If anyone reads my other fic Bound (vastly different from this story so be warned), you know I've been cranking out chapters and I found myself already neglecting this fic so here is the next chapter. Enjoy!
Maiden of the Sword
Ch. 2
Sesshoumaru awoke at the break of day, eager to leave the shrine. He was surprised to see that he was the last one to wake up. His father was already gone. He exited the hut to see his father speaking to Kaede while they watched the priestesses clean the shrine. Kagome was nowhere to be found. A good night's sleep hadn't quelled Sesshoumaru's anger. His fingers still burned from Kagome's display. He stomped over to Hitomiko.
"Where is she?"
Hitomiko stuttered out a response and Sesshoumaru growled, "Speak up!"
Kagome marched over to Sesshoumaru, wedging herself between him and Hitomiko.
"This is seriously how you act first thing in the morning? I never knew royalty could be so rude."
Sesshoumaru glared down at her. Now that she wasn't cloaked, he could see her perfectly. She didn't look anything like he envisioned. She was…pretty. The petite woman was dressed in a short red romper, showing off her well-toned legs. It was revealing as opposed to the traditional priestess garb worn by the other women. There were bandages around her forearms up to her fingers with weights around her ankles. A matching red bandana shaded her ebony head. Strangely he still couldn't smell her. A frown marred her porcelain face.
"Well? Nothing to say now? You're just going to stare?" Kagome smirked.
"You should be punished for daring to harm me. To appease my father, I will overlook your impudence only this once. However, for the remainder of our time here, stay out of my presence."
Sesshoumaru walked away. Kagome screamed after him, "You came up to me so you stay away from me Your Highness!"
Hitomiko snickered. Kagome glared at her.
"What are you laughing at?"
"You both are children," said Hitomiko, shaking her head.
"Ladies," Kaede called.
The five priestesses ran up to Kaede to see an additional man standing there. He was dressed in a brown and black monk's uniform, complete with a staff and straw harvester hat.
"This is Monk Iruka. Introduce yourselves."
Hitomiko bowed, "I am Hitomiko, age 22, from Iga. Pleased to meet you, Monk Iruka."
Kikyo followed suit in a bow, "Good morning. I am Kikyo, age 20, from Kyoto."
Botan and Momiji stepped forward, bowing profusely.
"It's a real honor! I'm Botan and this is my sister Momiji. We're both 15 from Nara."
Iruka turned to Kagome expectedly.
She sighed, "I'm Kagome. Age 18. I'm not really from anywhere."
"Because she killed everyone in her village," Momiji muttered to Botan. Botan giggled.
"Shut up!"
Sesshoumaru looked closely. Kagome grit her teeth and he could have sworn she had fangs.
"Now, Kagome was it? Everyone has a home; where are you from?" Iruka asked.
"I've lived here since I was eight," Kagome explained, still agitated.
"And before that?" coaxed Iruka.
"I'm from Tomioka," She mumbled.
"Oh."
Kagome's anger reignited at his tone, "What the hell is that supposed to mean? Why does it even matter where we're from?"
"That's enough, Kagome," Kaede chastised. She turned to everyone, "I thought it would be beneficial for Iruka to see some of your power. The ritual will be later, but now you will have time to perfect your skills. Pair up now."
Botan and Momiji hugged each other, claiming the other as their pair. Kikyo turned to Hitomiko.
"We fight well together. We can defeat those two easily."
Hitomiko looked at Kagome, eyes closed, sulking against the hut. "Lady Kaede, we have an odd number. How can we pair up?"
"I'll just sit the first fight out and fight the winner," Kagome shrugged.
An eye cracked open and Kagome smirked, "Or we can have a battle royale. I could take you all on at once."
Kikyo glared, "Don't be so cocky."
Momiji stuck her tongue while Botan ranted, "Unlike you, we've been working really hard so don't count us out!"
Hitomiko shook her head, amused. Kagome always knew how to rile the others up. Kagome just grinned and turned to Kaede, her eyes ablaze with excitement.
