Chapter 9: Before the 3 day barrier
A/n: Obligatory disclaimer that I don't own Inuyasha or any of the characters. I'm just playin' with them. Also, this chapter mentions unwanted sexual advances.
They landed on the old bones at the bottom with a thud. The well hadn't let them through together but Kagome could briefly feel it try to pull her through before Sesshomaru launched them out of the well. She expected to look up and see annoyance but instead his face showed curiosity. Much better than him being angry. She thought.
"I'm sorry-" She was cut off.
"We'll add that to your list of things to practice." He said then headed in the direction of the village.
"What do you mean?" She asked jogging after him.
"You said the well allows you and Inuyasha through because of his beads. The well must be controlled by your power, therefore once you gain enough control, you should be able to let others pass through." He explained like it was nothing.
"Oh." They walked in silence the rest of the way.
"Where were you?" Sango asked when they arrived.
"Sesshomaru was helping me train." She said grabbing a bowl before sitting down to eat. Sango and Miroku shared a look before joining her.
"Oh I almost forgot! I brought you all back something!" Kagome said putting down her bowl and reached for her bag. She handed a small piece of chocolate to Shippo then turned to Rin. "Rin, this is chocolate, it comes from my home. Would you like to try some?" Rin nodded her head then took a nibble of the pieces she was handed.
"Wow!" She ran over to Sesshomaru. "This is so good! Please try it Sesshomaru." He hesitantly brought it to his nose and sniffed before trying the smallest bite. Kagome watched as his face morphed in disgust before he glared at Kagome. Rin shrugged and shoved the rest in her mouth. Next Kagome pulled out some blank sutras for Miroku.
"Thank you Kagome." Miroku bowed and kissed her hand, Sesshomaru growled quietly. Kagome blushed and rushed back to her bag grabbing the hair elastics for Sango.
"You can still tie your hair tie around these but they'll hold your hair tighter during battle." Kagome replaced her current pony tail with the new ones. "See?" Sango jumped back and did a flip.
"Wow, my hair is still perfectly in place! Thank you Kagome!" She walked back to the others fitting the remaining hair elastics around her wrist. Next she pulled out some potato chips for Inuyasha. He muttered a 'thanks' with his mouth full of chips and she giggled.
"I got something for you as well Sesshomaru." She grabbed the book from her bag and walked over to sit beside him. She handed him the book which he gently took. "This one is a history book. It's what people in my time believe happened up until the day it was written. I thought you'd like to read it and see how it compares to the years you live through."
"Thank you." He said turning the book over to exam it.
The next few days passed much the same. Kagome would work most of the morning on controlling her powers. She learned to extend it past her body, transfer it into weapons, and create barriers for different situations. Sesshomaru was impressed, she was making progress quickly. They'd eat lunch, she'd spend the afternoon entertaining Shippo and Rin, eat dinner, then pass out exhausted. She was using a lot of her energy and power practicing.
After 3 days of practicing with her spiritual energy Sesshomaru told her to take a break. For that she was thankful. She spent the morning sleeping in and the afternoon lounging in the hot springs. She felt very recharged.
The next day she was ready to start combat training. Before sparring with him, Sesshomaru suggested she spar with Sango and he would critique her form and strategy. Sparring with Sango was tough but not impossible. She learned a lot about hand to hand fighting. She was even learning how to fight with a katana incase she had the chance to use one.
By the end of the day her body was completely worn out but she had learned so much. She found the fighting was easier to learn because she could watch and mimic Sango.
The next morning, after breakfast this time, she practiced a little more with Sango warming up for the afternoon. This afternoon she'd start with Sesshomaru.
She was doing pretty well, narrowly dodging his poison claws and using her barrier to block his light whip. Thought she had a few scratches on her arm from when they started earlier in the day, they didn't seem to be bothering her now.
It was the last match of the day and he wanted to push her a little bit to try and get her to use some of her power even thought she was suppose to be fighting without it. A good fighter relies on their instincts, he wanted to see what hers would tell her.
Kagome was helpless as Sesshomaru used his strength and speed to wrap a hand around her neck and pinned her to a tree.
Her back hit the tree and her eyes opened to a cloaked man. 'Ah Kagome, we meet again.' His voice echoed in her head. A hand was brought up to twirl around a strand of her hair. She tried to back her head up as the mans tongue flicked out toward her.
Kagome put her hands around Sesshomaru's wrist and sent a purifying shock through him. He let go as it started to burn. Sesshomaru was glad her instincts told her to use her power regardless of what he said.
She used the opportunity to run but just her luck she ended up tripping. She heard Sesshomaru behind her and turned on her back to push herself up. Before she knew it he was looming over her.
She could feel the pain in her ankle and stomach. Inuyasha and Sesshomaru were nowhere to be seen. She was desperate. The man pressed closer to her, hovering over her body an inch from her face. 'We should have some fun before I kill you.' He leered at her. He ground his hips into her and licked up the side of her neck.
Kagome put her hands up to summon her power. Sesshomaru sensed the amount she was summoning and had the foresight to back up and use mokomoko-sama to absorb most of the blast sent his way. Kagome didn't wait to see the results of her efforts. She got up and sprinted towards the village. Sesshomaru noticed her running and made chase.
"What was that?" He demanded harshly grabbing her arm and spinning her around. His grip loosened but he didn't let go as he saw the tears in her eyes. It was an odd reaction for her to a fight.
"I was back in the fight… you weren't there… I saw him… you were too close to make a barrier…" She sobbed out incoherent sentences. Sesshomaru put together that she must be talking about what happened while they were fighting Kagura a while back.
"Kagome." He said but she didn't stop crying. Comfort mate. Sesshomaru sighed before turning her around and pressing her back to his chest. Kagome felt vibrations from Sesshomaru's chest and a soft rumbling sound. Oddly, it started to sooth her.
"Kagome," he tried again, "Who was your fight with and what happened?"