Chapter 5: Tests

She entered the palace just as the sun was rising. She was tired but said nothing as this man lead her up a flight of stairs. He stopped and knocked on the door. There was a brief sound and the man opened the door and stepped in, moving aside so she could enter. He closed the door. "I brought her as requested." He bowed.

"You can go Hidoshi." He bowed and left, closing the door behind him.

"I remember you," Kagome remarked.

"Good." He looked at her. The kimono she wore was plain but it brought out her eyes. "I bought you from there three months ago. I had much to do before you could come here."

"I was told to give you this," she said as she walked forward. She placed a bag on the table and backed away a safe distance.

He opened the sack and saw the amount of money and the note. It was the profit from her wins. She was already paying for herself. He smirked and tucked the money into a drawer. "I will show you to where you will be staying and tell you the rules and what you will be doing here. You will meet my father and then be tested tomorrow after you rest from your trip. Then you will be going through extensive training." He walked out of the room with her following behind him.

"This is your room." He pushed open a door and they stepped in. There was a futon on a low rise. There was a changing screen in the corner and a vanity with a brush. There was also a low table with a cushion next to the door to the patio. On the bed was her weapons. He approached them and picked them up. "These are yours. I had them crafted for you." He handed her the weapons. He watched as she looked them over. She tested the weight of the sword and the flexibility of the bow before securing both to her person and the quiver on her back.

"You are to respect those above your station and not speak unless spoken to. You are to follow orders. If you prove yourself worthy, you will become a part of the army here. If not you will continue to fight at the arena or I will find something else to do with you. You will attend all of the training I have set up with you until it is no longer needed. You will carry yourself with pride." He led her out to the hallway. "No one will touch you in anyway you do not want them to. Should they do so, you will report them to me and I will deal with them accordingly. You will be useful to these lands." She nodded.

He knocked on his father's door and entered when told to do so. "Father, this is the knew fighter, Kagome."

"Hm," Toga said as he circled her slowly, looking her up and down. She was still young and developing but she did have nice curves and her body was toned and tanned. He knew how flexible she was. He could just about feel the power that was hidden beneath the surface. He smirked.

"She will do us good." He smirked as he continued to eye her.

"Father, you are mated." He watched as his old man sighed and took his seat.

"Very well." He sat back down. "Have you told her the rules?"

"Yes, father. She will be tested tomorrow and start her training tomorrow as well. She has been traveling all night and will need to eat and rest." His father nodded and waved them away.

"You will eat then rest. You will be up sunrise tomorrow. You will be tested then and then start with your training." He had a servant bring her food to her room.

"My lord, I thank you for taking me away from the arena." She bowed low to him. "I am at your service for as long as you see fit, for anything you see fit."

"Hn." The servant placed food on the low table and backed out. "Eat then rest. Clothes are in the wardrobe. You will be in the training haori and hakamai at sunrise. A servant will show you to the training field, where you will be tested."

"Hai, my lord." She bowed again as he left, sliding the door shut behind him. She sat down and ate before climbing into bed after placing the sword, bow and quiver full of arrows on the low table near her bed. She really did need to rest. She had been traveling just about all night and had fought just about all day the day before.

She awoke well before sunrise and dressed in the training garments. She walked out to what seemed to be the training pitch and sat beneath a tree, her weapons strapped to her person. She was sitting Indian style and had gone into meditation. Hopefully Sesshomaru would show up soon so this test could start. She wanted to get it over with then go eat and start with this training she was to go through. She opened her eyes and stood as Sesshomaru approached with his father and three other men. She bowed to them before standing up straight.

"Good, you're on time." They watched Lord Toga take a seat underneath a tree. "We will start with your training. You are not to kill them and they are not to kill you, got that?" They all nodded. "You will be using practice swords. I do not need anyone injured." He looked and it seemed she wanted to speak. "What is it, Kagome?"

"My purifying power will harm them."

"You are not to use that power to harm them, understood?"

"Yes, my lord." She un-strapped the sword from her waist and placed it against a tree before pulling the bow and quiver of arrows from her back. She placed them with the sword and accepted the practice sword. The other three did the same.

"You will fight her first, Kiyoshi," he said to the blue haired mail. He had amethyst colored eyes and was a few inches shorter than Sesshomaru.

"Yes, my lord." The others moved back as he took his stance. Kagome did the same and waited for the signal to begin.

"Go," Sesshomaru said. Kiyoshi rushed forward and made to strike but Kagome blocked and sent forward a kick, which he dodged, disengaging their swords in the process. She turned towards him and he fainted right, but went left. She saw this and threw a barrier up on the left side, blocking his attack. She threw it towards him, knocking him back but not doing any damage. She leapt forward and struck him on the right shoulder, dislocating the joint. She stood ready as he took the sword into his left hand. He was gritting in pain. He had not thought the human woman to be that strong.

They were not amazed. Kiyoshi was the lowest ranking general, though there were few that could best him. It seemed this human woman had the advantage over him. That barrier had stopped his attack and threw him off guard, allowing her enough time to attack and disable his right arm. They wanted to see just what she was capable of. But she was also holding back the purifying part of her miko powers. They all could feel it.

