Shoutout: Sending my love to uchiha96. I hope things get better for you. I'm going through a few things myself, so knowing that updating a chapter or two can help someone get through hard times is pretty good motivation.

Chapter Twenty: Group Training

The night was chaotic. Yukino and Mizuki worked to get Sesshomaru's room cleaned up. A separate servant was asked to prepare a bath for him, so he could get the blood out of his hair. Kagome asked if he would see Rin before then, but he decided against it. She had seen him hurt in the past, but not to this degree. He still felt weak and looked utterly exhausted. The guards were alerted to the intruder and patrols were sent out to find who may have done this. Alwin refused to leave Sesshomaru's side, reiterating an old idea of having someone stand at his door side while he slept. Sesshomaru refused the idea many times, but he admitted to considering it after this.

After Sesshomaru took his bath, he met everyone in the office, where even Rin was impatiently waiting for him. The girl was sitting in Kagome's lap, sniffling, and holding back tears. Everyone assured her that Sesshomaru was okay, but she wanted to see him for herself. When the door slid open, her head popped up and she looked fearfully at her dad. He came over and picked her up from Kagome's lap.

"Are you okay?" Rin asked.

"Yes, I am." Sesshomaru said.

He brought her over to his chair and sat down, holding Rin close.

"You scared me." Rin said.

"I know, but I am healed." Sesshomaru said. "I am tired and my sense of smell is almost gone."

"According to Yukino, that may be a side effect of the poison." Miroku said.

"You were poisoned!" Rin asked.

"Yes, I was."

"Who did it?" Rin asked.

"That's what I'd like to find out." Kagome said.

"Momma." Shippo said, hopping into Kagome's lap, "How did you know Sesshomaru was being attacked?"

Everyone turned to Kagome, whose demeanor was harder than normal. She was angry. She glanced around the room, her eyes falling on Sesshomaru before she cleared her throat.

"I woke from a nightmare." Kagome said. "I sensed this strong, uncontrolled hatred. It felt like a heat radiating from my right. Something in the back of my mind told me to get up and check. When I opened the door, I saw the knife, but not fast enough to do anything about it."

Kagome's mind was flooded with the image of a flash of silver repeatedly piercing Sesshomaru's chest. It went in and out. In and out. She heard the tearing of flesh. His blood was glowing brighter than the knife. It splashed everywhere and everything turned red. The floor was red. The walls were red. His skin was red. The blankets were red. She was red. Everything was red. Red, red, red, red, red, RED.

"KAGOME!"

Kagome's eyes snapped open. She looked around the room at a group of terrified faces. Kikyo was standing in front of Inuyasha, as if shielding him from something. Sesshomaru stood on the opposite side of the room, a hand out toward her, his skin scorched and smoking. Kohaku was being shielded by Miroku. Shippo was in Sango's arms, blowing on his hands. Sango looked unharmed, but wholly shocked. Kagome swallowed nervously and shifted in her chair.

"What happened?" Kagome asked.

"I think we should be asking you that." Miroku said. "Where did you go just now?"

"What do you mean? I didn't leave."

"Not physically no, but you weren't answering us." Sango said.

"I didn't hear you."

"Your body was glowing. Your spiritual power started emanating from you and filling the room. If it had continued, you would have done more than singe Shippo's hands." Kikyo said.

Kagome looked to Shippo, jaw dropped, "I did that? I hurt you?"

"Yeah, but it's okay. You've got a lot of new powers. That's why we're gonna start training tomorrow, or today." Shippo said.

"Correct, but I do want to know what caused that." Sesshomaru said, setting Rin down.

"What were you thinking about, Kagome?" Miroku asked.

"I, um… I was thinking about what I saw when I opened Sesshomaru's door." Kagome said, shamefully shaking her head. "I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I'm so sorry."

"Oh, don't be silly. Remember, Inuyasha gave Kilala bald spots when practicing the Windscar on her." Shippo said and held up his hands, "This doesn't even hurt and will be gone by tomorrow."

"That was one time!" Inuyasha said.

"Everyone to bed." Sesshomaru said. "We have work to do in the morning."

The group all said their goodnights and returned to their rooms. Sesshomaru and Alwin both re-tucked Rin into bed, and Alwin made a promise that he would stay by her dad's side all night. Kagome enjoyed hearing the exchange. She never even left the office. As Sesshomaru walked back to his room, he noticed she was still sitting in the chair. He motioned for Alwin to wait outside and slid the door closed between them. Sesshomaru put a hand under her chin and made her look up to him. Kagome grasped the hand, hers trembling as she held it.

"Are you alright?" Sesshomaru asked, keeping his voice low.

Kagome shook her head.

"I hurt Shippo, and I don't even know how." She whispered.

"The boy is fine; he's a strong young demon."

"You were poisoned and stabbed like twenty times."

