Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha and co.
A/N: I wanted to thank Anime girl Carrie. Thanks to you I was able to update!
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Chapter 3: Training the Young Miko
"C'mon, Kaede. Don't just stand there like an idiot. Follow me to the well. We have to walk through a swamp or two after so tie your shirt and pants up." Kagome said, tying her red hakama up at the knees so they were out of way. She tied her white haori sleeves up and picked up her bow and arrows.
"Onee-sama. Why are we going to the well? What's at the well?" Kaede asked as she watched her now eldest sister tie her hair in a loose ponytail with a red bow at the end.
"We are going there to start your training. A good miko must know her surroundings. You must know every inch of the forest if ever you get lost you will know your way around to get back to the well. From the well you will be able to see the smoke of our village." Kagome said, handing her young sister a short bow and a quiver full of seven arrows.
"Why are you giving me a short bow? Why can't I use a long bow like you and Kikyo use?" she whined.
"You're not old enough to use one. Just use that one. A long bow is too long for you. I don't want the arrow to slip. You'll poke your eye out." She ordered impatiently.
"Okay." Kaede whispered back and slung the weapon over her shoulder.
"Let's go okay? Stay close so you don't get lost. I wouldn't forgive my self." Kagome said taking her little sisters hand and smiling down at her. She walked into the forest and looked around automatically for any sign of the hanyou which she every so often spotted watching her. She shrugged and walked through the forest toward the bone-eaters-well.
"This is the bone-eaters- well?" Kaede asked. She had never been to the well let alone in the forest. Everything surrounding her was like strangers towering over her, trying to take her away from her eldest sister. She clung harder to Kagome's arm and looked up at the High Miko. She had her eyes closed and seemed to be thinking about something pleasant. "Onee-sama? What are we going to do?"
"We are going to learn more about this magical well. I would like to see why the flesh and bones of the youkai we throw in here always disappeared.
"That's weird." Kaede muttered.
Kagome let go of Kaede's hand and walked over to the bone-eaters-well. She put her hands on the sides of the well and looked down at the grayish bones which sat at the bottom of the well. "Come over here Kaede. I will show you what I was talking about." She said motioning her sister to come over to her.
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"What's that girl up to?" Inuyasha asked himself out loud. He watched as she walked through the forest with a little girl holding her hand. "Who's the shrimp? It can't possibly be her daughter, can it?"
He watched as she stood in front of the bone-eaters-well. He watched her beautiful face smile and say something to the little girl. Why do I always have the urge to follow her, to see her, to smell her wonderful scent? It confuses me. Ever since we first saw each other I wanted to see her and watch her smile and laugh. Never have I had these feelings for someone. I felt sympathy for the first time when I first saw her. Is that one of her powers? To purify a youkai's soul?
He jumped from branch to branch and watched as Kagome walked up to the well and looked down into it. She seemed to be examining it and telling the younger girl to look with her. She pulled a small box out of her haori and threw it into the well. There was a blinding white light and a youkai arose from the well. It scrambled out quickly and laughed. Kagome smiled and jumped up. She fiercely kicked the youkai in the head. It fell to the ground after impact and Kagome wrapped her arms around its neck. "Kaede, shoot you arrow!" she yelled to the young miko in training.
The girl, Kaede, unprofessionally pulled and arrow out of it's quiver and put it to the bow. It slipped about three times before she actually got it straight. She shot it and it bounced off the youkais head. "Eh, why didn't it penetrate?"
Inuyasha snorted and watched as the girl sank to her knees. Kagome laughed and pulled her grip tighter. She released it and it fell to the ground again. She then place a seal on it and it fled back into the well, lifeless for another few hundred years.
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"Don't worry Kaede; I knew you wouldn't make the first try. When I went for my first training exercise the arrow head dug into my back instead of the youkai's. See?" she said lifted the back of her shirt to show a wide scar on her back.
"That looks like it hurt. I'll keep practicing." Kaede said when she looked at the injury.
"Yeah, well, Kikyo gave me good medicine. Any way, let me show you around the forest so you can learn the places that you must remember." Kagome said tucking her haori back into her hakama and picked up her bow and quiver. The little girl clung to Kagomes' arm and walked with the Miko into the forest.
(A/N: I'm not going to explain everything that happened so… on with the end of Kagome's and Kaede's tour!)
"Kagome-onee-sama, what kind of herbs would you use if someone got bitten by a snake?" Kaede asked her elder sister. She was crouched down by a patch of green plants and was rubbing the fuzzy side of one of the leaves.
"You would use that herb over there and smash it up. Then pour the liquid that comes out into the jar Kikyo and I have been using as a container for the substance. I'll teach you more about it later. Do you still have that stick I handed to you earlier?" Kagome asked.
"Um…yeah…here it is. Why do we need it?" Kaede said, pulling the straight stick out from under her haori.
"Come over here and look at this worm." Kagome said quietly.
"A worm?! I hate worms!" Kaede cried.
"Come here and poke it. Watch what happens." Kagome said with a wicked smile on her face.
Kaede cautiously walked over to where Kagome was pointing and poked the brown earthworm. It squirmed and became larger. Its aura flared up and Kagome laughed.
