A.N. Happy Thanksgiving! One thing I am thankful for is my finally be able to post chapters again. I already got Dancing in the Moonlight out :grin:. I'm not going to dwell on this author's note and just start the chapter. I'm feeling a little lazy right now since it's Thanksgiving and I practically gorged myself to the point of bursting. Thanks go out to my reviewers for reviewing and to AKA Hummer for the plot.
Disclaimer : I don't own Inuyasha
Training Day: Heart to Soul
Chapter 2
Sesshoumaru just stared, scrutinizing the woman-child. Kagome squirmed; her bravado gone. "No."
Kagome's jaw dropped, "But you said—"
"Do not squander my time with your idiotic requests, wench." He bit out coldly; angered by how much of his time she was wasting.
Kagome's temper flared, "I'm completely serious. And I have a name, you know!" She added as an afterthought.
Sesshoumaru's eyes flashed.
Not backing down Kagome took a step forward. She was drained, but her temper could fuel an army, at that point.
"My name's Kagome. Ka-go-me!" She held his scathing stare with one of her own.
Sesshoumaru eyes narrowed. "Your name is no concern to me."
Kagome was about to begin her lengthy sharp retort, when she decided against it.
This thankfully was one of the few times that she actually thought about what she was going to say while angered.
Normally she just yelled out anything that came to mind.
Instead she just put her hands on her hips, "Look, all I'm asking is that you just—"
He knew from previous times that the girl's persistence was strong enough to get her killed.
He growled menacingly, "Fine, wench." Kagome squealed, and slumped down against the tree smiling like the cat that caught the mouse.
Sesshoumaru frowned down at her. "I'll be back here at dawn, so I advise that you be ready, or do you have a problem with that." He asked disdainfully.
Kagome's forehead crinkled in frustration. "I can't go get my things."
"Then we shall go." He said with cold finality.
Kagome shook her head fervently. "But I need my things!"
"Wench, I tire of this."
"I'm not doing this on purpose! I can't go because Inuyasha might be there." She clamped a hand over her mouth.
Sesshoumaru instantly growled at the name of his brother.
Kagome laughed nervously. "And because I have no idea where my campsite is…"
Sesshoumaru glared, "I will send someone to find it, and retrieve your belongings."
Kagome smiled and chirped, "Ok, then, now we can leave."
Almost half an hour after that found four figures seated, grouped by a fire, bathed in the dim yellow glow. The only sounds came from the crackling of the fire.
Suddenly someone sighed. The noise sounded incredibly loud after having sit in the quiet for so long.
"Hey, Mirouku" The young woman asked nervously. Mirouku glanced up at her from his seat a few feet from her.
He sat staring at the flames in the fire, a contemplating look in his eyes.
"What is it Sango."
Sango looked away from Mirouku and towards the prone shapes of the fire neko, Kirara, and the kitsune child, Shippou. They had fallen asleep despite the early hour.
But it was not a surprise since Inuyasha had pushed them harder than usual to get them at this campsite.
"Do we should go out looking for Kagome. She's been gone for a good while, and quite frankly, I'm worried for her."
She gave the pale yellow bag that Kagome had left behind a momentary look. It sat propped on a tree behind them.
The monk was about to answer when they heard rustling in the near-by bush.
Sango placed her hands on her weapon, Hiraikotsu, which she always kept near her and stood. She motioned for Mirouku to get ready.
Mirouku went over to stand by Sango, poised.
After a minute of silence, he bent over and pick up a good sized rock. He tossed it at the bush.
Nothing.
Sango sat back down. "I was almost sure that I felt a demon's aura," she stated slowly.
Mirouku followed suit. "Yes, me too." He said distractedly. He was currently staring at something else.
His hand slowly crept towards its goal.
SMACK
Mirouku lay dazed as he tried to fight unconsciousness. "I swear Sango, the hand has a mind of its own!"
Sango, who's face was flushed, was about to retort when Shippou and Kirara stirred.
He sat up yawning, "Hey, guys." Seeing the Miroku, the aforementioned kit sniffed disgustedly, "You'll never learn, will you Miroku."
Kirara seemed to ditto that statement with a soft 'mew'.
Miroku sat up groggily and muttered, "I'm telling you it's the hand…"
Sango tried to glared at Miroku, but failed miserably. Instead she just chose to stifle back giggles. Shippou shot her a confused look.
Shippo suddenly frowned. "Hey, where's Kagome."
Sango's eyes darted to another direction. Mirouku looked down. Shippo yawned, and stretched, now fully awake.
"I had thought she left in Inuyasha's direction, but I guess she went to take a bath since her bag is gone," he mused.
Sango stiffened. "Kagome didn't take her bag when she left."
Kagome fatigued, had fallen asleep long before Sesshoumaru unceremoniously dropped her on a futon.
They had gotten back only 20 minutes before.
Kagome had only been asleep 5 minutes before she was awakened by the sound of the familiar, but annoying shrill of the servile toad demon that followed Sesshoumaru.
'What was his name?' She raked her brain for a name. Not finding one she opened her eyes.
The first thing she saw was a young girl who couldn't be any younger than her brother, Souta.
She smiled, "Rin's name is Rin. What's the pretty lady's name?"
Kagome smiled, trying to ignore the exhaustion she felt. Hi, Rin, my name's Kagome."
The servant, whose name Kagome still couldn't place, said something about 'this Jaken' hoping that his master hadn't gone soft, and now acquired some strange adoration for humans.
Kagome slowly slipped back to sleep, her thoughts jumbled and a deep pain in her heart.
