A/N: Thank you for all the comments. Like always they are lovely! I will comment on all of them tomorrow (when I have the afternoon off from school and I don't have to worry about my actual homework, which of course I'm doing now— erm, perhaps not). Anyway enjoy the weekly chapter. It will venture a bit further in Chiharu's Miko training. I hope you'll like it! And of course let me know what you'll think!

To answer the questions of one of my anonymous readers: Right now Sesshomaru still has two arms. The fight in the Inu-brothers tomb went a bit different than in cannon and I hope this chapter clears that a bit up (Inuyasha hasn't yet found his brother and in canon takes a long while before he really masters his sword). In his own unique way, Inuyasha feels guilty for hurting Chiharu (I think), but he'll never truly admit this.

Furthermore the mark will be explained in further chapters. One of you thought it might be a thing that could lead her to the alpha (in a way it can). Consider me a avid supernatural book reader (and series watcher^^) and I do like the idea of it. Though the mark will be more than just that. It will be somewhat of a problem (the Harry Potter link works as well to describe it, but it won't be exactly the way it was with Harry Potter and Voldemort — I honestly hadn't even thought about the similarities).

I think I should put an end to my rambling and get on with this chapter. Enjoy the next chapter!

o.O.o

Chapter five, Being a Miko

'The scar meant that I was stronger than what had tried to hurt me.' — Anaïs Nin

The muggy summer heat pressed in on them as they climbed the mountain. The sun beat down on their back with unrestrained brutality. Even Inuyasha, who rarely was affected by anything, felt tired and his long silver hair clung to his head in thermal blankets. Kagome's breath was laboured, her fingers stiffly wrapped around the straps of her large yellow backpack. She had been grumbling about the air conditioning of the mall near their school, whatever an air conditioning did Inuyasha had no idea.

White man bristling he rolled his shoulders, fingers constantly gripping around the handle of the Tetsusaiga, he peered at the mountain. Even with his callused feet, the hot sandy floor was blistering against his skin and the air felt like liquid fire, pressing against the insides of his lungs. The humidity encased them and he folded the sleeves of his Haori up his forearms.

"Inuyasha!"

Kagome Higurashi swatted at her damp hair and leant her hands heavily onto her knees. The back of her neck and back were damp with perspiration, she was panting.

"Please wait, just a minute."

"Feh," he muttered. He found human weaknesses annoying, to say the least. It had been the reason why he wanted to become a full-yōkai. To be finally ridden from all those annoying human-weaknesses. He inhaled deeply, but he still couldn't smell him.

Int he distance he heard the regular rasp of a blade on a stone as someone sharpened his sword. Inuyasha rolled his shoulders. The shuddery, tight noise made his sensitive ears twitch and he inhaled deeply. The warm fungus smell had risen up and he wondered why some stupid human would actually go and work on a sword in this weather.

The trees stood mute in the summer air and Inuyasha quickened his space, climbing even higher. The higher up the cooler it was. Even if the weather would be turning soon, he found his cheeks to be too hot from the sun to care. It had been two weeks since he'd last seen Sesshomaru. He had thought of at least a hundred ways to remove every limb from the Daiyōkai's body, the more painful the better, and he was slowly growing agitated.

Why couldn't Sesshomaru accept that he wasn't Tetsusaiga's master? His brother had always been a pain, but now. His thought went back to the girl back at Kaede's village. For some unknown reason she had pulled through and was now in constant pain and it was his fault.

He was rudely brought back to the present when Kagome suddenly smacked Miroku. The lecherous, leering Hōshi they'd met earlier that week, was cradling his reddened cheek. Knowing him he'd probably groped her bum or tried to rub himself against her and Kagome had to slap him. Again.

"Inuyasha!"

"What?" He snapped. Why did the wench had to whine every goddamned second? "What is it now?"

Her pink cheeks darkened considerably and she swore under her breath. The heat of the summer sun was difficult to ignore and he clamped his mouth shut when she gave him the 'I'm-going-to-sit-you' look. He inhaled deeply trying to catch a whiff of his brother's scent.

"How far do we have to travel?" Shippou the fox-yōkai asked. He was seated on Inuyasha's shoulder, carefully flattening his sandy hair and his eyes wide and innocent. He had started travelling with them, after the Thunder Brothers — who were no longer alive, thank you very much — had slain Shippou's parents.