He leapt forward and she rolled under his strike, turning before he had the chance and striking him in the back of the knees, forcing his legs to give out. He rolled but stopped himself and forced himself to stand. She was clever and clearly flexible. He faced her and watched as she shifted her foot. He thought she was going to go left but she pivoted right and struck him across the face with the blade. Had it been a real sword, he would have been dead.

"Killing blow, Kagome," Sesshomaru said, stopping the fight. She seemed to watch her opponent just fine. He just watched as Kagome approached Kiyoshi and shoved his right arm back into place, Kiyoshi hissing in pain. She seemed to rub the joint, a slight glow around her hands. She moved back and Kiyoshi seemed to be doing fine. "Kajiki, your turn." The red head stepped forward. He had narrowed orange eyes and slitted pupils, much like a cats.

Kagome got ready. The signal was given soon after and a stream of fire was shot at her. She threw up a barrier all around her, expecting him to attack from behind. She was not disappointed when he crashed into the barrier just behind her. The fire stopped and she threw her barrier out, rolling away from a slash that probably would have taken her leg off. She rolled and used her left arm to spring board away from his next attack. She landed and blocked the next attack and blocked his kick with her shin. She flinched but did not let up. She shoved him back and looked to see a crack appearing on the practice sword. It would not stand another hit. She had to think quickly.

Kajiki attacked and she rolled away, tripping him and resulting in the practice sword snapping in half. She silently cursed her luck. She dodged his attack and blocked his fire with a barrier. She still had the hilt of the practice sword in hand. She just dodged after lowering her barrier and channeled energy into the sword, forming a sword from her ki. She blocked his attack before pushing forward, her ki snapping Kajiki's practice sword in half. He cursed aloud and dodged, blowing fire at her. Her ki sword expanded and blocked the fire. She dodged a kick and a punch before moving closer. She sliced down his back, her ki only burning the top layer of skin, enough to only leave a mark. He spun around and she dodged his punch then his attempt at consuming her in fire. She sliced low, a hit that would have taken off her legs from the knee down. Sesshomaru stopped the fight.

"You are incapacitated," Sesshomaru told Kajiki, looking to Kagome. She was faster and was thinking on her feet. Arena experience seemed to do her some good. "Hidoshi, you will fight her next."

"Yes, my lord." He looked at the small human female that had defeated the other two. He was not expecting such a show from her. She had even found a way around Kajiki's speed. Though the only person to beat Hidoshi so far was Prince Sesshomaru and Lord Toga. He was not expecting her to beat him. But he would not underestimate her. She had managed to defeat two powerful demons, though Kiyoshi was not nearly as strong as him or their lord.

"Begin." Hidoshi and Kagome stood, staring each other down. They were analyzing each other without taking their eyes away from each other. Without warning Hidoshi sped forward. She managed to pull up a barrier at the last minute. The force he placed on the barrier almost shattered it, but it held strong. Sweat beaded down Kagome's temple. She did not know how much more fight she had in her. She never had to fight three people in a row, let alone three demons in a row. She forced ki into her legs and dodged his quick attack, the ground she once stood on imploding, a crater being left behind. She did not comment on this, but internally she was scared. She has never been defeated before.

She rolled and dodged and was thinking a mile a minute as Hidoshi attacked. He was faster and stronger than the other two, she would admit, and her energy was running on low. She had to finish this fast. Desperate times called for desperate measures. She looked to him before fainting left. He went left but she dashed right. She rolled under his swipe from behind and grabbed the broken half of her practice sword and rammed it into the ground. She forced ki through it and it exploded, splinters being thrown every which way. He covered his face and she took advantage of the momentary distraction. She formed her ki sword and pinned him to the ground, her ki sword at his neck. He looked at her shocked. He was defeated by a human woman.

"That is enough," Sesshomaru stated. Kagome stood from Hidoshi and extracted her ki from the broken practice sword. She looked around at the damage done. Some of the shards were stuck in the trees and ground. The surrounding area was decimated.

"I was not expecting you to do that well," Sesshomaru commented. "Hidoshi is my strongest general. The fact you faced all three of them in row and managed to win every spar is a feat." He looked to his father. "Go eat, then you are to meet me in the court yard."

"Yes, my lord." She bowed and left to eat with the other three generals. The sun was barely over the horizon, signaling it was time to break their fast. They showed her to a table, but wouldn't say anything to her, and a lot of the men were looking at her, questions being murmured amongst them. They wanted to know who this was. But she seemed not to talk to anyone, or look at anyone. She finished quickly and a servant took her plate. She stood and left the hall, the eyes and whispering still surrounding her. She moved through the halls quickly, not sure where she was going and headed outside. She was lucky enough to have found the court yard without any problems.

"Hn." Sesshomaru signaled for her to move closer and she did so. "Kagome, this is Kaede, a miko from my brother's village and she is here to teach you how to harness and use your miko powers. You will be working with her until lunch everyday until you have mastered your powers. After lunch you will be training with someone else until dinner. After dinner you will bathe and meet me in my study to discuss what you will be doing. Do you understand?"

"Yes, my lord," she replied.

"Go now." She nodded and followed Kaede away. This was the start of her new life. She knew not what was in store for her.

Author's Note: Here is the next chapter. Just read, review, and enjoy.