"I'm fine. There isn't even a scar."

"That's not the point."

"Then what is the point?"

"Someone tried to kill you; I don't like it." Kagome said and stood up from the chair. "When someone tries to kill Inuyasha, it's up front and in his face. It's someone he can sense coming. It is an actual fight, but not this time. Someone you trust, someone in this castle, poisoned you to exhaust you and dull your senses. They snuck into your room while you slept, like a pathetic coward," the words dripped with venom, "…and tried to take your life under our noses. I have only been this level of angry one other time in my life."

"Oh, and wh-…"

"Even Naraku hasn't ever done something so low." Kagome spat the words. "The thought of waking up and findin-…"

"Kagome…" Sesshomaru put his hands on her shoulder. "Calm down. Thanks to all of you, I am well. You need to relax, and get some sleep."

"I know." Kagome nodded.

A moment of silence allowed Kaogme to take a deep breath and really calm down. She nodded and pat Sesshomaru's chest before passing him by and returning to her room. As she closed the door, she looked worriedly at Sesshomaru. He nodded to reassure her, so she went to bed. She did not get a single ounce of sleep. She kept her eyes open, listening, sensing everything she could. Something in her mind was hyper-focused. It was something strange, new, and helpful.

Kagome breathed in a slow equal rhythm. Her eyes were open, but her mind was everywhere else. With this sense, it was more literal than she understood. She could see every room clearly, parts of the courtyard, her friends, patrolling guards, sleeping servants, the walls around the castle, and some of the valley surrounding it. It was like her mind reached out of her own body to create a real-time vision of the castle grounds. With how much she could see, there was no sleeping.

When the morning came, Kagome watched her friends get out of bed, wake each other up, and start getting ready. Sesshomaru slept a bit longer and when everyone was up, they asked Alwin to wake him. Shippo came to wake Kagome up, but saw her eyes open and realized she was already awake.

"Morning, Momma, how did you sleep?" Shippo asked, hopping on the side of her bed.

"Why can't I go back?" Kagome asked herself.

The vision condensed around her room, but she couldn't get out of this strange trance. It was like she was hovering over Shippo and her own body, trying to speak, but not moving. Shippo became worried and shook her a little.

"Momma?"

"Kagome, wake up!" She yelled at herself. "Regain control! What are you doing? You're scaring your son!"

"Something is wrong with Momma!"

The group gathered quickly and saw the wide-eyed Kagome staring at the ceiling. Inuyasha shook her lightly, called her name, and received no answer. Sango became more worried and shook Kagome a little rougher. Sango even tried to closer her eyes. Sesshomaru tapped at her forehead with his nail.

"She's in a trance of sorts." Sesshomaru asked.

"Do you mind?" Kikyo said.

The group let Kikyo through, so the woman knelt next to Kagome and covered her eyes.

"Kagome, if I'm right, you can hear us, but can't move." Kikyo said. "Now, focus in only on this room and the people in it."

Kikyo waited a moment. This gave Kagome enough time to let go of the rest of the castle and truly concentrate on the room.

"Now, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and try to go to sleep."

"Oh, how am I supposed to do that?" Kagome thought.

The group waited as Kagome tried. Suddenly, her vision blurred and went black. She felt a pressure on her face and realized her eyes were being covered. Her hand came up and gently grasped Kikyo's wrist.

"That was really strange." Kagome said.

"Momma, are you okay?" Shippo asked, hopping into her lap.

"Oh, yes. I'm just fine. That was just very strange." Kagome hugged Shippo and looked to Kikyo. "What was that?"

"It's a sensory ability that very few priestesses in history have ever obtained. Your body rests, while your mind reaches out to watch over anything you choose."

"I could see everything up to a point beyond the castle walls; though there are somethings that I wish I didn't."

"Oh, did you see something funny?" Rin asked.

"I wouldn't call it funny. Anyways, changing that subject…" Kagome said as she stood up from bed. "We've got training to do."

"Breakfast is likely waiting for you all." Alwin said, yawning.

"Get some rest." Sesshomaru dismissed him.

"Thank you, Lord Sesshomaru."

The group made their way to the dining hall, where breakfast was indeed waiting for them. After a good meal and some mild conversation, the group made their way to the training area. Different tools and weapons were set up, including the archery range, weights, ropes, straw dummies, and more.

During training, Sesshomaru and Inuyasha practiced their swordsmanship. Inuyasha was used to wildly swinging his Tetsusaiga, so Sesshomaru was willing to teach him some discipline in that area. Sango and Miroku used this time to spar, though the hiraikotsu was left off to the side. With minor guidance from Sesshomaru, Shippo was learning to intensify the effect of his fox fire and come up with a stronger transformation than his oddly shaped pink ball. Rin wanted to use a bow and arrow, but Sesshomaru told her to increase her strength first. If she didn't, she wouldn't even be able to draw the string back, so Rin spent her time doing boring strength exercises.