"I don't know," Inuyasha answered honestly. "The Bastard has his aura hidden. His scent too."

"Why doing that, if he wants to negotiate anything?" Kagome asked, her fingers fisting around the jewel shards they had collected. While looking so annoyed it suddenly struck Inuyasha (once again) how much like Kikyō she looked. Kikyō and Inuyasha had met when she first started guarding the jewel fifty years ago, and Kagome was Kikyō's reincarnation. The original Miko had died fifty years ago and was the reason why he had been sealed to the Tree Of Ages. They only just met again after the Yōkai Urasue brought Kikyō back to life. She hadn't exactly been happy to see him, thinking he had betrayed her and Inuyasha ground his teeth together. The ever slippery Naraku had been responsible for that.

They were looking for that monster, as well for his loving older brother. That was why Miroku the Buddhist monk, who was cursed by that same Naraku to have a void in his hand that would eventually grow to encompass him in entirety (and to lecherously grope any woman they met), travelling with them.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome's had that slight ring to it and he felt his ears flatten against his skull.

"I don't know all right?" he answered tiredly. "My guess is that the longer he waits the worse your sister will be and the more likely we are to trait the Tetsusaiga for her."

"And we are doing just that, aren't we?" she asked curtly.

Miroku wisely kept his mouth shut. Inuyasha blew a lock of hair out of his face, his feet grinding against the rough sand and the sun beating down on his forehead.

"No, we find him and I'll kill him. Kill two birds or something like that."

"You couldn't kill him the last time." She snapped back.

"He left before I could do much of anything."

"Inuyasha!"

"Feh, we have to find him first anyway!" he snapped, finally having enough of their argument. "It doesn't matter what we want to do as long we haven't found him."

"Kagome-sama, he's right you know." Miroku mediated the situation and Inuyasha snorted rudely. Of course he was right. His brother hadn't turned into an arsehole over night. That was a process that had taken a lot longer. He ground his teeth together again. Myoga-jijii, before he had done a runner on them, had explained that there wasn't that much time either and he inhaled deeply once again. The girl, Chiharu Higurashi, who just like Kagome looked an awful lot like Kikyō. Her eyes were hard to mistaken though and she seemed almost forgiving and understanding. He had once or twice wondered if that old man bred understanding humans, but that made no sense. Humans bred animals to meet certain points, yet not themselves. He sighed again, the heat was insufferable.

"Inuyasha!"

"You wanted to find him!" Inuyasha snapped, finally drained from his patience.

"But you're not finding him." She angrily snarled back. "We have been running around for days on end. We haven't found Naraku and we haven't found you're brother either. I want to return to Kaede's village. I want to see my sister!"

He slowly peered at the sky. The sun was descending down the horizon and within several hours night would fall. They were too far away from Kaede's village and nor Miroku nor Kagome would take travelling through the night lightly. They'd reached the crest of the hill overlooking the sodden forest, leaves miserably weighted down by the heat.

"All right," he softly conceded. "We'll make camp near the river down the cliff. The Western lands are too big and Sesshomaru will come when he's ready to blackmail me."

"I hate your brother!" Kagome whispered darkly. Miroku had a long sash wrapped around his head. Trying to wield of the heat. Shippou was the only one who seemed unaffected by the heat, his fast metabolism and the yōkai blood protecting him.

"We find him." Inuyasha vowed, he felt Kagome's eyes burning into his back. "And when we do, I'll kill him!"

I-I. ⌡. Γ┐

Heat licked at her sunburned face and the young Miko tiredly paddled after the elderly Miko through the village. The sand ground smouldered and a heat fog blew up in the air. Even the birds were silenced, trying to find as much cool air and water as they could, nestling on the bank of the river and the grass hung limply in the sun. June and July at Sengoku jidai were two months of almost subtropical heat and shockingly humid afternoons.

"Now sum up what I've told yeh!"

Chiharu sighed, sweeping the rug of her hand against her forehead. Perspiration had accumulated on her forehead and the bridge of her nose gleamed in the sun. The heat had penetrated into the houses and the huts of Edo and the only place where Chiharu could cool off was in the river not far from the town's centre.

"Chiharu!"