Again she was awakened, but this time, in the morning and someone was gently shaking her.
"Mom… can't I just sleep an extra five minutes!" Her whining was muffled, since she had her face buried into a pillow.
The person whom she thought was her mother, ended up being a servant in Sesshoumaru's household.
"Lady it is time to awaken."
Kagome turned over, startled at the strange voice and blushed.
"You're… not my mother?" She asked uncertainly. Sleep still clouded over her mind. Some things started to click in her mind.
The servant smiled, "No, I am afraid not." Kagome instantly took a liking to her. She seemed very affable.
She was a demon obviously but her pale green hair that matched her eyes, but Kagome really could not place what kind.
She seemed to be, in human age, about forty or so.
Kagome smiled and sat up, her cheeks still lightly colored from her previous embarrassment.
"Lord Sesshoumaru has sent me to wake you, and deliver your bag to you."
She waved a hand in the direction of the familiar overstuffed pale yellow bag.
"He also told me to tell you that he will be in the dojo waiting for you after your have your morning meal and bathe."
Kagome yawned. "May I ask your name?"
She smiled, "My name is Nikami."
"Kagome Higurashi."
"Well, Lady Higurashi, I must take my leave. I hope to see you around."
Kagome grinned. "Like-wise, and Nikami, please can you drop the 'Lady' title. It's a little unnerving." She wrinkled her nose.
Nikami laughed the sound comforting and soft. "It is a habit to do that, but I'll try to remember that it is just 'Kagome'." With another laugh and a wink, she left.
Kagome scanned her room, taking in the beauty of it.
The wooden floor was partially concealed by a pastel colored dyed fur rug. In one of the large room's corners held a primitive furnace-like fire place.
The rice paper walls had skillfully painted designs in light colored paints so as to not cause too gaudy an effect.
The windows in the room were covered in thick silky curtains to prevent too much light from entering.
The curtains and dyed fur blankets were embroidered with designs also.
She stood and stretched enjoying the feel of something other than hard packed dirt under her feet.
She went over to her pale yellow backpack which she had spotted in the corner opposite that of the furnace.
She slung it on to her shoulder, delighted at the thought of removing the twigs and dirt out of her tangled mass of hair.
She didn't even feel like questioning how it got there.
She started humming a bar from a song her friends had gushed over the last time she saw them.
Apparently it was from the States, and very popular with the high school girls... last time she went back to her time, which was almost a week and half ago.
Music was a very fickle thing in her school so it was almost impossible for her to kept up with it, so she rarely tried.
She abruptly stopped short.
Groaning she realized, "I have absolutely no idea where anything in this house is... How exactly do I find anything close to their equivalence of a bathroom?"
Trying to be an optimistic, she decided to just wander and that maybe she would eventually find someone who would show her around.
As soon as she exited the room, she surprisingly saw Nikami. "I thought that maybe you would need some help finding your way around here." The kindly demon explained.
Kagome gave her a grateful smile. "Thanks, I do, actually. I just realized that I had no clue to how to get to the ground's hot springs."
Almost no conversation was made during the trip. The only thing said was Nikami pointing out where the dojo was.
Though, a very genial person, Nikami wasn't very talkative and Kagome was still a little too dead to the world sleepy to say anything.
"Here we are! The indoor hot springs."
Kagome squealed and clapped her hands, "Thanks, Nikami!"
Nikami laughed, "Your welcome, Kagome. Now, when you are done, to get to the dining quarters, you need to just follow this hall down. Then it's the eighth door on the right."
With a bow she left.
Kagome slid opened the thick doors. Inside was a smaller room. It was instead of the traditional rice paper, the room was unexpectedly built with stone.
Kagome was a little confused. She slapped her forehead lightly with realization, and giggled. "My science teacher would be ashamed," she joked.
Steam from the heated water over the years would obviously not do the rice paper any good.
And with the life span of a demon, creating non-perishable houses as so not to burden themselves with change might be a good idea.
She opened the door, and a blast of steam emerged from the entranceway. She took only the things that she would need, and left her backpack in the little room.
She would not risk leaving the electronics and book filled bag in the steamy room.
Making sure that the room was empty, she stripped off her clothing and put on a bathing suit she had brought.
She had started a habit of bathing with them since she traveled with such an amorous monk.
She took the bottle of shampoo, a hair brush and bar of soap.
After swimming around for a while just enjoying herself she started on detangling her hair.
Fortunately it didn't take too long. She spent only 10 minutes more in the hot springs before dressing and packing away her things.
She wasn't too hungry even though she hadn't eaten since the lunch of the day before, so she decided to skip breakfast.
Wide-awake now, she went straight to the dojo.
She pushed open the doors, determined to prove something. Why she did and what she wanted to prove… she didn't know just then.
A.N. I'm so glad I finished this chapter. Even it's only 7pm I'm bushed! I want to post this and then try to come up with some kind of explanation as to why my internet cuts off. I really did not like this chapter. I think it has so many mistakes that I missed, but... I have an excuse. Lol test overload. I took two test this month, both high school related and more than 3 hours each. I then I found out I have to take another one December 5. They're murder on my nerves :grin: I'm a shaking leaf whenever I take those tests meant for the knowledge of 3 grades and I'm at the bottom level. So wish me luck that day because I will definitely need it. I also have to apologize for taking so long to get this chapter out. See Chapter 2 of Dancing in the Moonlight for the needed explanations. And a big thanks goes out to my kind reviewers. And also, Silver is not going to be here this chapter.
::.Once again… Happy Thanksgiving ::.