Last Time:
"Simply, does he know about…" Miroku pointed to the well.
"If he doesn't, he will." She shrugged, "At this point, it won't hurt anything if he knew."
"Knew what, Miko?"
Now:
"Kagome! Shippo!" Rin ran ahead of Sesshomaru as they approached. Jaken followed behind, he appeared saddened and quiet, as he held the reigns of Ah-Un.
"Please, have a seat. I'll get started on Rin's food." Miroku gestured to their small picnic spot. He relit the burner and set about making more food.
Sesshomaru sat behind Rin as she closed the circle around the burner. Jaken stood back by Ah-Un until Rin waved him over. He settled quietly between Sesshomaru and Kagome.
"Knew what." He demanded.
"You should explain before I ask more about your powers." Miroku coached.
Kagome sighed before she launched into a long-winded explanation of the well, her home, her decade spent at home, and how she got back.
"So, they had thrown a celebration party for you? What for 'Gome?" Shippo patted his full stomach and flopped backward onto the ground.
"Ah, I told Miroku already. I had just come back from America. It's a large continent across the sea to the east. In this time it would take several months to travel across the sea to get there, but in my time we are capable of doing so within a few days. That being said... I graduated with my degrees from the University I attended there. I had just come back home and mama wanted to celebrate. My homecoming after four years and the degrees I got."
"What are degrees?" Rin piped up. She set her ramen cup down and bowed her head over it to indicate she finished eating.
"Specialized training in a field of study. I'm now a Chiropractor and a Reflexologist. Meaning, I know the way bodies work inside and out and how to make someone feel better." Kagome looked past Rin to Sesshomaru to finish her explanation. "Most of the tools I would normally use don't exist yet, so I made sure to also learn how to be effective without them."
"A demonstration?" Sesshomaru raised a brow. She grinned at his curiosity. She clapped her hands together and turned to Miroku.
"Miroku, I think you would benefit the most from this, so, remove your outer robe and pull your kimono down to your waist. You'll want to lay as flat as possible on the ground too. Face down." She stood and began to pick up the food and cajoled Shippo into helping. When they were done, she moved to stand next to Miroku.
"Come on, what's with that look? This is for medical purposes, so get your mind out of the gutter lech." Kagome nudged Miroku's stunned form with her foot until he snapped out of it.
"Kagome, I don't think that's appropriate." He glanced to Rin. The young girl had scrambled off after Shippo to play.
"If I had my machines to do this, and your clothes weren't so thick, I wouldn't require this. But, you'll get the most out of this if your topless. Don't worry, I've been doing this for a few years now, there's no reason to be embarrassed!" She attempted to reassure him.
He gulped and with a heated face he slowly stripped his torso down. He laid out on the grass face first and cushioned his head with his folded hands. Kagome took her sweater from earlier and nudged him.
"Use this as a pillow for your forehead. You need to have your neck as straight as possible and I need your arms at your sides."
He did as instructed. He didn't protest as she moved him around until she was satisfied with his position.
"Now, I need you to follow my instructions carefully. This will be painful the first few times I do this for you. Now, slow your breathing and take deep even breaths. Good." She slowly, deliberatly, began running her fingers along his back and along his ribs. She felt up the center of his spine and into his neck.
"Ok, I have an idea of the structure of your back. I'll use my aura when I push down to help release your pent-up energy within your vertebra." She shifted up on her knees and ran her hands along his back before cupping it and closing her eyes to concentrate. Once she was concentrated she opened her eyes again and softly spoke. "Breath in deeply... now exhale completely and hold it. Good. Stay like that. Ok, breathe in again... exhale and hold it..."
She walked him through when to breathe and took small breaks to massage out parts of his spine that needed extra attention. She moved around him, only coming up off her knees when she needed to switch sides. His spine, neck, shoulders, and hips popped multiple times, some with deep pops and some with shallow quick ones.
"All done! How do you feel?" Kagome asked as she sat back.
He groaned and lolled his head over to look up at her.
"That good?" She laughed. "Sesshomaru, would you like me to...?" She glanced up to him.
He had his eyes narrowed on Miroku's form. Kagome paused, her smile faltering, and pondered the look on his face. He hummed and took a moment to remove his armor, weapons, and top of his kimono. He followed Miroku's example of lying flat on the grass, but he used Mokomoko to cushion his head.
"I will test your new skills, Miko, but do not use your purification on me."
"Oh, no, I wouldn't do the same thing. However... It would help you?"
He glanced up at her. His amber eyes told her to continue, and she sheepishly looked around – everywhere but at him.
"I did a lot of research back home, but I didn't have a demon to practice on. I can use my powers – theoretically – on demons without harming them. It's a matter of concentration and intent. I could open your chakra points up for better demonic energy flow as well."
"We shall see. Do not test my demon."
"Cryptic..." Kagome whispered. "I wish I had a table; this would be easier if that was the case. Doing this on the floor isn't impossible, obviously, but it's better and more efficient when on..." She trailed off when no one responded and she huffed. She moved to repeat the earlier process on Sesshomaru that she had Miroku.
She sat back, once done, and sighed.
"If I do that to demons, I'm going to need to work on my muscles. Goodness... you're full of such dense muscle Sesshomaru. Honestly, I probably should do this about once a week for now until I can get this spot," She tapped his lower back, "and this spot," she tapped next to his left shoulder blade, "lined up. They aren't bad, and most people have this condition actually, but if we can correct as much of this you'll feel better." She moved away from him.
Miroku lay where he was still but had turned over to lay on his back.
"I think my spirit left my body..." He was awed at the feeling of his adjustment.
"Indeed." Sesshomaru agreed.
"Geeze, you two. It wasn't that bad. I've seen worse. I had this one patient once that... Know what, not important. I would recommend that you both drink as much water as you can for the next two days. The release of your spiritual, or demonic, energy and the lactic acid from your joints will solidify and cool soon. So, water will help flush it out, so it doesn't continue to accumulate."
They both groaned.
Kagome retook her spot and waited.
The first adjustments were life-changing for some people. For two individuals of the feudal era that have never experienced something like this before... well, they may need to take a nap for a while. She dug in her yellow bag and pulled out two cups and a water bottle. She poured the bottle into both cups, halving it between the two, and called out to them.
"Miroku, Sesshomaru. Here, take this."
She waited patiently as they sat up slowly, painfully, and reached over to take the cups from her.
"Stretching will help the muscles out. Miroku, I'll need to take a look in about a week for you too. You had some concerning points, but nothing major."
He grunted at her.
"'Gome! 'Gome!" Shippo called. She glanced up to see him waving. Rin ran by and tackled him. She laughed at their antics.
"We should camp here tonight. Tomorrow we'll head to Mushin's Temple." Miroku groaned as he stretched his body around.
"I'm ok with that. Sesshomaru, will your group stay the night? We can make dinner here and Rin and Shippo can bathe after. There's a spot not far from here."
He nodded. His hand hesitated over his armor and weapons. He pulled them close but didn't put them back on.
"Oh..." Miroku startled as he stared at Sesshomaru. His eyes were flickering purple with his spiritual powers. "That's new."
"That's true... But, what's happening?" She leaned forward to look at him better.
"Something is happening to his demonic energy." Miroku pointed. She turned to look at Sesshomaru who was staring down in shock at his left arm. Kagome blinked and let her spiritual powers flow through her to accumulate behind her eyes. A trick she stumbled upon by accident during her training.
Sesshomaru's demonic powers flowed through him faster than it had before, as it made its way to his arm it pulsed there and pooled.