"A Miko is only as strong as her meditation skills." She muttered, puffing against the heat and the tingles that refused to stay dormant. "I know, I know."

"Indeed," Kaede-baba nodded approvingly. For some reason the older woman thought she was a tad slow.

"Spiritual power can do an awful lot. From high-level mystical spells to immense purification as to create human-like Shikigami. Kikyō-Oneesama was very strong. She could do it all."

Chiharu nodded. She had been somewhat of a disappointment compared to Kaede-baba's older sister. Yet, it was difficult. Although meditating had indeed helped lessen the pains and the aches, she wasn't very good at controlling it. Every time when Kaede-baba spoke about concentrating on her inner-chi she just couldn't focus on it. Couldn't calm or influence it the way her emotions, panic, stress and fear, could. They settled onto a fallen log near the cliff.

"How did she learn?"

"Did ye read the scrolls?" Kaede asked imperiously.

"Yes," Chiharu nodded her head, "I did, but I didn't read anything about Shikigami…"

"Ye're not there yet." Kaede decided, "Ye Ki is still unstable."

"Probably won't turn stable anytime soon." Chiharu muttered, staring at the ragging river below.

"Ye don't concentrate enough."

She hissed in frustration. The moment she had decided she was well enough to train her Reiki, Kaede had decided Chiharu would not skive off in bed. She could have her painkillers, had to drink that awful smelling potion and was allowed to bath in the river, to work out the tangles and knots. And then the elderly miko would come by, barking her to move along, and Chiharu followed after her through her daily routine.

"I try," Chiharu sighed, stretching out her legs, toes peeking out from under the hem of her hakama. She was wearing Kaede's old Miko-garb while her own clothes dried on a rack next to Kaede's hut. Somewhere in the distance she heard the sound of hooves beating down against sandy forest floors and shouts of men. "It's just hard."

"Does it still burn?"

"Sometimes," she admitted, "I think he's calling me."

"And ye've been ignoring him…"

She snorted. Of course she had been ignoring him. Except from being afraid of him, the pain could still be excruciating. Overloading her senses to black out or worse have another seizure. She thought that the ease he employed with dealing with people said a lot about his character. That he was a deplorable man who would try and use her for his own wicked game. How he would go about it, she had no idea, but she didn't doubt he would try to use her to get the 'Steel Cleaving Fang', the Tetsusaiga.

Rubbing her fingers in soothing circles over the protruding hipbones, she kicked at a loose pebble. She watched it roll over the edge falling into the deep abscess, down the cliff and plopped into the water. The tingles were once again tiring her out. A breeze, not cool at all, caught her hair. The water below cackled merrily and she ran her fingers through her damp hair by the perspiration. The hair in her neck was tangled and her haori and hakama felt heavy against her heated skin. Kaede got up to her feet, dusting off her own hakama and soon they were marching in a relative silence. During their walk, she was supposed to reach deep. They stopped into a clearing and Kaede drove a stick into the ground, creating a barrier.

"The best way to learn, is to feel." She told the young girl and Chiharu exhaled slowly. Easier said than done. She crouched down onto the floor and placed her hands loosely into her lap. She ignored the aches, the tingles and the burn of the mark on her neck and inhaled softly, remembering her breathing exercises.

She remembered when she finally clambered out of the Bone-Eater's Well, pulling herself up on the mass of vines covering the ledge, the air had smelt so much purer. As she peered around, looking for the horrible looking creature that had attacked her older sister, she also realised the loud sound of traffic was not around either. Nor was her house, or her their family shrine…

She inhaled again.

While she looked for her sister in the complete wrong direction, Kagome got hurt by Mistress Centipede, the Shikon-No-Tama ripped out of her body. Then to make it all so much worse, her older sister managed to somehow hit the pearl, which had been eaten by some Yōkai bird, and splattered the shards across Sengoku jidai.

She exhaled.

Chiharu ended up with the shorter end of the stick. When she finally managed to return to Edo, almost able to return home, she ran into the rude boyfriend Kagome had made. He was like a child. Acted out like a child and she had even thought it was amusing.

She forced herself to inhale slowly.

She met Sesshomaru, really met him, only two days later. The arsehole who got her in this predicament. For a stupid rusty old sword, he had deemed it necessary to ruin her life.