"So how about it Kaede?"
Kaede crept over to sit on the steps of her hut, next to Inutaisho, "Fine, fine, but don't go overboard."
Kaede spoke to all the girls, but looked directly at Kagome. Unbothered, Kagome skipped to the center of their training field and sat on the ground.
"What are you doing, Kagome? Giving up already?" Kikyo baited.
"Yeah, you're not even gonna get your weapon?" Momiji asked.
"I'm fine. You two should worry about yourselves," Kagome replied.
The four women stood at the four corners of the training field, bows and staffs in place.
Inutaisho could barely contain himself. Sesshoumaru watched the girls with a bored expression.
Botan and Momiji ran forward, summoning a horde of paper dolls. The dolls flew at Kikyo and Kagome like a swarm. Kikyo dodged the dolls. Using her bow as an extension of her arm, she released her spirit energy and shredded through the paper. The swarm moved in on Kagome. A few feet from her, the dolls burned in the atmosphere.
Inutaisho leaned forward, "How the hell?"
The dome around Kagome flickered and she revealed a lilac barrier surrounding her. Botan stomped her foot.
"Kagome that's not fair!"
She directed the paper dolls at Hitomiko, only to be stopped by a similar barrier.
She shrugged at Botan with a coy grin, "Sorry Botan. It would seem I'm following Kagome's lead on this."
"It won't be a real fight if we all put our barriers up," Kikyo said dryly.
"Gotcha!" Momiji cried.
A paper doll yanked a strand of hair from Kikyo's head and flew back to Momiji.
"You should have kept your guard up!" Momiji giggled.
Botan retreated back to her sister and created a barrier of her own while Momiji poured her spiritual energy into the doll with the hair. The doll expanded and familiar features began to form. Kagome stood up with a smirk.
"Now this is getting fun."
In front of the two youngest priestesses stood a giant Kikyo puppet. The puppet turned to Kikyo, notched an arrow in its bow and released. Kikyo ran from the arrow, barely missing it as it struck the ground. It crashed with a thunderous sound, uprooting clumps of dirt. Kagome laughed.
"Kikyo, having trouble with yourself?" she taunted.
"Think you can do any better?" Kikyo seethed. She watched the puppet defensively.
Kagome stepped forward, cracking her knuckles. Her barrier dissipated and she charged at the puppet, dodging its arrows with a gleam in her eyes. She jumped and delivered a flurry of punches and a kick to the puppet's face. It staggered back a few feet. She delivered another kick, but the puppet blocked it with its bow and swung at Kagome. Kagome jumped back, landing in a tree. She watched the two youngest mikos below her and unraveled the bandages wrapped around her arms.
"Hmm she's good," Inutaisho commented.
"She's reckless," Sesshoumaru countered.
Kaede smiled softly, "Ye both are right."
Kagome leapt from the tree, toward the puppet. Botan tried to follow her path, but Kagome had jumped in line of the sun, blinding her. Infusing her own energy with her bandages, she darted between the puppet's legs, twisting the bandages around its ankles. Kagome lunged at Botan and tied the same bandages around the girl.
"That one Kagome, her tactics are strange, unique," Iruka observed, "Is she a new shrine maiden?"
Kaede shook her head, "No, the girl just does things differently, always has. I suspect she always will."
Kagome yanked on the bandages. The puppet's legs tied together, sending it toppling down and twisting Botan with it in a tangled heap.
"Ugh, Kagome!"
Kagome leapt in front of the young girl with a laugh, "Sorry, Botan. I guess you'll have to have Momiji call off the puppet if you want to be freed."
Kagome let out another laugh when she was struck in the chest with an arrow. Kagome coughed up blood, her vision suddenly hazy. The field was a graveyard except for the gasp of shock that came from Momiji. Kagome turned slowly to see Kikyo with two more arrows ready to fire.
"Woah, Kikyo stop. Kagome looks really hurt," cautioned Momiji, running toward the girl.
