Author's Note: All right now peoples. So far, I've gotten to fourteen chapters, all seemingly well thought out, and extensively written, but what is the conclusion I have so far? Fourteen chapters, and we're only two or three days into the story. That is exceedingly slow by anyone's measure, and even I, the author, am getting tired of it. Who else is with me?!
I'm going to try and speed things up a bit. Believe me, I've got an extensive plot on file, with some subtle twists that I hope you all will like. Also, as a goal or game plan for the rest of the story, what I call the 'Inuyasha arc' will span the whole of this fic Kagome Hurt. Near the end, I will be crossing series, and finish the story with something like a multi cross cliffhanger. Then, to get the whole of the story, you'll have to read three separate accounts of the trials and tribulations of each of the main rivals to understand what will happen when everything converges again.
Confused? I hope so. But you will understand in the fullness of time.........Or when I can explain it better to myself. Whichever comes first.
Kagome Hurt: Chapter 15
"Itai!! Hitori-san! I thought we were going to work on my speed, not my pain thresh-hold."
"Ah, Kagome-chan. How can you expect to become quicker if there is no incentive to goad you? Pain is an excellent motivator in all regards. Plus, it has the added bonus of letting you accustom yourself to being hit, so you can ignore the pain all the easier, and still be able to function. The first step in any battle is to accept the fact that you will be hurt, and then move on."
Grrrr, Kagome thought to herself. C'mon, girl. You knew this before you started training with Hitori-san. He's right too. I've got to stop acting like a wuss. There's no way Sesshoumaru would act this way, and sure as hell Inuyasha would only make the most hideously irritating comments. All-right. Time to think less about momentary pains, and more about tactics. There's got to be a way to get an edge over Hitori-san, even if it comes with a few more bruises.
~-~-~-~-~-~-
That is it, child. Think your way through this fight before making your move. After a while, the defenses will become reflex to you, and you will be able to concentrate on the holes in your attacker's fight.
Hitori could only be amazed at this human girl. Her speed is quite admirable, but there was one other thing that raised his level of esteem in her. Her mind was a quick and powerful tool. Once it was turned to the task at hand, and she forgot the rest of the silly thoughts cluttering her mind, her analytical skills were frightening to behold. Even now, the old battle-scarred youkai could see the many avenues of attack and defense flitting through her mind.
Her movements became surer, her actions more stealthy.......Ooh look, she's decided on a plan of strategy. First, feint, parry parry, - what the hell?!
Hitori's pupil had just surprised the heck out of him. Instead of being able to read each of the maneuvers in her eyes as he had been able to do the previous two days, she had just shut him out. Her irises had quickly shaded themselves to a glacier's inner hue, masking her thoughts to her sensei. Her eyes did not move, and gave nothing away. If he didn't know any better, the girl could have been struck blind.
Momentarily confused, the old male's hesitation almost cost him a detrimental strike to the arm. It was only with the limits of his resources that he could pull the limb so that it missed by a fraction of a hair's-breadth.
Leaping quickly a few paces away, Hitori raised a hand and made the prearranged signal for a halt in the sparring.
Kagome, with a slight crease in her brow to indicate her wariness at such a sudden stop, lowered her quarterstaff to a minor defensive/neutral position. Upon the cessitation of the battle, she blinked, and her normal azure baby blues were centered once again on her old teacher.
"Child, how is it you learned the art of 'Still Soul'?"
"Still Soul?" she echoed in query.
Frowling, the elder knelt down in his previously known 'sensei - position' and motioned her to do likewise.
"Hai, teshi (is that the right word?). You have learned to mask your inner thoughts from appearing on the surface of your eyes. It is a technique only an elite few youkai can learn, and I have only seen it on one other human other than yourself in all my centuries of martial education."
"I don't know what you mean, Hitori-san. All I was thinking was how to get beyond your staff in order to strike at you. I know that you've got so much experience on me, I thought that was why you could tell what my next move would be. I dunno, somehow, my thoughts went a little hazy, and my limbs knew exactly what was needed in order to break through your guard." After a little concerned pause, she added, "What, did I do something wrong?"
......
......
......
"NO! You did nothing wrong at all, child. I think that you have just surprise this old inu, that's all. You've made me very happy to have a pupil like you for my last student."
Kagome almost looked like she wanted to blush, but again, her eyes swirled to their lighter, and more creepily beautiful hue. With this so named technique in place, she easily overcame her instinct to redden with the praise.
Yes, quite so. This seemingly weak human had made her mentor very proud indeed. Now back to work.
"Up, teshi. Let us move to unarmed combat. With you being the one unarmed."
A single beautiful, heartfelt groan lauded this change. Ah, it was good to teach again. Such music to his ears!
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Sesshoumaru, at that very moment, was doing some thing that he normally would not ever be caught doing. (NO ITS NOT ECCHI YOU PERVS!) The esteemed lord of the Western Lands was in his study pacing, while keeping an ear out for all would-be intruders who would undoubtedly dare to presume to request favorous boons from him.
To put it lightly, he was being hunted within his very own domain!
Blast and damnation! If it were not for those pesky rules which the cardinal lords had to obey, he would boot those lowlife bloodsucking (its kinda funny about that; some of the youkai actually do need to drink blood) guttersnipe 'nobles' (and he mentally sneered the last part) out of his castle and be damned with them.
The only highlights in his life, not that he would ever admit, were his impromptu visits with his ward, threatening and enacting bodily harm to Jakin, and keeping an eye on his newest investment and her entailing procedures.
After all, if he had to board the chit, and put up with her........antics, of which visions were dancing in his head, then he ought to put her presence to good use. That was what made him better than his mongrel sibling, and that was a part of the defining factor of why his family, and him in specific were the ruling body of the Western lands!
On a lesser side note, the icy male thought to himself, there is no reason to belittle the massive amounts of power his bloodline wields. Sesshoumaru privately gave up a silent prayer of thanks to his long ago ancestor Harumi Tai, who originally took the throne from the previous line of snake youkai who held the Western lands. Where that great and noble Inu youkai came from, no archive or text said, but he showed up at one of the regional courts with power bleeding off in the air, challenging the right to the title. Family lore was also quite reticent on that matter. It was almost like a conspiracy to cover up Harumi's origins......... But that was just idle conjecture. That information was lost to the sands of time.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
In a hidden room not too far away, a plaque could be seen over the table on which the ancient artifacts were held. Engraved in precise, but foreign kanji, the words 'temporal grains of silica' could be read by any......Who knew what it meant.
In the midst of his dusting of the plaque, Kooranai gave a hearty sneeze. After utilizing his handkerchief, the kitsune looked back to his job, gave a sharp exclamation in anger, and banged a hand on the wall. THAT, in turn tipped over his flimsy bamboo ladder, causing him to come to a jarring halt on the floor, inches away from the table leg which held his precious legacy. One more inch to the side, and he would have upset the entire table, and likely crashed the 1000 year old (plus some) .......thingie.
The old man, holding his breath, slowly started to release it, as he realized the worst had not come to pass. Only to sneeze, once again and make some more work for him to do.
Now we know why the poor old man is always seen dusting the artifacts!
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
I'm going to try and speed things up a bit. Believe me, I've got an extensive plot on file, with some subtle twists that I hope you all will like. Also, as a goal or game plan for the rest of the story, what I call the 'Inuyasha arc' will span the whole of this fic Kagome Hurt. Near the end, I will be crossing series, and finish the story with something like a multi cross cliffhanger. Then, to get the whole of the story, you'll have to read three separate accounts of the trials and tribulations of each of the main rivals to understand what will happen when everything converges again.
Confused? I hope so. But you will understand in the fullness of time.........Or when I can explain it better to myself. Whichever comes first.
Kagome Hurt: Chapter 15
"Itai!! Hitori-san! I thought we were going to work on my speed, not my pain thresh-hold."
"Ah, Kagome-chan. How can you expect to become quicker if there is no incentive to goad you? Pain is an excellent motivator in all regards. Plus, it has the added bonus of letting you accustom yourself to being hit, so you can ignore the pain all the easier, and still be able to function. The first step in any battle is to accept the fact that you will be hurt, and then move on."
Grrrr, Kagome thought to herself. C'mon, girl. You knew this before you started training with Hitori-san. He's right too. I've got to stop acting like a wuss. There's no way Sesshoumaru would act this way, and sure as hell Inuyasha would only make the most hideously irritating comments. All-right. Time to think less about momentary pains, and more about tactics. There's got to be a way to get an edge over Hitori-san, even if it comes with a few more bruises.
~-~-~-~-~-~-
That is it, child. Think your way through this fight before making your move. After a while, the defenses will become reflex to you, and you will be able to concentrate on the holes in your attacker's fight.
Hitori could only be amazed at this human girl. Her speed is quite admirable, but there was one other thing that raised his level of esteem in her. Her mind was a quick and powerful tool. Once it was turned to the task at hand, and she forgot the rest of the silly thoughts cluttering her mind, her analytical skills were frightening to behold. Even now, the old battle-scarred youkai could see the many avenues of attack and defense flitting through her mind.
Her movements became surer, her actions more stealthy.......Ooh look, she's decided on a plan of strategy. First, feint, parry parry, - what the hell?!