Exhaling, teeth grinding together, she squeezed her eyes shut. She was vaguely aware of the soft light tingling around her fingers and suddenly she found her reiki. It ebbed inside of her and she concentrated on it. Pushing and pulling it, ebbing inside of her. The Youki was there as well

Suddenly the tingles became worse and she gasped, flopping back onto the forest floor. She twitched, the high-pitched scream dying into her throat.

"It's all right, Child. Ye all right!" Kaede whispered almost soothly and tried pushing her up. Chiharu ground her teeth together. She wondered how much the enamel had suffered these past few weeks by grinding her teeth so much.

She panted, trying to find the inner piece of her reiki again and when she did, actually finding it again, she felt the prickles slowly disappear. "I'm okay," she breathed, sitting up slowly, "really I'm fine!"

"Me thinks it is time to test your skills." Kaede said, as the pain and aches had fell away.

Chiharu stared up at the older woman, slightly unsettled. The older woman smiled and pulled the stick out of the forest floor. The kekkai shimmered and slowly fell away. Chiharu stared after her as Kaede beckoned her to follow.

"Test mu skill?" she mumbled softly, getting to unsteady feet.

I-I. ⌡. Γ┐

He peered at her, hair messily framing her face. Her heartbeat slowed, slowly growing more regular. His eyes narrowed as he watched the elderly Miko teach the girl. He watched her chest expand, air filling her lungs, and hears her soft exhale. He had surveyed the land around the human village weeks ago. Had followed the sister, his anger and smug knowledge he had one over his foolish half-brother overridden by curiosity, through the thick foliage. He passed the tree where Inuyasha had been confined for almost fifty years — the gash where the arrow had struck remained — and followed the girl to the centre of a clearing. A lone old wooden well stood alone. The girl — so inadequately dressed he was surprised the village man didn't crawl after her — slowly sat down onto the ledge, vines covering the old wood and suddenly she pushed herself off. Her presence disappeared and he had peered into the dark depths only to confirm that Inuyasha concubine girl had disappeared as by magic.

He didn't like enigma's and jumped after the foolish girl, only to land light amidst several remains, both Yōkai and human. He could sense the echo of magic, but he had no idea what it was that made it possible for the girl to disappear. Yet, it showed no sign of granting him passage.

He peered at the girl again. Her face was serene and her eyes were still closed. Her breathing and heartbeat were even, the reiki shield the elderly Miko had created shimmered around them, and the girl's reiki pulsed slightly, echoing the soft zoom the shield gave off. She was blissfully unaware of it. The magic dormant into her blood reminded him of the magic around the well. It reminded him of it, even when reiki and youki blended together. It was the pureness of her heart that saved her. Although he had expected her to pull through, he had also expected his foolish brother to seek him out. She was supposed to slowly die unless Inuyasha offered an exchange. The 'Steel Cleaving Fang' for the life of the girl.

A girl who was now seated on the forest floor, doing a poor job at meditating. Yet, she was reaching it. It circled around her, careening outward, feeling around. He felt a muscle in his cheek pop and she suddenly gasped, flopping backwards when he pressed against their bond. An unworthy human was not going to prove herself worthy. He would not allow it.

She gasped, throwing herself backwards.

She did that often when he used his youki on her. He knew she felt his calls. She'd even admitted so much mere minutes ago and she thought she could ignore him. The waves of his power lingered around him and he heard a few minor Yōkai scuttle away when they detected him. If he sought the Miko out right now her defiance would probably push him too much. He didn't have the patience to deal with humans, much less children. He watched her stumble after the old village Miko. No, he wanted her to do his bidding, not refusing to do so. No, the best way to make her do what he wanted was making her see there was now way out then him. He smirked. What better way to teach Inuyasha a lesson than using his female for it.

I-I. ⌡. Γ┐

She saw them. A flock of birds came down the valley, descending down onto the large trees. Plump redwings and grey, gawky fieldfares settled over the trees at the edge of the village. They swayed heavily beneath their combined weight and even though the heat of the day, they flapped their wings heavily.

"These Yōkai have been attacking the farmers that went out the last few days." Kaede explained.

