I started this document a month ago and only just finished it! Wahhhh! Now I have to do a chapter for Housekeeper and Me!
Well, enjoy.
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CHAPTER V: Sorting the Winners, the Losers, and, More Importantly,Your Opponents
The old man, of course, hadn't really caused any lasting damage to his body, but Inuyasha still was filled with the lingering sense of defeat and humiliation.
The tutoring began quickly- the man was a skillful teacher. Inuyasha was startled by the fact that he was human; Inuyasha easily detected this at their first meeting. He wore the distinct ningen smell, but as one who could pummel an inu-hanyou, even inexperienced, he was something far greater.
No doubt he was respected by all the other entities of the school, whether youkai or human or a hanyou like Inuyasha. But another oddity of the old man was his reclusive nature. The only time Inuyasha saw him was when he came to his hermitage for a lesson. The old man was spoken of with reverence universally or at least within the confines of the Goshinboku Seminary.
He was nameless, or at least he hadn't told Inuyasha any names of his. Inuyasha simply referred to him as "Sensei-sama." He wished that he had used his blade more often and to better use before he came, when he still was at Hosusori- his teacher was constantly claiming victory against him in their spars.
Inuyasha was all right. When this first started happening, he had almost expected nightmares. That's right, I was beaten by a man sixty years my senior.
Several times.
Inuyasha told this ashamedly to Miko, who had been bugging him about it in the first place while they walked at a quick and nervous pace to his first combat class. As usual, she had come to collect him in the late morning, long after Inuyasha had woken. It was better that way; they could avoid the attention of the youkai students heading towards breakfast but not be late for lessons and such.
He told her the part about him thinking Sensei-sama a senile old crab, which elicited a quick and gentle glint of something in her deep brown eyes.
She had better not be laughing at me, he thought, when she started to muffle a peal of laughter.
He blurted out his thoughts. "Feh, wench, if you had seen him…"
Miko looked rather angered at this, but she also looked like she was in control of her emotions, as he saw her glare dissipate fairly quickly. She gave a small shake of her head, which sent her raven hair spinning around her like long bristling ribbons.
"I have seen him," she replied simply, turning the other way, not looking at him for some time. After a dim and thoughtful silence she chirped, "He is my teacher."
Inuyasha waited for her to continue, for her to say what he didn't expect. And she did. "He is everyone's teacher, Shijou. He is the best."
He started to ask, "Has he beaten everyone?" but she interrupted politely, to calm him down.
"He has beaten everyone…In one way or another."
"Does that put us on the same level, then, Miko?"
She caught the disdain in his voice. "I suppose so," she answered challengingly, like she had more to say.
They continued walking, and in absence of their talk of Sensei-sama were the hurried sounds of their footsteps.
"Even my brother?" Inuyasha asked, unable to hold back his questions.
"It's good that you can admit that your brother is stronger than you. That's been pestering you for a while," she bantered.
"When did I say that?"
"Oh, you know you said it. But, anyways, Seishou came like you did- failure humbled him greatly," Miko said, choosing her words carefully.
"He probably tried to kill the old man, come to think of it," said Inuyasha broodingly, looking ahead of them into the dimly-lit hallway.
"Probably," she agreed, pulling her quiver of white-fletched arrows higher upon her shoulders. "But the thing is, no matter how good you are, you come here in a different way then you come out. Sensei-sama does that to you. Always. Because once he beats you, you are on the same level with the others. You start below him."
"I don't like it when you try to beat philosophy into me," Inuyasha sighed resignedly.
"This isn't philosophy," she snapped back. "And I'm not beating you. I'll beat you later."
Inuyasha glared. "Like you could ever beat me, wench!"
"I could," she said simply, smiling at his anger.
"And what makes you so sure?" he asked, holding up the glinting black sheath of Tetsusaiga as if to hit Miko on the head with it.
She did not flinch.
"Because I am better than you," she said cryptically.
"And what makes you so sure of that?" he asked, angered but intrigued by whatever ruse she had to yet reveal to him.
Miko stopped walking. They had arrived at the combat class, in front of the Sensei's huge wooden doors and students rushing to get inside. She looked as if she were contemplating whether or not to speak what she was thinking.