Kikyo almost smirked, releasing the two arrows. They struck each side of Kagome's shoulders with practiced precision. Kagome stumbled back, heaving. Kaede stood and hobbled to the young woman.
"Kikyo, you could kill her. Stop!" Kaede cried out.
Kagome glowered at the priestess, "Die."
She formed a bow and arrow from her own miko energy. She sent hurls of arrows at Kikyo, backing the woman against a tree. Kikyo crouched against the tree base, trying to see her next move. Kagome increased her speed, moving as a blur. When Kikyo saw her it was too late. Kagome stood only a few feet from her and she couldn't dodge this attack. Kagome held her hands out in front of Kikyo and projected a powerful burst of energy at her, point blank. Kikyo resembled a ragdoll in the air, landing hard a yard away. Hitomiko stepped behind Kagome.
With Kagome's blood collected from the ground, she activated her Kagura suzu, a three-layered set of bells, held by brass wires. The bells locked around her while ring of light engulfed Kagome, immobilizing her. Kagome gnashed against the white barrier entangled around her body before becoming eerily still.
"Kagome. Kagome!" Hitomiko screamed frantically at the younger girl. Blood still ran freely from the arrows in her chest and shoulders. After a few minutes, Hitomiko released her barrier, sure that Kagome was alive and calmer. Kagome stood, glaring down Kikyo. Kikyo pulled herself up from the ground, coughing a bit. Kagome gripped the arrow in her right shoulder, pulling it out without so much as a flinch. She pulled out the two other arrows in her chest and shoulder, breaking them.
"Kagome, calm down. Let's get you bandaged up," Hitomiko persuaded, touching her shoulder.
Kagome's aura flared out in a blinding blue light, kicking up dust. Hitomiko took a step back, shielding her eyes. Kagome's fingertips flexed, revealing her claws. Her injuries began to heal. Her energy wafted to the wounds in a steam, sealing Kikyo's cuts.
A shock ran down Sesshoumaru's spine; there was no mistaking it. That was demonic energy. When the light subsided, Iruka gasped. Bandana blown away, Kagome sported two black dog ears and a scowl.
Sesshoumaru sniffed the air lightly, able to smell Kagome now. 'She's a dog demon? No...a half-demon.'
Kagome stalked up to Kikyo. Kikyo scrambled to grab her bow, but Kagome snapped it under her feet. Her voice was cold when she spoke.
"If you ever raise your weapon to me like that again, you better be damn sure it kills me," Kagome said lowly.
She dropped the broken arrows on Kikyo's lap.
"You're a cheating coward resorting to demon energy!" Kikyo fumed.
"Well maybe you would have fared better if you hadn't resorted to cheap tricks," retorted Kagome.
"You were the one being cowardly, hiding behind a barrier for most of the fight!" Kikyo bit back.
Kagome glared, "My barrier is for your sake, not mine! What, do you think I'm afraid of you? I'm afraid for you."
"Enough!" Kaede shouted, "Kikyo, Kagome return to your huts. Training's over."
Kagome began walking in the opposite direction, away from her hut.
"Where are you going? You're wounded, Kagome!" bawled Hitomiko.
"Kikyo tried to kill me and I'm supposed to be confined to my hut? I don't think so."
Kikyo rasped, "I thought you could handle yourself. Didn't you say you could take us all on at once?"
"Hush, Kikyo. You've done more than enough today," Hitomiko reprimanded.
Kagome ignored them both and took off running.
Kaede sighed, "Hitomiko, you're closest to her. Please find Kagome."
"I'll go."
Inutaisho turned to his son, surprised that he would volunteer. Sesshoumaru didn't acknowledge his father's look. He sniffed the air briefly and took off after the hanyou. Now his interest was piqued.
I really like writing Kagome as cocky, even though it's not the best trait. If her attitude isn't your cup of tea, don't worry. You will see a different side of her in the next chapter as she interacts with the nearby villages of the shrine. Thanks for reading and please review!