"Yōkai?" Chiharu echoed. She narrowed her eyes. When she looked more closely, she noticed the auras and the more narrow beaks. They looked like crows, but she realised, slightly unsettled, they weren't

Chiharu peered at them. The bird-yōkai had eaten almost all the rotten orange fruit at speed, stretching their necks and flapping for balance. They didn't seem all that dangerous, yet, she gripped her bow and quiver with arrows tightly. The bushes below the nest were stripped with berries.

"With this weather they've been more agitated going after the harvest." Kaede explained. "Going after the villagers. Till now we've kept them cornered in their nest at least during the day but it's far more difficult during the night."

"I see," Chiharu muttered.

"The Shibugarasu pray on humans. Usually they eat their way into someone, building a nest, manipulating the corpse of the death. Praying on even more humans." Kaede explained. "This is a nest full of them."

"I see,"

"They eat children." Kaede said and Chiharu realised she wanted a different reaction than 'I see' and nodded, notching an arrow. A tense anticipation settled into her stomach and she followed Kaede closer towards the nest. Several villagers where crowding around the trees actually holding pitchforks and burning torches. As if it wasn't already hot enough.

Unlike the birds they resembled the Yōkai clacked their beaks red eyes focused on the several young children that had come along with their parents. Chiharu pushed her damp hair out of her face and gripped her bow even tighter, her knuckles turning white.

"Chiharu-chan, diverting their attention is not enough. Ye have to hit them."

"Yes, I will." The feathers of the arrow grazed against her cheek and she exhaled softly, aiming the arrow carefully at one of the larger birds, at the top of the drooping tree branches and drew the string back. It was weird, they sensed her before she'd even released the arrow and suddenly a dozen of red gleaming eyes were peering her way.

"What the—?"

"They sense his aura." Kaede explained leaning a bit more heavily on her large bow. "They sense your aura. To minor yōkai it must be frightening."

"You're sure they're not just sensing the jewel shards?" Chiharu asked softly as the tip of her arrow glowed a faint pink. The tingles in her arms and legs intensified when she concentrated on her reiki. Grounding her teeth together she narrowed her eyes, squinting at the sunlight. The crow-yōkai circled around the tree, flapping their wings and suddenly dove for her.

She squeaked letting her arrow fly and, although it hit one of the birds, the damage was minimal. She batted one away with her bow, the animal riveted against a tree and she dove for the ground, a plume of dry sand going up in the air. Dark wings ruffled when they pecked at her, one of their beaks drawing a gash over her cheek.

"Are you not helping me?" she asked, panic heightening her voice even more. Kaede was leaning heavily against her bow, the soft shimmer of the kekkai dauntingly against the still air and peered almost stoically at her young pupil. Chiharu batted another one away and rolled over, struggling to find herself a decent shot. Soon the sky was black with feathers from where the Yōkai had crashed against the barrier and Chiharu rolled away, sliding off a gentle slope and slamming against the trunk of a tree.

"This is a fight ye have to fight yehself."

She shrieked as another crow-yōkai shot down and landed another gash on her cheek. She released another arrow pushing and controlling as much reiki as she could and she watched as the lower half of one of the yōkai bodies blasted away. They were circling her now, her own blood rushing down her cheek and dripping overly loud on the forest floor. The jewel shards she had with her were indeed not their target and although she felt the prickles and the aches run up and down her body she also felt anger, finally real and tangible anger, pull at her. Twist at her insides and fuel herself, as she got up to her knees. With a cry she batted another away, her power lightening it up before it fell to the forest floor obliterating before her very eyes.

"That's it!" Kaede cried out enthusiastically and fuelled by that same height of power she notched another arrow and released it. The swathe of light was blinding and the crows screeched and howled. When she could see again, the light diminished, she realised half the swarm of birds had been dispatched. She slowly scrambled to her feet and watched as the remaining view started to whirl away.

"Another one,"

"Okay," she notched her third arrow and released it.

it shot up and again the pink spiritual light was blinding. As the rest of the birds melted away, the trees shaking with their departure, she peered over the lane and fields. It was a calm scene now that the yōkai-birds took off. It made the blood in her veins run faster and she watched the few that survived depart. A few feathers drifted down from the sky and down towards the dry ground she stood on. She relished the sudden sharpness in the air and inhaled deeply. The tang was a welcome change in the air.

To be continued…

A/N: And that was chapter five. Next update on thursday October the fifth. Let me know what you all think.

Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi