Chapter Two-
"Hey Santo…wake up!" a voice called, forcing me to arise from my humble sleep. I blinked at him, and almost screamed. Why was this guy in my house!? Then I remembered and stopped myself from looking like a complete idiot. I just nodded and slowly rose from my bunk, bumping my head in the process. "Hey man…watch it…not used to the army life I take it. First year? Well…it's mine. Pleased to meet you I'm Miroku."
I took a moment to recover from my bump on the head then looked the man in front of me over. He had short black hair. With just a tiny bit pulled back into a short pony tail. His clothing was purple and was indeed monk attire. His eyes were the prettiest I had ever seen. A mixture somewhere between blue and purple. What beautiful eyes.
"Uh…are you okay?"
I turned away from him quickly nodding lightly and making my bed. This was going to be a long war. I could tell.
"Hmm…well that other guy…Kiro I think…he left for the springs. Told me to wake you up when I decided to get up. I'm a heavy sleeper. I'll have to fix that if I'm going to be fighting eh? But I guess you can't talk. You seem to enjoy sleeping as well." he smirked, turning and grabbing a towel. "Well meet ya in the springs. Just head straight through the woods you can't miss it."
I nodded grabbing a towel as well. How was I going to do this? Maybe I'll check out the surroundings first. That could spark an idea. Exiting the hut I followed Miroku's directions till I reached the most beautiful spring I had ever seen.
I think the first thing that caught my eye was most likely the water fall. The water seemed so clear and dazzling in the sun. The next thing I saw was the dozens of men bathing in the water causing a light blush to emerge but I hid it quickly remembering that not only was I supposed to be a guy but I was also supposed to be engaged. I looked around for a little while and then I saw it a huge rock next to the falls. It was almost to good to be true. All I had to do was move fast then, quickly get back into my clothes. Well…quickly bind myself again…then change into my clothes.
I snuck through the trees till I reached the rock which was placed very close to shore. Quickly I underdressed and sunk into the water. It felt very refreshing. And much more comfortable. After I was finished I quickly got up dried, and fixed myself back into a guy. Then dressed and walked back towards the training village. Only to hear a voice call from behind me.
"Hey I didn't see you! I was going to talk to you about something but…I guess it can wait until later now. Umm…anyway lets head back. You are supposed to meet with Captain Inuyasha. I heard he's rough…well good luck with your training. Tell Kiro I said hi alright?" before I knew it the monk was gone.
"Strange fellow he is…" I mumbled continuing my path to the village. "Inuyasha…eh? I was hoping I could avoid him but apparently not. And Kiro will be in my group too. This keeps getting better and better doesn't it."
**********
"First things first. I am your instructor. True I am half demon, but you guys are lucky enough to have me on your side. And you are even worthy of being taught by me. Since this is your first year here I'm guessing most of you are inexperienced. Now that you all know who's the leader, draw your katanas. I want…Kiro. Kiro come up here."
Kiro winced faintly but followed his orders and approached Inuyasha. Inuyasha smirked wickedly at him before turning to us other demon exterminators.
"Alright Kiro now. Fight me." Inuyasha smiled almost too gently before pulling a sword of his own. "I will go easy on you, so you have no reason to worry. You are just being used as an example after I'm done with you. You can pair up with that one guy who smells good."
I winced now, clenching my fists as some of the men around my burst into laughter. Apparently smelling good wasn't very manly.
Kiro nodded and ran forward to attack the half demon. Inuyasha swiftly dodged every attack. Every attack seemed to slow for the demon. Once I even caught a glimpse of him yawning. What I didn't see was him attack back. Finally Kiro stopped trying.
"Your too fast." he admitted.
"Feh. You think I'm fast wait till you go against a real demon. Especially there leader. He is ten times faster then me, though I hate to admit it." Inuyasha frowned, sheathing his sword and turning to face us again.
"How do you know?" a voice from beside me asked. "Have you met the great demon lord of the west?"
