In the Beholders Eye

Written By Sarga

May/June 2006

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters, I'm just taking a theme and running with it...

Sorry for the wait, I've had a few mishaps in the last week – my $50 bike doesn't take kindly to traveling 20 km a day, apparently...

Anywho, it's a long one, so sit back and relax.

Enjoy!

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Chapter 11: Demonstration's Confrontation

Kagome awoke to the clanking of metal on metal. Opening her eyes, she started to panic, the familiar sight of the cave bringing her experience to the front of her mind. Sitting bolt upright, Kagome immediately saw the reason for the noise. Sitting at his anvil, hammer in hand, was Totosai.

Looking up at her, Totosai grinned from ear to ear.

"Up just in time to see your new dagger, are ya'?" Totosai held up a small dagger as he spoke.

"Dagger? I thought you were going to make me a sword?" Kagome stretched, yawning loudly.

"He was," chimed Myoga, hopping up to Kagome's shoulder. "But he couldn't find a fang long enough to..."

SLAP!

Kagome looked to her shoulder, a clawed hand squishing the flee to her body. Inuyasha lifted his hand and let the flee fall to the floor.

"What did you do that for?" Kagome asked halfheartedly, knowing the reason. 'Stupid male ego...'

"He was about to bite you..." Inuyasha attempted to cover up.

Kagome rolled her eyes and stood to her feet. Turning to face Inuyasha, she inquired, "How long have I been out anyway." Kagome peered around, trying to read the passage of time by some visible marker.

"Three days."

"Three days!" Kagome's eyes went wide with astonishment. As if to confirm this revelation, Kagome's stomach let out a growl worthy of a full demon.

Clutching her stomach, her face screwed up with hunger, Kagome gave a pleading look to Inuyasha.

"You wouldn't happen to have any food would you?"

Inuyasha pointed towards the cooking fire and she immediately spotted a bowl of leftover meat. She ran to the fire, grabbing the bowl from its perch and devoured the contents in smacking gulps.

Laughter came from Inuyasha as he folded his arms and sat back against the wall of the cave.

"And what...is so...funny?" Kagome sputtered between bites.

"You thought I was the pig?" he chuckled as Kagome stopped, looked at her shirt and started to turn beet-red with embarrassment. Her shirt, having faired better than her blood-stained, muddy skirt, was streaked with bits of meat.

Abandoning her near-empty bowl, Kagome tore about the room looking for her backpack. Flinging everything aside that might have concealed it, Kagome turned redder and redder, first with embarrassment, then with frustration.

"Um...Kagome?" Inuyasha, a chuckle in his voice, tried to halt her hasty search. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall as she continued.

"Not now, I'm looking for my backpack..." Kagome ignored him.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha was more forceful, trying, unsuccessfully, to hide his mirth.

"WHAT!" She snapped, scowling at his obvious amusement.

"You left your bag with Miroku and Sango."

Kagome blushed, her ears drooping with the realization. Face reddening, Kagome put her hands on her hips and snapped. "You could have told me sooner, you...you..." Inuyasha's grin widened at Kagome's inability to complete her insult. She spit out the first word that came to mind. "You mutt!"

His eyes wide and mouth agape in shock, Inuyasha glared at Kagome. "Well then, maybe I won't give you your present."

'That was too far,' Kagome thought, lowering her head in shame. 'Especially now that I'm technically the same as him...' Kagome felt the burning in her swell up as if to chastise her human selfishness. "I'm sorry," she whispered to the floor.

Thrusting a bundle in Kagome's face, Inuyasha grunted, indicating that he hadn't fully forgiven her. Kagome took it and Inuyasha pulled back, crossing his arms back over his chest.

The off-white cloth bundle felt dense yet surprisingly soft. Untieing the outermost layer, Kagome saw that it was a shirt. Held within the shirt was shimmering purple. Even in Kagome's time, full of polyester and other synthetic fibers, she had never seen something so deep and penetrating as that purple cloth.

Shaking the garment to full length, she saw that it was identical to Inuyasha's, excepting the colour.

"What is it?" Kagome asked, unable to keep the awe out of her voice.

"Its made from the hair of a Lightning Coyote. They're very hard to kill, mostly because of their skin, something about them needing the durability to channel the lightning." Inuyasha scratched his head as he tried to recall it, then stood a little straighter. "It's not as good as mine, but it'll give you more protection when you go into battle."

Kagome nodded in understanding, pulling the cloth out in front of her to admire it once more.

