Chapter 4: Sword and Bow
He decided to check out this fighter his son had bought. He wanted to see just what she was capable of before she got there. He was hoping his son was not wrong when it came to this female fighter. Supposedly she was fighting next. He could feel Naraku approaching him. Naraku tried to make conversation with him but he waved him off as Kagome was called into the arena by the announcer. She was dressed in the basic leather tunic and pants. There was a set of bows and arrows on her back and a sword on her hip. He could see a few daggers strapped to her body. Her opponent came out and he noticed that it was a male demon twice her size and with a sword to match.
He watched as the signal was given. The demon pulled his large sword from his back and she pulled forth her bow and notched an arrow. She sent it flying as the male charged towards her. He didn't attempt to dodge and at the last moment a blue light surrounded the arrow as it embedded itself in the demon's right shoulder, the right arm turning to ash and the large sword hitting the ground. The demon gave a loud bellow from pain. He was seeing red and charged, this time dodging the arrow she fired. She dropped her bow and pulled forth the katana, taking her stance. She dodged and swiped at the unarmed demon, blood dripping from the missing arm. He was seeing red so she was being careful. Enraged demons were not to be crossed, but it made it easier to take them down.
He was surprised by her speed and the delay of the spiritual power on the arrow. It seemed that she did it on purpose. The demon had not known she had miko powers. He must not have been from this area. But even he heard rumors of a miko being in this arena. He was also surprised at her cool and calm face. There was no sign of fear in her eyes or scent. She seemed to know what she was doing, and he admired that. It just showed that she would be a great new addition to his army.
She rolled out of the way, swinging out with the katana. She had severed the demon's ankle and he collapsed, another loud bellow coming from him. She stood above him and her katana was surrounded by a blue light before she impaled the demon in the heart with her sword. He gave another bellow and a weak thrash before he exploded in ash. Her katana was left clean so she sheathed it quickly and stood, cheers and hisses going through the arena. Cheers from her fans, but hisses from several males that wanted her to lose. She just walked back through the gate, no damage done to her.
He was impressed with her. According to the schedule she had three more fights today. He would see how she did with her fights today. Yes, she was undefeated according to all the murmurs, some asking when she would finally lose. But he doubted she would lose if she faced another demon like the one that she had just killed. It seemed he was right. She had fought a salamander yasha, a cat hanyou female, and a human male. She defeated all of them, not killing the yasha or human male. The cat hanyou had gone into a blood lust so she killed her fast. He was impressed by this woman named Kagome. She would be an asset to the west.
Sesshomaru was on mount Hiei. He was fighting the leader for an ember of the sacred fire and he was winning. He had finished the male, but had not killed him. No he knocked him unconscious and took the ember they had agreed on. It was in a sack that it could not burn through. He signaled to AH-Un and they were gone, heading back to Totosai. He landed and threw the saddle bags onto a table.
"I have retrieved what you requested." He watched Totosai pull the items from the saddle bag and lay them out, opening them as he did so.
"The ember?" He looked to Sesshomaru as he placed the sack on the table. Totosai opened the sack and grinned. "The items you requested will be ready in a moon cycle."
"You will be paid when I retrieve the items." Totosai nodded and watched as Sesshomaru left. He headed back to the western palace and landed as his father came out to greet him.
"I watched her win four fights today. You were not wrong about her. She is promising." He grinned.
"Totosai is forging weapons for her now. He will be done with that in a moon cycle. She will be here after that." Toga nodded.
"I look forward to seeing what she is capable of after getting some training." Sesshomaru nodded. "She will need more than just combat and miko training Sesshomaru. She will need training to learn how to act like a lady and have the manners of a lady. With diplomats coming over and the court, she will have to know how to act." Sesshomaru nodded.
"One would think you had bigger plans for her."
"One has to think of everything Sesshomaru. She could be useful in the future."
"I see." He had to think of what his father could possibly use her for. She was beautiful and strong, had she been a demoness, she would have been perfect to breed him an heir. He would think further on the possibilities later. For now she would be in the army. Depending on how strong she was would determine her position. He had six generals and a vast army. He would have to see about getting a few more generals, people he trusted. That would be something else he would do.
He looked over the items he had Totosai craft. The sword was balanced and he could feel the power it contained. The blade was solid white and the hilt was blue, like the bones of the water nymph. He sheathed it and picked up the bow. He could feel its power as well. He looked over the string to see the dragon whiskers combined with the rosary. He placed it down and looked over the arrows. He knew the sheath of the sword was made out of the dragon scales. The bow was made from the bark of the tree of ages and the arrows looked like nothing special, but the quiver looked spectacular. He ran his hand over it. He still wondered what Totosai needed with the ember and the water.
"I used the ember for the forge and the water to cool the fang as I worked it. The sword was hollowed out and so I placed the ember in the sword and had made a glass vial and placed the water in the vial and wove the wood of the bow around it." Sesshomaru nodded and bundled the items together after placing the money on the table. He exited the cave and flew back to the western palace. He found his father and placed the weapons on the table before him.