Hitori's pupil had just surprised the heck out of him. Instead of being able to read each of the maneuvers in her eyes as he had been able to do the previous two days, she had just shut him out. Her irises had quickly shaded themselves to a glacier's inner hue, masking her thoughts to her sensei. Her eyes did not move, and gave nothing away. If he didn't know any better, the girl could have been struck blind.
Momentarily confused, the old male's hesitation almost cost him a detrimental strike to the arm. It was only with the limits of his resources that he could pull the limb so that it missed by a fraction of a hair's-breadth.
Leaping quickly a few paces away, Hitori raised a hand and made the prearranged signal for a halt in the sparring.
Kagome, with a slight crease in her brow to indicate her wariness at such a sudden stop, lowered her quarterstaff to a minor defensive/neutral position. Upon the cessitation of the battle, she blinked, and her normal azure baby blues were centered once again on her old teacher.
"Child, how is it you learned the art of 'Still Soul'?"
"Still Soul?" she echoed in query.
Frowling, the elder knelt down in his previously known 'sensei - position' and motioned her to do likewise.
"Hai, teshi (is that the right word?). You have learned to mask your inner thoughts from appearing on the surface of your eyes. It is a technique only an elite few youkai can learn, and I have only seen it on one other human other than yourself in all my centuries of martial education."
"I don't know what you mean, Hitori-san. All I was thinking was how to get beyond your staff in order to strike at you. I know that you've got so much experience on me, I thought that was why you could tell what my next move would be. I dunno, somehow, my thoughts went a little hazy, and my limbs knew exactly what was needed in order to break through your guard." After a little concerned pause, she added, "What, did I do something wrong?"
......
......
......
"NO! You did nothing wrong at all, child. I think that you have just surprise this old inu, that's all. You've made me very happy to have a pupil like you for my last student."
Kagome almost looked like she wanted to blush, but again, her eyes swirled to their lighter, and more creepily beautiful hue. With this so named technique in place, she easily overcame her instinct to redden with the praise.
Yes, quite so. This seemingly weak human had made her mentor very proud indeed. Now back to work.
"Up, teshi. Let us move to unarmed combat. With you being the one unarmed."
A single beautiful, heartfelt groan lauded this change. Ah, it was good to teach again. Such music to his ears!
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Sesshoumaru, at that very moment, was doing some thing that he normally would not ever be caught doing. (NO ITS NOT ECCHI YOU PERVS!) The esteemed lord of the Western Lands was in his study pacing, while keeping an ear out for all would-be intruders who would undoubtedly dare to presume to request favorous boons from him.
To put it lightly, he was being hunted within his very own domain!
Blast and damnation! If it were not for those pesky rules which the cardinal lords had to obey, he would boot those lowlife bloodsucking (its kinda funny about that; some of the youkai actually do need to drink blood) guttersnipe 'nobles' (and he mentally sneered the last part) out of his castle and be damned with them.
The only highlights in his life, not that he would ever admit, were his impromptu visits with his ward, threatening and enacting bodily harm to Jakin, and keeping an eye on his newest investment and her entailing procedures.
After all, if he had to board the chit, and put up with her........antics, of which visions were dancing in his head, then he ought to put her presence to good use. That was what made him better than his mongrel sibling, and that was a part of the defining factor of why his family, and him in specific were the ruling body of the Western lands!
On a lesser side note, the icy male thought to himself, there is no reason to belittle the massive amounts of power his bloodline wields. Sesshoumaru privately gave up a silent prayer of thanks to his long ago ancestor Harumi Tai, who originally took the throne from the previous line of snake youkai who held the Western lands. Where that great and noble Inu youkai came from, no archive or text said, but he showed up at one of the regional courts with power bleeding off in the air, challenging the right to the title. Family lore was also quite reticent on that matter. It was almost like a conspiracy to cover up Harumi's origins......... But that was just idle conjecture. That information was lost to the sands of time.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
In a hidden room not too far away, a plaque could be seen over the table on which the ancient artifacts were held. Engraved in precise, but foreign kanji, the words 'temporal grains of silica' could be read by any......Who knew what it meant.
In the midst of his dusting of the plaque, Kooranai gave a hearty sneeze. After utilizing his handkerchief, the kitsune looked back to his job, gave a sharp exclamation in anger, and banged a hand on the wall. THAT, in turn tipped over his flimsy bamboo ladder, causing him to come to a jarring halt on the floor, inches away from the table leg which held his precious legacy. One more inch to the side, and he would have upset the entire table, and likely crashed the 1000 year old (plus some) .......thingie.
The old man, holding his breath, slowly started to release it, as he realized the worst had not come to pass. Only to sneeze, once again and make some more work for him to do.
Now we know why the poor old man is always seen dusting the artifacts!
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-