"Train me," Kagome stated. She wasn't asking, Inuyasha knew better than to make that mistake.

'For all of the human life she's lived, she sure does a good impression of a demon,' Inuyasha thought to himself with a begrudging nod.

"Now get a bath, you stink!" He pointed to the bath house, expression one of disgust.

Opening her mouth to argue, Kagome quickly snapped it shut again. 'I do stink!' Stomping by Inuyasha, Kagome held her new attire just off of her body, not wanting to contaminate the new, clean clothes.

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Kagome emerged from the bath house, tugging at her clothing awkwardly. It was a new sensation, the feeling of cloth bounding her chest rather than a bra, but it was more secure, and she knew that was what she needed.

Kagome admired her new attire. The leggings matched the cloak, both free-moving, yet secure, the purple cloth shimmering gently as she moved. Having removed her shoes for comfort, Kagome found that her feet were as durable as any shoe, and with her claws they were more likely to be comfortable in a battle. She was amazed that the shoes had not fallen apart when she had attacked Inuyasha, with all of the blood that had been on her clothes.

"You're awake at last!" Bounding towards her, Myoga seemed to eminate a mixture of relief and fear. "Inuyasha has informed me of your request and I have insisted upon showing you some calming techniques first." Inuyasha's ear twitched in annoyance at Myoga's intrusion on his training plan. "It won't do for you to lose yourself in the middle of a training battle after all."

Kagome nodded as she walked towards Inuyasha, the flea jumping to her shoulder. Kagome could feel as her new blood burned through her veins. She was restless. Forcing herself to be still, Kagome sat opposite to Inuyasha and she noticed that he was just as eager to be moving.

'My new senses are becoming more natural. I can tell the emotions without much effort now.' Kagome took a deep breath of the outdoor air and gave a small cough. 'Although, all of this sulfur kind of evens things out a little.'

Settling into the same position as Kagome and Inuyasha, Myoga took a deep breath. "Now, when you're in battle, what is it that you focus on?"

Kagome thought for a moment. "I don't really focus on anything." She thought a little more, recalling her attack on Inuyasha. "I think, maybe, I focus on my anger," she admitted with a small nod.

"Good, that's good." Myoga seemed pleased at her response. "You know what drives your demon half. Without that knowledge, any attempts to stay calm would be wasted.

"What we have to do now, is find a thought or image that makes your human heart soar, something that keeps you happy and relaxed." Turning to Inuyasha, Myoga continued. "What do you think of, Master Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha's face turned a light shade of pink as he averted his eyes from Kagome's curious gaze. "I don't think that would work for her, Myoga."

Still curious, Kagome let it slide. The last thing she needed was to anger him before a mock-battle.

"Okay, Kagome. How about you think of something personally satisfying? What about your family?"

Kagome felt a pang of sadness. She had been able to hold off thoughts of her family up to this point, thinking instead how to hunt, how to discern the new sights and sounds from one another, anything to keep her mind busy.

At the pained expression in her eyes, Myoga quickly made a new suggestion. "What about Shippo? You two seem to have a very close relationship, much like a mother and her pup."

Unnoticed by Kagome, Inuyasha's face turned back to its previous shade of pink.

Kagome nodded in ascent. "Yes, that's true." She reflected on the memory of Shippo in her arms at night, he was comforted by her warmth, much as she was comforted by his. "I think that'll be a good image to think of."

Continuing on, Myoga made further suggestions to aid her when she felt the anger rise. After about an hour of practice, recalling memories and setting them to the front of her mind, Myoga felt she was ready to proceed.

"Finally!" Inuyasha jumped up and grabbed Kagome by the hand, pulling her off the ground in one fowl swoop.

Letting go of her hand, Inuyasha leaped to a position several feet away.

"Before we start you have to promise me that you won't hold back." Inuyasha saw uncertainty in Kagome's eyes. "If you hold back, we'll never know where your strengths and weaknesses lie. You won't hurt me, not yet anyway. You don't know how to fight very well." He thought back to their battle and realized she was better than he was giving her credit for, but thought it best not to get her hopes up. She had been overwhelmed by her demon side after all.

Kagome finally agreed, thinking of all of the battles he had been through. 'How much damage could I do, anyway?' she thought to herself.

"First we're going to practice stances. You'll need to stay on your feet if you want to have the upper hand." Inuyasha held a stance that Kagome had seen him in during many battles.

Kagome felt her face drop in disappointment.

Seeing this, Inuyasha responded. "You won't be able to fight if you're on the ground. They'll end up killing you quickly like that."

