it to get all the falling drops off her face. Inuyasha watched her and fell into a silence. Kikyo realized that he wasn't moving but just staring. She frowned, finding the mood they were currently in awkward and unpleasant. She desperately wanted to talk to him; alone. However, she didn't know if she should.
"Can I talk to you…Inuyasha?" she asked. Inuyasha's ears perked at her question and he made no move to deny.
"About?" he asked, flinging one of the towels on his left shoulder. Kikyo watched as it fell on his shoulder and kept her eyes on the towel.
"Can we go outside and talk about it?"
Inuyasha nodded, leading her out the door and outside the dojo. They got into the cool air and their bodies silently relaxed at the refreshing touch. The sun hit them full force and Kikyo was thankful for its warmth, even though she was still hot from the previous training exercises that they had to do. The two began a slow walk, keeping close to the dojo. Inuyasha made no efforts to rush her and he started to realize that Kikyo wanted to talk about something serious, or else she would have come out with it already. He felt a little awkward himself. Things have been going so fast the past year and he hasn't even realized that a year went by ever since he broke up with Kikyo and went out with her sister.
Kikyo looked up into the branches of the trees and figured she should just spill it already. "How are you, Inuyasha?"
Inuyasha looked towards her to see Kikyo's face directly looking at the sky. She had a sort of serene expression and at that moment, he thought she looked beautiful. Inuyasha turned back towards the path they were walking on. "What do you mean?"
Kikyo smirked at the sky, knowing that he would want her to clarify. It was hard for her to ask him this. Such a delicate question; one wrong answer and it could affect so many people's lives. Kikyo looked back to the path they were on, finding the grass interesting to look at. "I want to know if you're happy."
"If I'm happy?" he mimicked. Inuyasha smirked at Kikyo's lack of getting her questions straight. He knew that she wants to ask about the relationship he was having with her sister, but he also knew that it was hard for her to come out with it. God only knows that he wanted to know how Onigumo was treating her. He took a deep breath and realized that Kikyo was still pure. 'Onigumo hasn't taken her innocence yet.' Inuyasha found himself content and smiling at that fact, although he didn't know why.
Kikyo found the long silence too much for her and she suddenly stopped. Inuyasha stopped abruptly after finding out that Kikyo wasn't' next to him anymore. He turned around and couldn't see Kikyo's face, hidden by her hair.
"Are you happy with my sister, Inuyasha?" she asked again, this time, putting a little more determination in her voice. She needed to know. She needed to know if he felt the same way she was feeling.
Inuyasha stared at the top of her head for a moment, not knowing how to answer that question. Was he happy with Kagome? Of course he was. They've been going out for a year. But…something was still missing. It was like he didn't know if he was truly happy with Kagome. Maybe…he wasn't. Inuyasha was so confused and he didn't know how to react to her question. "I'm happy Kikyo." That's all he could say to her. There was nothing else to confess, he was happy, it's just that he didn't know what was making him happy.
Kikyo looked up to him with a genuine smile and glistening eyes. He couldn't smell her tears so she couldn't be on the break of crying, but her eyes held happiness. Inuyasha, however, knew better. He could somewhere see a sort of sadness, deep within her chocolate orbs that he had fallen for long ago. He could tell that something was wrong with the Kikyo he knew.
"That's good. I'm happy now," she said. Kikyo grabbed his hand with a small smile and led him back to the dojo. The whole while, Inuyasha let Kikyo drag his lifeless body. He watched her intently, trying to decipher what she really wanted to tell him. He could sense that something was bothering her but he couldn't put a finger on it, and it was eating him up to know that something was bothering Kikyo and he couldn't help her.
The two finally made it back to the front of the dojo to see Kagome and Sango coming out of the door. Kikyo immediately dropped Inuyasha's hand and smiled at the two girls who giggled their way down the stairs.
"There you two are," Sango said. She stopped in front of Kikyo with a still giggling Kagome next to her. Inuyasha stood behind Kikyo as she arched an eyebrow at Kagome's laughter.
"What's so funny Kagome?" Kikyo asked, finding a chuckle rise in her throat at Kagome's contagious laughter.
Sango snorted, forgetting about being a well-mannered girl. "Miroku got picked on by Sesshomaru and Inutaisho. He's in there right now, helping the two with a so-called 'sword cleaning'." Kikyo looked behind the two girls at the two doors that were opened, but empty. "However, I hope that they clean the sword with him. He was making fun of Inutaisho's and Sesshomaru's tail and so they started to pick on him." Sango said. She jokingly laughed about it as Kagome still held her laughing fit.
