Hey , once again I wanted to appologize to anyone who was confused or annoyed by all of this chapter rearanging. I promise the next chapter is going to be up by some time tomorrow and it will be awesome.

Chapter 8: Arashi

In the midst of the morning surrounded by the singing of birds, two archers, standing side by side steadily aimed their bows. Both were highly focused on the whole area, waiting for something to appear. A few faint clicks emitted through the air and they knew it was about to begin. Birds flying out of nearby trees signaled the arrival of three circular tan disks being shot into the air. The two fired at the first disks they saw. Disks continued to fly as the archers continued to hit and then shatter the targets. Both were equally matched. The archer on the right quickly replaced her arrow as soon as the last one had been shot, not waiting for the arrow to hit its target. Maybe it was the combination of her dragon blood and endless practice that did it but whatever it was, her speed and aim were what made her the best archer in Shaimi. The archer on the left had greatly grown in skill since she last awakened. Although she was not as quick with her bow as her counterpart, her aim was now about the same. But what set her apart from the other women, was her power. Yes, the archer on the left was a miko, and a powerful one at that. It seemed since she had begun her training two weeks ago, that the miko had grown steadily in strength, agility, stamina, skill, and power.

Their training had been excruciating. Every day they had begun their training before the lanterns that hung from the cave ceiling had even begun to open. They ran through different types of terrain, at different speeds for different amounts of time. The miko had been taught the true skills of the bow from the master herself. Never before had the miko been taught to fight with the bow itself, an ability only the most skilled used. Since the miko never had used a sword that was how she was taught to fight in close battles. The bow she had been given was different than any on the mainland. It was made out of an almost unbreakable material that resembled wood, although it was slightly heavier than regular bows due to the fact two blades were hidden inside. The blades were kept in place until the user slid a slot, which allowed the blades to fully extend out. Both of the curved blades were a foot in length. When not extended only the tips of the blades were seen. It could easily turn the tides of battle.

After training the women would bath and then explore the different sections of Shaimi, from the large city, whose buildings looked more like parts of the palace itself to the farms, and forests. The news of the miko excited many of the residents of Shaimi. Most, the young miko found out, were demons that, like Sesshomaru, looked somewhat human but had true demon forms as well. They greeted her with open arms, showering her with many gifts. One woman had even given her an old miko outfit, which the miko now adorned. They would beg her to tell them of her magnificent travels but for some reason they always felt incomplete when she ever told them. She felt as if something or perhaps someone was often missing from them. Some would ask to tell about the powerful hanyou with she traveled with, but she simply could not remember. The healer, Sakura, had confronted her about it and she had said it had something to do with the potion that she could not remember some things. She had been told this week was the week she would no longer have to take it and then she could finally start to remember.

And that was how life had been for the two young women the past two weeks. Kasumi and Kagome had been found hanging out together all the time. If someone had just met the two girls they would have thought they had been friends ever since their birth.

The last of the tan disks were shot into the air and shattered.

"I got 23 , beat that Kasumi!"

"Bout 37."

"Am I ever going to beat you?"

"Probably not."

Laughter quickly consumed the two as they headed towards the three launchers from which the disks had come from. They fired automatically a few minutes after 20 disks had been loaded into each. The two young ladies came to the first one and proceeded to pick it up.

"Nah, you probably will. Last week you were at10 and now you are almost at 25. You have really grown in skill."

"Thanks. I really want to show my friends how much better I have gotten since I left them. They are probably worried sick and I miss them as well as my family. You said you will accompany back at the end of the week right?"

"Yea of course, I haven't been to the mainland since I was child and I would love to meet your friends. We just have to get the ok from the king because it is still the stormy season."

"You might want to reconsider meeting my friends after you are introduced to Miroku."

"You mean the monk who asks every women he meets to bear his children."

"Yeah, that's him."

"I will teach him a thing or two about asking every women to bear his children."

Kagome burst out in laughter, "He was tricked by a demon disguised as a woman who was going to eat him and he still is his perverted self. I am pretty sure you won't be able to do anything."

"Well we will see."

After the archers put the remaining two launchers into the weaponry house they started walking out of the training grounds while still talking of the perverted antics of the monk. The training grounds were beautifully erected. There were a few different training spots for different types of weapons each surrounded by beautiful birch trees that surrounded the grounds. The exotic trees had been given to King Suto-mu by a king from Europe. Dirt paths connected each different area to the next. A weaponry house and a bathhouse were built side by side, right by the entrance to the training grounds. They were made out of a polished light-blue stone and had a deep blue sea glass roof. Inside the bathhouse was a natural hot spring where many of the people went after training. As Kagome and Kasumi walked out under the archway that marked they were leaving the grounds, made of the same stone as the bathhouse and weaponry house, a thought came to Kasumi.

"Hey, Kagome do you want to race?" asked Kasumi.