She decided just as Inuyasha was pushing the door open with her back, facing her.
"Because…" she started, looking at him seriously and straight in his bright yellow-ochre eyes, waiting for a response. "Because I beat Sensei-sama."
When he failed to supply a retort or remark, she moved to the side of him and walked inside.
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Inuyasha ceased to think of this after a few moments. The great wave of students rushing into Sensei-sama's room to begin the class became a slow trickle; he was the last student to step inside.
The door wouldn't shut quietly; it stuck if he didn't force it. He was already aware of the swell of noise and bustle coming to a halt, gradually, and numerous pairs of eyes on him before he even turned around to face the class.
Determined not to look into the demeaning stares of any one youkai, he looked around the room. Even full of students, it seemed…larger.
In fact, it was. Miko had described to him several times about the sort of spells enchanted over Goshinboku Seminary.
The school itself was sealed. The only way to enter was the wooden pathway built into the cliffside near the dock. The cavern's doorkeeper guarded the only exit to the outside world.
It didn't mean that Inuyasha would never again see the light of day, however. He had also learned in the first week of the courtyard which all the classrooms and dormitories were built around. It was extremely spacious, with formidable stone pillars surrounding the nave where the sacred tree was planted. The large square patch of earth it was rooted in was not strung off by any physical boundaries, but Inuyasha as well as the other youkai knew when something was to be respected, even if not marked. The Goshinboku held a settled aura that reminded Inuyasha of guardianship, something like the patron of the seminary.
The meager furnishings that had been placed in select areas of the room had vanished; there was now only a huge circular arena in the middle of the room.
Exclusive knots of students were gathered on the outskirts of the room, along each of the walls. Even the ceiling seemed to have expanded upwards.
Inuyasha picked out Sesshoumaru's hateful smell despite the numerous others that jumped out at him. However, he couldn't see him, because the assembled students were so many in number.
Spotting Sensei-sama, Inuyasha gently put his hands together at his chin, noticing most of the other students doing the same as he came their way.
"Let's meet your opponent, Shijou," the old man said, laying a hand on Inuyasha's shoulder and ushering him towards the arena floor.
Once on the side of the large ring, he stood opposite of a girl who stood almost a foot under him. She wore something similar to a kimono, except that the blue fabric fit tighter around her figure and cut off at the shoulders. It was fastened by a lavender binding at just below the waist, which was tied in an elaborate bow at the back. She had inserted the sheaths of her two weapons into the binding.
She stepped forward and offered him a hand. He took it easily. Up close he noticed that her hair glinted the same color of her haori, with the baleful wink of lamplight.
"This is Lady Suzume," Sensei said to Inuyasha. "And this is Shijou." Then he stepped away.
Once on opposing sides of the ring, they bowed courteously to each other, each devising a plan to bring down the enemy.
Inuyasha rushed at her, sweeping Testsusaiga low from his left upwards, then recircling sharply to the side.
Suzume sidestepped off towards the right, unsheathed the left sword, and brought it in an elegant crouch to stab his shin.
Inuyahsa caught the movement, blocked the sword, shifted his weight, and forced her back. She stumbled, quickly regained, and unsheathed her right kunai dagger.
In the blink of an eye, she had vanished.
Where did she go?
The answer came sharply in a splitting pain below his right shoulder. Inuyasha sensed a few smirks from the crowd. Suzume jumped again, and Inuyasha raised his sword and traced it over the path he predicted would be of her flight.
Intuition struck true. Suzume continued in the air, tumbling with her hand on her abdomen. To shield her fall, she landed on her shoulder and rolled some way across the ring.
In the time that she had first struck him, she had sheathed her left dagger. She lifted her left hand from off her stomach. On the lavender sash there was a thin streak of dripping crimson.
After this she regained her composure, but Inuyasha was already coming at her. He swept his sword upwards, like his first attack.
This one hit. Suzume's small frame was sent upwards. Inuyasha slashed at her falling body effortlessly.
She stopped her fall this time with her hands, then lunged forward in a somersault kick. Inuyasha had expected her to take more time.
Suzume dashed off to the left after kicking Inuyasha in the chin and retook her blades to stab him once again.
He stopped both of her daggers, one with Tetsusaiga and the other one with his hand at the hilt. Her lavender pupils seemed to shake, contemplating what to do.
He acted first by flinging her off, then coming around in a roundhouse kick to the back of her spine.
Lady Suzume was a skilled fighter; it took no wisdom to see that. But any person with half a brain could point out her faults; there were quite a few. And an experienced warrior could turn some of her best attacks into missed opportunities, disadvantages, and so on.
She was quick- her previous jumps had displayed that well enough. Speed was probably her most valuable asset, she just hadn't trained hard and long enough to put it into effective use.
She had an interesting style that proved effective- sometimes. Hit, run away, jump, hit, jump, run away, etc. She was definitely a close-ranged fighter, because her weapons were so ridiculously short. The kunai, Inuyasha could tell, were great for offensive and defensive purposes.
But Suzume rarely needed defense, since she was so fast. Her type, he concluded, would make an excellent assassin. She was quick and efficient, and her stealth helped to a certain measure. She was also a woman. A certain advantage in a world where men did the killing. It could definitely catch some people off guard.
But her power was over those with none.
The problem was with opponents who could outrun her or predict where she was going. She had not practiced confrontations. The defensive sculpting of the small kunai meant nothing.
It was interesting to toy with the inner workings of an opponent.
Suzume staggered to her feet. By now she should have created her own idea of Inuyasha.
New determination glinted in her eyes. She leapt forward in a high unnatural somersault.
Inuyasha raised Tetsusaiga in a slightly bored manner to block whatever attack she had coming.
Her next move put him at a disadvantage. She had jumped so high that after flipping over, her feet could still reach his head. It was just the range she wanted.
She nearly landed on his sword, shunting it out of the way. But since her body was still rotating forward, she gathered her kunai and held them out as she fell.
In midair, they seemed to gather a strange sort of energy on the edge of their blades. The energy manifested in a bright lavender enigma of flame.
It was a perfect hit. Two dark streaks of blood appeared on either side of his chest. Inuyasha somehow thought that the lavender energy had something to do with the potency of her attack.
Then Suzume moved to the right in one of those elaborate windmill kicks.
Inuyasha hardly paid any attention to his bleeding. He healed quickly; the demon blood in his veins took care of that. But, if anything, Suzume had healed faster. She was also a demon. He was sure.
But so far it only showed in her speed. The students were not allowed to transform during sparring matches. If Suzume had, Inuyasha figured she would be some sort of bird. Quick. Elegant. But not a threat.
With one fluid movement, his opponent rushed at him with both daggers facing him, a confrontational rush of accuracy.
He felt little, even as the kunai went through his skin. She must have forgotten…He was still holding Tetsusaiga. That had to count for something. She seemed to pause there, looking down at where her weapons had pierced his fire-rat haori.
What was she checking for, anyways? Whether or not she hit him?
She must have thought that it was the killing blow.
Well…it was far from it.
In no time at all Inuyasha raised his sword again and jarred the hilt onto Suzume's head in a sharp blow. She remained standing, but seemed to sway a little bit. He must have knocked something around in her head.
In her dazed state, it was easy to bring his sword right next to her neck.
At this point it was understood that the sparring match was over. After all, what chance does the other fighter have when you could take their head off in a single swing?
The students often got extremely competitive, or that's what he figured from what Miko had told him, to the point where they could be striking fatal blows. Fortunately, those always seemed to miss. The seminary's specialists could heal anything. But they could not bring anyone back from the dead.
Each had taken a few blows. But they healed soon enough. After Sensei had taken his time to analyze the spar and point out some things about it, criticizing each combatant, a new pair of students was chosen.
He stood in the back of the room, leaning against a huge wall tapestry of a battle scene.
To his surprise, Suzume came to stand next to him. She had seemed so incredibly sore after he had beaten her, with a large pout on her face that he had not wanted to bother her. She hadn't even looked him in the eye when she shook his hand.
"I don't really think I got the chance to say an official congratulation," she told him with a serious smile. "So, congratulations."
"You're not just showing face, are you?" Inuyasha asked, only half paying attention to the spar going on.
"No. I'm sincere. Anyways, it's good that you won your first battle here at Goshinboku. I'm not sore at all."