Kagome nodded, knowing he was right, but a burning for action was still welling up inside of her.

"I'm getting restless though," she told him honestly.

"Okay then," Inuyasha perked up and shifted his position. "We'll do some throwing techniques."

"Right." Kagome nodded her head in one quick motion.

"Now run at me and try to hit me," Inuyasha ordered.

Without any hesitation, Kagome did as she was asked. After three days of rest, she was ready to move and move she did. In a flash she was at Inuyasha's side, ready to strike. She hesitated for a heartbeat and felt herself being jettisoned through the air. Flipping herself almost by instinct, Kagome landed on her knees, a hand catching her from falling on her face.

"What was that?" Inuyasha demanded, referring to her hesitation with a twinge of annoyance.

'Wow, she was fast! If she hadn't stopped I would have been hit,' he thought to himself.

Standing, Kagome dusted herself off. Her new clothing was working wonders, it had prevented her from getting a single scratch.

"Do it again, only without the hesitation!" Inuyasha prepared himself for the quick attack as she again flung herself at him. Judging her speed a little better, he barely managed to dodge. This time he only grasped her enough to fling her down rather than to make her fully airborne.

"Again!"

She ran faster, the burning desire for action welling up, threatening to engulf her.

Kagome swung her claws at Inuyasha and grazed his shoulder as he turned and threw her to the ground. Inuyasha saw as the outer edges of her eyes started to bleed crimson.

"Think of Shippo!" he instructed, their earlier practice coming to bear.

'She's just like a juvenile! She can barely control her demon instincts.' Inuyasha's amazement was apparent on his face.

With a grunt of ascent from Kagome, Inuyasha saw as the crimson in her eyes began to recede. She ran at him again, this time making solid contact with his left forearm. His claws tore through his flesh as his right arm grabbed her cloak and tossed her to the air.

"Enough!" he shouted, looking in shock at the damage she had inflicted.

Standing from her crash landing, Kagome jogged lightly to his side. "Are you okay?" She asked with obvious concern.

"Yeah," he grunted. "I think I wasn't giving you enough credit. You're pretty good."

She smiled sheepishly at him. All of the battles she had witnessed had left her with a bit more knowledge than either of them had realized.

"Now it's your turn," he stated simply, his wound closing up quickly, leaving a blood caked scab.

Inuyasha moved Kagome's feet to the same position he had held moments before and moved several feet away.

"When I come at you, grab here," he pointed to his body. "And here, if you can spare the hand."

Kagome nodded, committing the key points to memory. Inuyasha ran at her and she felt a rush as she saw him, almost in slow motion, proceed. Keeping her eyes to his body, Kagome easily clasped the two points of his cloak and threw him over her shoulder. A look of shock flashed across Inuyasha's face as he launched through the air, landing hard on his back and sliding through the dirt.

Not to be left in such an unappealing position, Inuyasha leaped to his feet and ran at her with all the speed he could muster.

Again, Kagome could see his every move, each step exaggerated as she focused. Just as easily as the first time, she grasped at his body and lobbed it into the air.

"What..!" was all Inuyasha could manage before he unceremoniously crashed to the ground, all sense of balance and grace absent. Standing, Inuyasha panted with obvious exertion.

This time it was Kagome's turn to feel nervous. She saw as his eye's held tinges of a lack of control.

"Think of your happy place," she shouted, hoping he would calm down. 'I must be doing well to make him act like that,' she thought with a grimace. 'This is supposed to be about me learning control...'

Closing his eyes, Inuyasha shook his head. Opening them slowly, Kagome saw clear golden eyes, the scent of guilt overwhelming the sulfurous air. He approached her slowly, head slightly bowed.

"You're doing pretty good, Kagome. I think..." He hesitated, looking off into the distance. "I think we should practice your stances next..."

"Okay." Kagome wanted to allow his pride to heal. She knew how much he hated losing in battle.

The rest of the afternoon proceeded without incident, Inuyasha showing her moves that didn't require physical confrontation to demonstrate. His ego was bruised and she knew better than to demand more fighting.

It had surprised them both to experience the extent of Kagome's abilities. The expectation of Kagome's usual weakened state was still in their minds, a perception of her weaker human form. Despite this, Kagome picked up the new information quickly, demonstrating a natural warrior's abilities.

As the night approached, both felt satisfied with the days activities. They were tired and in need of a good meal. Calling it quits, Kagome knew that she would sleep well that night.

End of Chapter

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