Kikyo just chuckled at the two girls. "Stop picking on him you guys. It's not nice. He probably didn't mean it."
Sango just shrugged as Inuyasha did the same. "Who cares. My father and brother doesn't like it when someone talks about their tail. Especially Sesshomaru. He's so anal about that." Inuyasha said. Kagome looked to him and smiled, finding his presence relaxing after wondering where he had disappeared to for the past ten minutes. She was about to look for him after helping Inutaisho with putting away some of the weapons, but she couldn't find him in the dojo. Nor her sister. So she decided to stay with the others and hope he returned.
Miroku finally made his way out. He looked even more tired than before and he seemed to be producing even more sweat to add on to his sweaty body. Sango watched as he made his way towards them, all the while, the girls tried not to laugh at him. They really tried.
"So…Miroku…how was it?" Kagome asked, holding in her laughter.
Miroku just glared at her. "Thanks for your concern now, Kagome."
Kagome nodded her head. "Your welcome." The other two girls started to laugh and they led the others back to Inuyasha's house to get cleaned up and have something to drink. Inuyasha walked next to Miroku behind the girls and he slapped his hand on Miroku's sweaty back.
"They got you good, didn't they?" Inuyasha said with a satisfied smirk.
"I don't see what's so funny. At least I didn't get a good treatment." Miroku thought of how terrible it would be if they decided to do something to him during their 'sword cleaning'. He was shitting bricks the whole time being around those inu-yokai. Now that it was over, he realized that he will not mention anything about their tails again. Miroku heard Inuyasha laughing and he turned to see his so-called 'friend' with a huge grin on his face.
"Alright, alright." he said. Miroku suddenly wanted to change the subject off him. "So did your brother find any sponsors yet?"
Inuyasha took his hand off Miroku's back and slowly stopped laughing. "He said that he's still looking into it. He hasn't found any worthy companies yet, whatever that means. Worthy, to my brother, has high standards and I'm hoping that he won't reject all the companies."
Kagome turned around to talk to the boys while she continued walking. "Don't worry about it. I'm quite sure that your brother has it under control. Plus, you still have to write a song so it doesn't matter about him finding a company right now. You guys have to start making songs first."
The girls nodded their heads and said their own agreements. Inuyasha and Miroku felt a little outnumbered and they knew that things had to get done. "Yeah we know," Miroku said.
The group finally made it back to Inuyasha's house and they all went to the kitchen to get some fresh, cold water. In there, they talked about their plans for making their first song, or at least Inuyasha's first song. Inuyasha had mentioned that he wanted to make one after they get a suitable company to back them up. He didn't want to write a song and get all pumped about having a band if they're not really going to have one in the end. So the boys decided that they would wait until they had a music producing company, and then they will get the singing underway.
-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-
The Takahashi's dojo was huge. I was surprised that the trees in their backyard could veil a building of that size. The dojo was also a place for us to relax whenever we needed a break from the outside world, or to release pent up energy. That definitely went well most of the time. But my first time there was a real experience. I haven't seen so many weapons belonging to one family in my life.
Looking at the weapons the Takahashi's had in their back room, also added to the weapons that hung on the hallway as you walk in, and, the bamboo walls inside the main room, that was a lot of weapons to one's collection. I know that my Brothers would have been highly impressed, but not that surprised. They would have figured that 'the' Inutaisho Takahashi would have many weapons, all ancient and worth a large amount. However, I was surprised, in the least, and I couldn't believe at the number of weapons they had. It was as if they were waiting for a war. They were waiting for the future to come. I wonder if it was fate. Maybe.
My dear sister, did you love him still? I wondered through the year he and I had been going out if maybe, just maybe, that the connection between the two of you was still strong. I believe that for a first love, the connection and bond that the two of you create is one that transcends time. It never leaves the heart and your soul shall remember it as your heart gets swayed to love another. That memory you made with your first love, your first kiss, it still lives in you. I wondered if you and him never forgot. Maybe it was fate after all. Sometimes I wondered if I should have had him at all.
Life goes on…
Okay now...that was good, right? I liked it. And I'm impressed at how fast I wrote it. I can type and come up with ideas for my story really fast, it's just the time I have to type them, that's the problem. But I hope that I didn't bum you out with not going detailed on the training they had. Trust me...it would have been too long. But don't worry. The next one will be great. I'm working on it now and I have butterflies in my stomach. I'm loving it...and I know you'll like it too. Please tell me what you thought about this one!
-Kaleialohalani