He decided that she was much more attractive when he was not fighting with her. She still had the soft, rounded features, which seemed to clash with her deeply-rooted sense of will and determination.
"You're lying," he said.
"No, I'm not. Even though you won against someone like me, it's good you did anyways. Some kids who come here have all the technique and no experience. It shows everyone that you're a match for them, on some level."
"Well, they can find that out for themselves when they're against me," he answered scornfully. He wouldn't say it to Suzume, but in many ways she was weak and beating her didn't prove much. She said it herself. But from all he knew people don't like to hear themselves repeated.
"They all are already against you. You're a hanyou."
"And you aren't against me?" he asked skeptically.
"No. I'm not," she said bluntly. "I grew up with half-demons."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yes. In my household they were the servants most of the time, not humans. Believe it or not, I befriended them. It's nothing to be ashamed of. You are the best of both races."
Inuyasha made some sort of noise in dissent.
"Well, anyways, I just came over here to say thank you."
"For what? I beat you," he sneered.
"I learn from my mistakes. I make so many. I learn quickly." She shrugged. "But thank you for treating me like an opponent."
"Isn't that what you are?"
"Were. Can't we be friends now? Or at least neutral?" Suzume asked.
"Feh."
"What I mean is that most of the demons here are male, you no doubt can see that. How many are girls? I count maybe ten in the room. Their minds are so closed, you see. All of them. They come from such closed societies that they know nothing else but what they have lived," Suzume explained.
Inuyasha thought: Stop whining.
Inuyasha said: "Injustice is everywhere. I've gotten used to it."
"When I first came here, I must have put them off guard. The first one I fought, they call him Ookami."
"Wolf?"
"Yeah. A damned cur is what he is. But just the sight of me cracked him up, I think. He was going way too easy on me at our first confrontation. At first he was toying. He thought I wouldn't retaliate. It was stupid. I beat him anyways," she said indifferently.
"That must've showed him something."
"He's quicker than me, if you can imagine. So it really got to him that I managed to defile the sacred thing that these boys who call themselves men are so obsessed with."
"And that would be?"
"Honor. We all have it. Some more than others, though. Well, then. The next time we became sparring partners, he hadn't cooled off. Everything sort of just caught on fire again. He sent me to the herbalists for a few days."
"And what?"
"Too bad for him, he never regained his honor. But there are dozens of students just like him, you know. As much as they hate me, they hate you more," said Suzume matter-of-factly.
"Well then, I hate them," Inuyasha said carelessly.
"Right. You shouldn't care. But it's because I'm a demon. And it's so damn unspeakable that a hanyou could defeat a youkai!" Suzume pretended to be shocked.
"How long have you been here?" Inuyasha asked.
"A long time. I forget how long I've been cooped up here." She shrugged.
"I think it's made you crazy."
"Yeah, probably. It's been a while. I'll be graduating to become a sorceress soon."
He looked at her skeptically.
"I know, I know." She glared at him. "You think I'm a weakling. But the truth is I've got some of the best combat magic of anyone in this room."
"It has something to do with…"
"The purple flame. Yes. Mostly I was concentrated on you, but since I had an opportunity, I created it. The power's not full-fledged, though."
"So not everyone can do it?"
"Half of the people can, I'll tell you that much. Usually they're the smarter ones," Suzume said, smiling.
"Like you," Inuyasha said, rolling his eyes.
"Exactly. I'm friends with some of them, too. Not all demons are bad people." She shrugged. "Just thought I'd give you some advice. You're likely to be at the Seminary a while, too."
"What's the advice?" asked Inuyasha.
"Did I forget anything?" She thought silently. "Oh, just never compromise with the bad ones here. Stand your ground, stick up for what you believe in, and don't expect them to go easy on you just because you've got half the power that they do."
He glowered at her.
"Well, are we friends then?" Suzume said apathetically.
"Neutral," Inuyasha said sternly, watching her smile at his answer and walk away.
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Footnotes. Not a long one. I'm so tired! Over 3000 words in one sitting? I could barely do it this time. If I could have my way, I would never do footnotes again! But you reviewers like them. And I cater to my audience. Though they like to see me suffer.
Suzume means "sparrow" in Japanese. Hah! Inuyasha was right! She was a bird! o.O
Review. Now. I bite, you know.
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