Inuyasha nodded solemnly. "Aye…he is my brother. Half brother anyway. But that's not of importance right now. Right now I want you to pair up and fight. Kiro, Santo you two go first. Everyone watch. For you will have to fight in front of the others as well. Now don't fight to the death, instead of your katanas you will use these wooden swords."
The half demon handed each of us one then backed away holding his hand up as a signal for us to begin our fight.
Kiro was the first to move, quickly reaching a few feet in front of me and swinging his sword near my face, I however ducked knocking his knees fiercely with my wooden weapon. I had to admit I never imagined I would have to fight my soon to be husband like this. But apparently it was fate.
Angry, Kiro regained his composure and went to strike again but I kept on blocking him. Finally he lifted his sword towards my head a second time. This time however after I blocked him I punched him, square in the gut. Kiro's eyes widened as if he were really that surprised he lost then he fell to the ground with exhaustion.
I frowned. I didn't mean to hurt him that bad or anything. I reached out my hand to help him up but he just knocked it away and got up on his own. Inuyasha nodded and headed forward to stand in between us.
"Alright guys. That's enough now. Santo great job. Didn't think you had it in you. Kiro maybe you should take a little rest why don't you and Santo head back to your assigned hut. I will be there once everyone else is finished, I wish to talk to one of you about something."
I nodded and watched as Kiro nearly sprinted away for the village. I smiled faintly, and followed after him. Kiro always was a sore loser. I chuckled lightly lowering my head for a moment before abruptly bumping into someone.
"Sorry…" I groaned, lifting my head to see a pair of purple eyes. "Oh hey Miroku. How'd your training go?"
"Great! I get to meet with the master monk here tomorrow, well him and the master exterminator. Though I am kind of nervous. I think they are making me fight with him. I'm not sure if I can do that."
"Why not?" I questioned, wondering if I could ever meet the master of exterminators.
"He's my father. Always envied him, I'm put under so much pressure. But I guess it's better than fighting the first years here. They all seem…so bad…" he frowned. "No offence or anything, I mean I'm one too it's just…"
"No I agree. So what are these masters?" I questioned further temporarily forgetting that I was supposed to return to our quarters.
"One for each fighting group. A master monk, a master exterminator, and a master priestess." Miroku explained. "They let the best of the best fight with them. But first you have to go through a trial or some sort. Fight other people of your fighting group. People with more experience than you most likely. If you defeat all of them then you see the master of your group."
I nodded. My father…he was probably one of the people guarding the way towards the master. I would probably have to fight him tomorrow.
"Umm…I guess I understand. Well…we should head back to the hut. Kiro is probably bored in there all by himself."
Miroku nodded and followed me towards the hut. Inside, Kiro didn't look very happy, he sent me a death glare before pulling something from his pocket. Miroku and I exchanged confused glances before moving towards him to see what he had. I almost smiled at what he had but kept my mouth shut. It was a picture of me.
"Wow…" Miroku beamed, snatching the picture from Kiro's hand. "She is so…beautiful."
I nodded taking the picture from Miroku and handing it back to Kiro, trying my hardest not to blush at Miroku's compliment. Kiro frowned towards the picture. Slowly he crumpled it up throwing it to the ground. I tried not to gasp, not to cry at the look of hatred he was sending towards the picture.
"What you do that for?!" Miroku growled, reaching down for the picture. "What did this girl ever do to you?"
"Hush Monk. She was my fiancé, but I was just using her to get to the master exterminator. Her father." Kiro growled back, stepping on the picture before Miroku could grab it. "She is worthless now, since Santo here is going to be sent to the master. All that work for nothing."
I stood there in silence. Not sure whether to be angry or sad. Not able to make up my mind I glared at Kiro and ran out of the hut, shortly followed by Miroku. I sat down shaking my head violently. Miroku held out the picture, which apparently he had retrieved from Kiro.
"How could he do that to such a pretty lady like this?" Miroku spoke softly. "And the poor thing will probably never know that he didn't really love her."
"Kiro's an idiot. I…I can't believe him…" I growled.
Miroku just nodded. Then he stood up, stuffing the picture into his pocket. I almost protested, if I were back home I wouldn't want a complete stranger to have my picture. But I wasn't back home so I let it go.
"I'm going to head back inside. You should wait out here for Captain Inuyasha. See you in the morning." Miroku said, turning his back towards me. "Who knows maybe I'll see you at the shrine where the masters are staying…"
I just nodded, lifting my head right in time to see a certain half demon approaching our hut. I tried my hardest to smile at him. He just smirked in reply.
"Your to see the master…"
"Yes I know…" I smiled brighter.
"Right well, it will be hard. You have to fight through demon's in the path towards him. They aren't necessarily strong demon's most of them are good hearted, just fight them til they back off. When they do continue up the steps. Then pass through the doors." Inuyasha explained, pointing towards a shrine assembled at the top of a hill. "You will meet the master monk and priestess there tomorrow. Hmm…that would be Miroku and a young lady named Kagome."
I nodded. Slightly different from what Miroku had told me. He said we had to fight some other fighters of our type. Maybe he was wrong.
"Each of you will have to work together on this. Most likely each demon will have a specific weakness that only one of you can conquer. Remember early tomorrow…" Inuyasha repeated, turning away and slowly fading out of my sight.
The master demon exterminator. My father.
I headed back into my hut, finding Kiro and Miroku already fast asleep. I could tell tomorrow would be a long day, sending one last dirty look towards Kiro I laid down and quickly fell into a peaceful slumber.
Author's Note: Yay! Thanks to people who reviewed so far, I'm hoping more people will review after this chapter...maybe? Ugh...
Skye Silvereye- Thank's for the review ^^
Arteme- Thanks! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Kiro sucks! So does Hojo! ^^
SM together- Thank You!
Aika - Thanks for the review!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Drats!
"Hey Santo…wake up!" a voice called, forcing me to arise from my humble sleep. I blinked at him, and almost screamed. Why was this guy in my house!? Then I remembered and stopped myself from looking like a complete idiot. I just nodded and slowly rose from my bunk, bumping my head in the process. "Hey man…watch it…not used to the army life I take it. First year? Well…it's mine. Pleased to meet you I'm Miroku."
I took a moment to recover from my bump on the head then looked the man in front of me over. He had short black hair. With just a tiny bit pulled back into a short pony tail. His clothing was purple and was indeed monk attire. His eyes were the prettiest I had ever seen. A mixture somewhere between blue and purple. What beautiful eyes.
"Uh…are you okay?"
I turned away from him quickly nodding lightly and making my bed. This was going to be a long war. I could tell.
"Hmm…well that other guy…Kiro I think…he left for the springs. Told me to wake you up when I decided to get up. I'm a heavy sleeper. I'll have to fix that if I'm going to be fighting eh? But I guess you can't talk. You seem to enjoy sleeping as well." he smirked, turning and grabbing a towel. "Well meet ya in the springs. Just head straight through the woods you can't miss it."
I nodded grabbing a towel as well. How was I going to do this? Maybe I'll check out the surroundings first. That could spark an idea. Exiting the hut I followed Miroku's directions till I reached the most beautiful spring I had ever seen.
I think the first thing that caught my eye was most likely the water fall. The water seemed so clear and dazzling in the sun. The next thing I saw was the dozens of men bathing in the water causing a light blush to emerge but I hid it quickly remembering that not only was I supposed to be a guy but I was also supposed to be engaged. I looked around for a little while and then I saw it a huge rock next to the falls. It was almost to good to be true. All I had to do was move fast then, quickly get back into my clothes. Well…quickly bind myself again…then change into my clothes.
I snuck through the trees till I reached the rock which was placed very close to shore. Quickly I underdressed and sunk into the water. It felt very refreshing. And much more comfortable. After I was finished I quickly got up dried, and fixed myself back into a guy. Then dressed and walked back towards the training village. Only to hear a voice call from behind me.
"Hey I didn't see you! I was going to talk to you about something but…I guess it can wait until later now. Umm…anyway lets head back. You are supposed to meet with Captain Inuyasha. I heard he's rough…well good luck with your training. Tell Kiro I said hi alright?" before I knew it the monk was gone.
"Strange fellow he is…" I mumbled continuing my path to the village. "Inuyasha…eh? I was hoping I could avoid him but apparently not. And Kiro will be in my group too. This keeps getting better and better doesn't it."
**********
"First things first. I am your instructor. True I am half demon, but you guys are lucky enough to have me on your side. And you are even worthy of being taught by me. Since this is your first year here I'm guessing most of you are inexperienced. Now that you all know who's the leader, draw your katanas. I want…Kiro. Kiro come up here."
Kiro winced faintly but followed his orders and approached Inuyasha. Inuyasha smirked wickedly at him before turning to us other demon exterminators.
"Alright Kiro now. Fight me." Inuyasha smiled almost too gently before pulling a sword of his own. "I will go easy on you, so you have no reason to worry. You are just being used as an example after I'm done with you. You can pair up with that one guy who smells good."
I winced now, clenching my fists as some of the men around my burst into laughter. Apparently smelling good wasn't very manly.
Kiro nodded and ran forward to attack the half demon. Inuyasha swiftly dodged every attack. Every attack seemed to slow for the demon. Once I even caught a glimpse of him yawning. What I didn't see was him attack back. Finally Kiro stopped trying.
"Your too fast." he admitted.
"Feh. You think I'm fast wait till you go against a real demon. Especially there leader. He is ten times faster then me, though I hate to admit it." Inuyasha frowned, sheathing his sword and turning to face us again.
"How do you know?" a voice from beside me asked. "Have you met the great demon lord of the west?"
Inuyasha nodded solemnly. "Aye…he is my brother. Half brother anyway. But that's not of importance right now. Right now I want you to pair up and fight. Kiro, Santo you two go first. Everyone watch. For you will have to fight in front of the others as well. Now don't fight to the death, instead of your katanas you will use these wooden swords."
The half demon handed each of us one then backed away holding his hand up as a signal for us to begin our fight.
Kiro was the first to move, quickly reaching a few feet in front of me and swinging his sword near my face, I however ducked knocking his knees fiercely with my wooden weapon. I had to admit I never imagined I would have to fight my soon to be husband like this. But apparently it was fate.
Angry, Kiro regained his composure and went to strike again but I kept on blocking him. Finally he lifted his sword towards my head a second time. This time however after I blocked him I punched him, square in the gut. Kiro's eyes widened as if he were really that surprised he lost then he fell to the ground with exhaustion.
I frowned. I didn't mean to hurt him that bad or anything. I reached out my hand to help him up but he just knocked it away and got up on his own. Inuyasha nodded and headed forward to stand in between us.
"Alright guys. That's enough now. Santo great job. Didn't think you had it in you. Kiro maybe you should take a little rest why don't you and Santo head back to your assigned hut. I will be there once everyone else is finished, I wish to talk to one of you about something."
I nodded and watched as Kiro nearly sprinted away for the village. I smiled faintly, and followed after him. Kiro always was a sore loser. I chuckled lightly lowering my head for a moment before abruptly bumping into someone.
"Sorry…" I groaned, lifting my head to see a pair of purple eyes. "Oh hey Miroku. How'd your training go?"
"Great! I get to meet with the master monk here tomorrow, well him and the master exterminator. Though I am kind of nervous. I think they are making me fight with him. I'm not sure if I can do that."
"Why not?" I questioned, wondering if I could ever meet the master of exterminators.