"If it is anything like yesterday's 'easy run' around the lagoon count me out."

"It was easy."

"For you, you can run on top of the sand without sinking into it."

Kasumi let out a loud laugh; "I am sorry Kagome. I guess I should have told you I could do that."

Kagome started laughing too, "Well at least it was great for my training and figure. What would this race consist of?"

"Ok, well I thought we could run through the least dense part of the bamboo forest. It will help with out reflexes and sharpen our sense. Oh, and I was also thinking you could meet my friend. He has been away for the past couple months and just returned yesterday so he's probably off relaxing by the stream in the forest. It is his favorite spot."

"Oh um, Arashi right?"

"Yeah, you will love him!"

"Ok but we could just walk there?"

"Come on Kagome, it will be fun I promise. I will only go half speed and I will give you a head start."

"Alright, you win."

"Yes! Ok, well, it's a 15 minutes run to the stream. Ready. Set. GO!"

Kagome took off almost in a full sprint. The last two weeks had put her in the best shape of her life. She was dodging every thick buy delicate tree; it was far more difficult than she had a first expected. Luckily the trees were spaced a few feet apart. About ten minutes Kagome picked up speed but then it hit her, a pain straight to her heart. He hand clutched herchest but for some reason she kept going.

"Ah"

Why is this happening again? It's the same pain from the first time I woke up. It feels as if my heart has been ripped out.

Despite the increasing pain Kagome continued running and then she saw it, a flash of red in the distance. Tears now strolled down her cheeks. She didn't know what was happening or why the flash of red made her do this but she was afraid, very afraid. At the same time she wanted to go where she saw the red. It called to her very soul, her very being

Not to far away a demon sat on a large boulder in a small clearing by the stream. His arms and legs were crossed while his eyes were closed, so it could have been presumed he was meditating. Light blue almost luminescent hair stood about five inches from the top of his head, revealing his pointed ears. A light tan covered his almost perfect face. His only flaw was a small scar inflicted on his left cheek. He wore a dark blue shirt that ended almost right at his shoulder. Silver shoulder plates were worn on his shoulders with a ridged, intricate design. A white short sleeved shirt was worn underneath his dark outer blue one. Around both of his wrists a type of armor was strapped. The armor was only on the front of his arms and went up a little past his elbows, which was where they came to a sharp point. His pants were a bluish-gray color that was loosely fit. His legs adorned the same armor on the outside of his pants that he wore on his arms. The armor was strapped around his ankles, only covering the front of his legs. It went up a little past his knee where it came to a sharp point. His entire armor had the same ridged, intricate design as his shoulder plates. By looking at the demon's clawed hands and feet, the armor, and the lack of weapons one could tell he was a close combat fighter.

The demon's light blue eyes shot open with the sounds of someone approaching. Their footsteps were erratic and fear surrounded them. The scent seemed all too familiar to him but yet he could not pin point who it was. Suddenly Kagome appeared emerging out of the clearing but before she could go any further she tripped on a fallen bamboo tree. The demon leapt up from where he was sitting and caught Kagome before he passed out. He knew who she was now. Four months ago they had met. He stared down at the young women in his arms.

"Kagome…"

Shortly after Kasumi had found Kagome inArashi's arms. They both took her back to the palace to her room where they were now waiting for her to awake.

"Arashi, so she just tripped?"

"Yeah, but something really frightened her."

"Did you see or sense anything that would scare he like that?"

"No, nothing at all."

Kagome woke up to the sound of two voices nearby. She knew the one to be Kasumi's and from the conversation she found out the other one was Arashi. Kagome slowly opened her eyes and found herself on the inside her room lying in bed. She felt lightheaded and slightly sick.

"Kagome!" yelled Kasumi as she and Arashi rushed to her side.

"You are finally awake, we were getting worried. How are you feeling?" asked Arashi.

"I am ok, I guess I just fainted."

Kagome put her hand to her head. She still felt slightly groggy but she managed to push herself up into a sitting position with the help of Arashi and Kasumi. Strangely enough the pain that had course throughout out her very soul had seemed to cease.

"Here drink this", said Arashi has he handed her a cup of water.

"No, thank you, I am fine."

"Kagome are you sure you are all right, you just fainted after all?" asked Kasumi with a very concerned look in her eyes.

"Yea its just, I had that pain again, remember the one I told you about when I first woke up. Then I thought I saw something seemed really familiar but I was very afraid of it. Seems weird, huh?"

"Yeah it kinda does but it's the effect of that stupid potion again. Sakura was in here a while ago and has agreed not to give you that it again."

"Well that is good, at least. So this is your friend Arashi, right?"

"Oh yes, how rude, I am Arashi. We actually kind of met a little over four months ago but you would not remember."

"Really? Where?"

"I was the one who saved you", replied Arashi with a sad look in his eyes.

Lovely Winds ' Lovely Seas