December 4
I was back at training with Anana this morning with my bow and arrow in my hands. I remembered everything that Inuyasha had told me yesterday and I was ready to give this my all. I wanted to prove to not only Anana, but myself, that I was capable of this.
"Are you ready?" Anana said as she stood next to me watching me carefully. She always had this look on her eyes like she was analyzing me. It was like she always knew something about me that I didn't know.
"I am," I said.
"Give it your best shot."
I took a deep breath. My arrow glowed with spiritual energy. I could feel it coursing through me invigorating me to give it my all.
I can do this, I said to myself. I am more than capable of this. I looked deep inside myself looking for my own sources of courage, friendship, wisdom, and love.
I could see the four pillars of spiritual energy around me. I asked them to give me strength.
Finally, I let the arrow fly. It glowed even more as it picked up speed and it was an immense explosion of light as it hit, and completely obliterated its target. Even the surrounding trees were blown away.
Then I heard a scream and a crash. "Kagome, are you trying to kill me?!" Inuyasha exclaimed.
I gasped. The blast had been so strong that it had blown Inuyasha out of the tree he was sitting in. "Oh no!" I ran over and found him on the ground rubbing his head. I bent down and hugged him. "Honey, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"
"That was crazy!" he said but he was smiling. "Good work."
Anana walked over to us and I looked at her expectantly.
"How did I do?"
"Very good," Anana said with approval. "This is what I was hoping you would allow this to be released from you. You've found the source of your power and you were able to utilize it. You would have certainly purified your husband if he had been any closer."
Inuyasha looked between a mix of horrified and impressed.
"I'm very impressed, Kagome. Continue to use your spiritual powers this way and they will become second nature to you," Anana said. "Let's try something a little more difficult. Go stand over there."
I stood in front of the shrine where she was pointing. Inuyasha followed and sat behind me on the porch since his tree was now destroyed. I watched curiously as Anana pulled out a fancy looking box. Luckily I didn't have to wait long to find out what was in it.
"Drop your bow," Anana said. "As we discussed a few days ago, a priestess must be able to use her powers without having to channel it through an external item. I want you to purify this evil spirit."
I put down my bow as she asked but was nervous. "What kind of evil spirit is this?"
Anana just smiled in that knowing way of hers. "You'll find out. Inuyasha, don't help her."
I glanced at him still sitting behind me with his arms crossed in his sleeves. There was a curious twinkle in his eyes, clearly he was enjoying this.
"You don't have to worry about me. I'll be right here," he said with a smirk.
I turned back to Anana and she opened the box. A huge cloud of smoke emanated from it, I could tell it was the evil spirit. Everything around me turned cold and I swore I could hear it laughing in my head. It made me feel very similar to the way I felt before I passed out: dizzy, light-headed like there was a dark cloud hanging over me. It was terrifying.
I almost collapsed again. Almost. I raised my hands and channeled the same power I had done just now with the bow and arrow. Despite how afraid I was, I knew I would never get over this fear if I didn't fight it.
Just as it was getting close to me, a beam of light shot from my hands. The spirit was instantly purified and dissolved into nothingness.
I fell to my knees from exhaustion when it was over. Inuyasha was immediately by my side.
"Sweetheart, are you okay?" he asked, holding me up so I didn't fall over.
I nodded. "It was so weird. I felt the same way I did before I passed out the last time."
"But you didn't," Anana said walking over to us with a proud smile on her face. "You held your ground. You were possessed before because you didn't know how to protect yourself and contain the demonic aura. This time you did and were able to ward it off."
"Why did I still feel so weak afterward?"
"That will go away with practice. We'll work at it more in the coming days. It seems like now will be a good time to end our training. I'll see you tomorrow."
Anana went inside and Inuyasha helped me stand up.
"Are you okay? We can go sit somewhere if you need to," he said.
I shook my head. "I'm starting to feel a little better." Despite the way I was feeling after casting that spell, I still felt very happy. I had finally done it. Anana had been talking about unleashing my full power and I was finally able to do it. I believed in myself and allowed myself to not be afraid. I was so proud.
I felt so happy, in fact, that I started laughing.
Inuyasha looked at me like I'd gone insane. "Is this another side effect or…?"
That made me laugh even more. I shook my head. "No...I'm just happy that I did it. I've unlocked my full power. Isn't it amazing?"
Inuyasha smiled and hugged me. "It is amazing, Kagome. I'm so proud of you."