"He's my father. Always envied him, I'm put under so much pressure. But I guess it's better than fighting the first years here. They all seem…so bad…" he frowned. "No offence or anything, I mean I'm one too it's just…"
"No I agree. So what are these masters?" I questioned further temporarily forgetting that I was supposed to return to our quarters.
"One for each fighting group. A master monk, a master exterminator, and a master priestess." Miroku explained. "They let the best of the best fight with them. But first you have to go through a trial or some sort. Fight other people of your fighting group. People with more experience than you most likely. If you defeat all of them then you see the master of your group."
I nodded. My father…he was probably one of the people guarding the way towards the master. I would probably have to fight him tomorrow.
"Umm…I guess I understand. Well…we should head back to the hut. Kiro is probably bored in there all by himself."
Miroku nodded and followed me towards the hut. Inside, Kiro didn't look very happy, he sent me a death glare before pulling something from his pocket. Miroku and I exchanged confused glances before moving towards him to see what he had. I almost smiled at what he had but kept my mouth shut. It was a picture of me.
"Wow…" Miroku beamed, snatching the picture from Kiro's hand. "She is so…beautiful."
I nodded taking the picture from Miroku and handing it back to Kiro, trying my hardest not to blush at Miroku's compliment. Kiro frowned towards the picture. Slowly he crumpled it up throwing it to the ground. I tried not to gasp, not to cry at the look of hatred he was sending towards the picture.
"What you do that for?!" Miroku growled, reaching down for the picture. "What did this girl ever do to you?"
"Hush Monk. She was my fiancé, but I was just using her to get to the master exterminator. Her father." Kiro growled back, stepping on the picture before Miroku could grab it. "She is worthless now, since Santo here is going to be sent to the master. All that work for nothing."
I stood there in silence. Not sure whether to be angry or sad. Not able to make up my mind I glared at Kiro and ran out of the hut, shortly followed by Miroku. I sat down shaking my head violently. Miroku held out the picture, which apparently he had retrieved from Kiro.
"How could he do that to such a pretty lady like this?" Miroku spoke softly. "And the poor thing will probably never know that he didn't really love her."
"Kiro's an idiot. I…I can't believe him…" I growled.
Miroku just nodded. Then he stood up, stuffing the picture into his pocket. I almost protested, if I were back home I wouldn't want a complete stranger to have my picture. But I wasn't back home so I let it go.
"I'm going to head back inside. You should wait out here for Captain Inuyasha. See you in the morning." Miroku said, turning his back towards me. "Who knows maybe I'll see you at the shrine where the masters are staying…"
I just nodded, lifting my head right in time to see a certain half demon approaching our hut. I tried my hardest to smile at him. He just smirked in reply.
"Your to see the master…"
"Yes I know…" I smiled brighter.
"Right well, it will be hard. You have to fight through demon's in the path towards him. They aren't necessarily strong demon's most of them are good hearted, just fight them til they back off. When they do continue up the steps. Then pass through the doors." Inuyasha explained, pointing towards a shrine assembled at the top of a hill. "You will meet the master monk and priestess there tomorrow. Hmm…that would be Miroku and a young lady named Kagome."
I nodded. Slightly different from what Miroku had told me. He said we had to fight some other fighters of our type. Maybe he was wrong.
"Each of you will have to work together on this. Most likely each demon will have a specific weakness that only one of you can conquer. Remember early tomorrow…" Inuyasha repeated, turning away and slowly fading out of my sight.
The master demon exterminator. My father.
I headed back into my hut, finding Kiro and Miroku already fast asleep. I could tell tomorrow would be a long day, sending one last dirty look towards Kiro I laid down and quickly fell into a peaceful slumber.
Author's Note: Yay! Thanks to people who reviewed so far, I'm hoping more people will review after this chapter...maybe? Ugh...
Skye Silvereye- Thank's for the review ^^
Arteme- Thanks! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Kiro sucks! So does Hojo! ^^
SM together- Thank You!
Aika - Thanks for the review!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Drats!