"These are the weapons for the miko." Taisho nodded and picked up the sheathed sword. He pulled the sword free of the sheath and looked over it. He turned it over. It looked simple enough but he could feel the power it possessed. He re-sheathed it and placed it back on the table before picking up the bow. He looked over the elegant design and felt the power it too possessed and looked over the quiver. He forgot just how good Totosai's craftsmanship was. He would have to see him for another blade soon.
"The are powerful. I hope she is able to use them." Sesshomaru nodded and picked up the items. He already had her room set up so he turned and left his father's study. He would place the items on her bed. He would make sure no one touched them, so threw a barrier up around the weapons and bed before leaving. Soon she would be in his and his father's employ.
She was standing in the arena looking out at the crowd. Tomorrow she would be fifteen and she would be with the one who had bought her. It had been a long three moon cycles, but she was still undefeated in the arena. Today would be not different, even if she did have five fights today, all of which were against demon males. She had to slowly evolve her game. The demons were learning to dodge her arrows so she slowly increased how she did things. She looked to her opponent and waited for the signal. Once given, she rapidly fired arrows, the demon thinking he was dodging the arrows. He failed to notice the net of her spiritual powers. All the arrows were connected by her spiritual power and he was surrounded. One step and he would sever his legs and fall across the strings of miko energy. She even went so far as to put some in the walls.
"You are out of arrows, miko bitch," he mocked.
"You really are dense." He got upset and ran forward only for his leg to be severed. He hissed in pain as he fell forward and through more miko energy strings. He was dead before he hit the floor.
She was declared the winner and so she retracted the energy from the arrows, though there was still residual energy she would be able to use to harm the next opponents. She walked back into the room and waited for her next fight, which would be after the current fight. She knew she couldn't use that same trick over again but she had another way of defeating the demons she fought today. She watched the demon tear the human apart. She knew that demon male was her last fight of the day. He was known for his ferocity. She would defeat him.
She stepped out and looked at the demon across from her. He was young and new to the arena. She would not take it too easy on him, but she would not kill him either. She watched him leap forward with his attack, but she dodged and slashed him across the back, not going too deep with the tip of her sword. He hissed and turned to attack but she easily dodged and he hit the wall. It didn't take her long to knock him unconscious. Her next two fights were easy enough. This next fight would be a little harder, probably her hardest fight.
"This could possibly be Kagome's last fight in the arena. As a going away present she will be fighting Kyo, a fierce Tiger demon. He has shown no mercy so far." The announcer watched as Kagome got ready. She watched as the tiger demon flexed his claws and smirked.
"I will enjoy tasting your blood, miko bitch," he snarled.
She said nothing, making him mad. She easily pulled her sword from its sheath and got into her stance, waiting for the signal to go.
"And begin!" The tiger demon leapt forward and she dodged. There was a shot of miko energy that had hit him in the back. He snarled and spun around to attack her again only for his side to be shot with the miko energy. He couldn't understand it. She was in front of him. The power was slowly eating away at his flesh and insides. Even if he managed to defeat her, he would be dead anyways.
She concentrated and shot him three more times. She easily dodged his attack and more of his blood fell from his wounds. She watched as he fell to his knees, snarling as his vision went blurry. He fell face first to the ground, unconscious.
She walked away from him and back into the room. She pulled off the leather tunic and pants and dressed before heading to the dorms. She threw the sword into the locker and laid out onto the rack. She wasn't hungry.
It was night and he was let in. He was going to buy the girl after he sampled her. The son of the owner let him in and he was in the area now. He was straddling her and she was fighting. He smirked as his hands ran across her covered body. She concentrated, but before she could release her energy another man was in the area. The man scrambled off of her because he recognized this man. It was the owner.
"Kagome, come. You have already been purchased." She nodded and quickly stood from the bed. She followed after him, never looking back at the group of men. She entered the office and she was told to quickly change into the provided kimono. It was nothing special, just a plain blue kimono. He pushed forward a bag. "Give that to the man who bought you." She nodded. "Come, time to take you to the man that will deliver you to the man that bought you." He led her outside and to a man with long dark hair and green eyes. He was dressed in a blue haori and black hakamai. He had a light bone armor over it, and a long katana strapped to his back.
"This is the one?" He asked.
"Yes." He pushed Kagome forward. "Do not do anything stupid, Kagome. The man that purchased you could possibly grant you your freedom."
"I understand." She bowed to him and followed after the man. It would be a long trip ahead of her, but she was glad to get away from the brothel life.
Author's Note: Here is the next chapter of The Arena. I know it took me a while, but I have a computer now, and managed to recover my files from my broken one, and installed Microsoft office 2010. But I am pregnant now, so you'll have to bare with me on this one. There will be times when I don't want/feel like updating, and it might be harder with my schedule being filled with work, doctor appointments, mother classes and bill paying. Just hang in there. But read, review, and ENJOY!