For Kagome, the focus for training was Kagome's spiritual power. After exhibiting more power than she liked, Kagome wanted to make sure she didn't hurt anyone or lose control again. Instead of trying to use her combative abilities, Kikyo thought sharpening her senses would be a better starting point. It would also help allow her to sleep through the night instead of using energy to watch over the entire castle. Sharpening her senses didn't come as naturally as everyone expected. Kagome thought the ease of sensing the sacred jewel shards would make this a cake walk, but she quickly realized she was wrong. Pushing her senses anything beyond ten feet clouded her vision. The farther she extended here mind, the stronger the pain became.

"Ah! I don't get it." Kagome yelled. "Sensing the shards is so easy, so why can't I do this?"

"The shards radiate an aura on their own, similar to demonic auras, but this is you expanding your mind and searching on your own." Kikyo said.

"I don't know what to do. It hurts." Kagome said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"You've been at it for a while now. Let's take a break." Kikyo said.

"Oh, yeah! Break time." Kagome said and laid down on the grass.

"Hey, everyone!" Kikyo called out to the rest of the group. "We're going to rest for a while. Kagome's had enough."

When the call came to take a break, the children were thankful. Neither of them found training very entertaining and were tired out quickly. Inuyasha wasn't tired, but had no problem with a quick break. Sango and Miroku collapsed in the sparring ring. Sesshomaru ordered a servant to bring refreshments.

"The heat isn't helping." Sango said.

"No, it's not." Sesshomaru agreed, wiping a small layer of sweat from his own brow. "It's been six hours. Lunch is on the way; that should be enough for a day."

"What? That's all? Come on, we can keep going after a break." Inuyasha said.

"No, I learned my lesson last time." Sesshomaru said. "We're done for the day."

Sesshomaru turned from the group and began cleaning up the area. Inuyasha crossed his arms and sat down.

"What's that even mean?" Inuyasha said.

"He's talking about my training before. I worked myself too hard and got sick because of it." Kagome said.

"We wouldn't let that happen again!"

"I guess Sesshomaru is just being more careful this time." Sango said.

"He doesn't know our limits and is likely testing them. I can appreciate that." Miroku said.

After some rest and lunch in the training grounds, the group returned to the castle and continued the day quietly. At the end of the night, when it was time for bed, Kagome's anxiety increased. Images of the night before echoed in her mind. She shook her head, trying to get rid of the thoughts as she lay in bed. Sesshomaru was in the next room over. She stared at the wall that separated them. Would that happen again tonight? The assassin failed.

Kagome finally fell asleep with the knowledge that Alwin was standing alert on Sesshomaru's balcony. Hours into her sleep, Kagome's eyes snapped open as a familiar sensation approached the castle grounds. Her senses reached out again, but not anywhere near as clearly as the first time. This time, it was blurry and unfocused. Kagome assumed it was because she was awake and in full control over it. All she could see was a dark silhouette approaching the main gate. There were guards at the gate, though Kagome couldn't tell whether they were dead or alive. They didn't move and the aura of hatred passed them by without resistance.

"Who is it?" Kagome thought. "I can't see them. Who is it? Why are they back? Why aren't the guards doing anything?"

Kagome's fear and anger rose quickly as she tried to confirm who the presence was. Her heart raced, her breathing quickened. She couldn't get a clear picture.

"Kagome, are you alright?" Sesshomaru called out from his room.

She didn't reply. She focused on the approaching hostile. When she couldn't do it, Kagome closed off her mind. She jumped out of bed, rushed out of her bedroom door, passing Sesshomaru in the process. Ignoring him, she ran down the hallway and descended the stairs. The ruckus got everyone but Jaken out of bed. A couple of concerned heads popped out of their respective bedrooms and looked to Sesshomaru.

"What's going on?" Sango asked.

"I don't know." Sesshomaru said. "Something upset her."

The group followed Kagome, ordering the kids to repeat the night before. They were all to hide in one room until told otherwise.

"He's here." Kagome thought. "I know it's him. I can sense that same hatred, that same desire to kill."

When Kagome reached the bottom floor, she stumbled. A guard tried helping her back to her feet, but she pulled her arm away and ran out the front door. The guard followed along with Sesshomaru and the rest. As Kagome reached the main courtyard, she slid to a stop. That feeling of hatred, that palpable loathing stood in front of her. Kagome's eyes widened; her breath caught.

"But… you…" Kagome said.

The rest of the group caught up and stopped behind Kagome. As Sesshomaru touched her shoulder, she felt the hatred rise like an overboiling pot. Kagome instinctively placed herself in front of Sesshomaru, glaring angrily at an all too familiar face.

"Jukudo."