"I knew he was disguising himself. Remember Kaede, they do that. If you step on worm youkai that are in their disguised state they will bite you when they are growing and you might get poisoned." Kagome explained. She climbed, quickly, up the tree next to her and took her bow off her shoulder. Her red hakama was not untied and it covered her feet, bunching up at the bottom. She pulled an arrow out of its quiver and aimed at the worm. She show the arrow and immediately pulled another out, never letting her gave leave the blue aura of the arrow.
Inuyasha watched in amazement as he felt the power coming off the arrow. She never put any power in the arrows she shoots at me? Why? Inuyasha thought that the way the woman acted toward regular youkai's were nothing compared to the sweet, understanding way she treated him. His heart raced as she looked his way. She can probably sense me or something, he thought.
Kagome smiled to herself when she saw the hanyou watching her. She pulled another arrow out and, with the arrow not even touching the bow, she released the string making the arrow pierce the youkai and shattering it into large pieces.
"You see Kaede? You must put energy into your weapons. If you believe in the arrow, that it can hit it's target, then you will be alright." She informed her young sister. She jumped down to the ground and stretched her arms above her head. "Hmmm…alright, that's enough of the forest. Let's work on your self defense with Sango." She instructed. She retied her hakama up to her knees and smiled up at the tree where Inuyasha was sitting in.
He blushed and looked away. Am I that visible? Why the shrimp didn't see me, I'll never know. Maybe it was Kagomes' powers, he thought.
He jumped up to a higher branch so he could watch her walk down the path with her bow in hand.
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*An Hour or Two Later, After a nice nap for Kaede*
"Kagome…what do you want me to do, again?" Sango asked.
"Because you're like a sister to me I want you to help me train Kaede." Kagome replied as she tied her sleeves up and out of the way so she could carve her words of wisdom onto an arrow head for Kaede to remember over a scorching hot fire.
She wrote:
Never lose sight of your goals and always hide your weaknesses. Keep it in you even to your grave. Protect the weak and help the sick.
"Here you go Kaede. Remember these words and you will be alright." Kagome said, handing the arrow to her young sister.
"Arigato, onee-sama. These aren't the same words as Kikyo's though. Why?" she asked as she read the words that her ender sister passed down to her.
"Kikyo's words were her own. These are my own advice to my only little sister. Now, c'mon and Sango and I will teach you about self defense. Kikyo never taught me it so your lucky." She said winking at her little sister.
"Stand straight for a second, okay Kaede?" Sango asked.
"Alright." Kaede replied. She stood straight and looked at the two girls.
Kagome smiled and tossed her a short bow. "Use this for defense. It is very strong when you learn how put power into your weapons. Now watch." Kagome turned and picked up her long black bow. She looked over at Sango.
Sango nodded and with Hiraikutsu she attacked Kagome. Kagome put her bow out in front of her and Hiraikutsu bounced off.
"WOW!" Kaede said when she saw Hiraikutsu fly out of Sango's hand.
They high-fived each other and turned to the young miko-in-training.
"Kaede, now your going to try. Sango isn't going to use Hiraikutsu though. We are going to use our legs and arms." Kagome said to her sister.
"…Now do a back hand spring and raise your bow while you are on one knee…" Kagome instructed.
"Good one. Like I can do a back hand spring." Kaede complained.
Kagome sighed and looked at Sango. She had the look on her face like she was trying to keep in a laugh. Kagome pushed her and walked up to the sweating Kaede. They had been working for about three hours now. "I guess it would be good time to rest. Tomorrow we'll do the same routine." Kagome said. She pulled her hair out of its ponytail and waved it out. Running her hand through her hair she looked at the forest. There was an odd twinkle in the center of the forest. She whistled and looked at the twinkle. Her trusty red elk, (Like Ashitaka's in Princess Mononoke) Sempfrey, ran over toward the woods. She ran next to her and jumped onto her back.
"Follow the twinkle. I wish to find out what it be." She told her dear elk.
Sempfrey ran into the forest at an amazing speed.
While Inuyasha was running through the forest, her caught the scent of the Miko whom he was thinking of at that moment. "What is she doing out here?" he asked himself. He followed his nose toward her scent. He saw her riding on an animal with amazing speed toward something in the distance. "Wait! Kagome! Where are you going?!" he called to her.
She pulled on the reigns of Sempfrey. She turned to face the hanyou in a tree next to her. "Inuyasha. There is something up ahead. I am investigating it." she informed him. She had an curious look on her face.
Sempfrey growled and kicked her hind legs. Kagome whispered something in her ear and the red elk stopped. She turned her head to look at the hanyou and backed away respectfully.
"Please, accompany me to this place. I have no thing to worry about seeing that I have the Shikon no Tama with me." She said slyly.
That got his attention. He jumped onto another branch and watched Kagome as she pulled on the reigns and the elk started off again into the middle of the deep forest.
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Cliffhanger!!! Please review! I promise I will update as early as tomorrow. I'm gonna start it now!
Anywho…Please stay tuned for the next Chapter:
*The Spirit of the Forest*
Preview:
"Where is this place?" Kagome asked herself.
"This is the center of the forest where most spirits dwell." Inuyasha whispered intelligibly to her.
"Where was that light coming from? This isn't right. I can't believe there are spirits dwelling in this friendly forest." She whispered.
Sempfrey turned toward an aura that was as strong as the forest itself. Kagome raised her bow…